A Teacher's Best Friend

Who doesn't love this song?!?

Unlike a girl, a teacher's best friend is not diamonds (although I really, really wish they were).  A teacher's best friend is Donors Choose.  For those of you who don't know what DC is, get ready to have your mind blown.  It's a website where teachers write proposals for materials, trips, visitors they want for their classes, people donate money and you get your stuff.  (It's only for public school teachers in the USA, sorry everyone else!)

It really is that easy.  I have been a member since 2005.  In that time I've had over 200 projects funded.  The average project was about $200.  That's $40,000 worth of materials I've gotten for my kids!!!!!!!  What have I asked for?  It's more like what haven't I asked for.  I've gotten dozens of class sets of book (When You Reach Me, Cinder, Divergent, The Hunger Games, The Lost Hero, Oogy), hundreds of individual books for my classroom library, 30 Chromebooks, markers, pens, paper, field trips, you name it.  My biggest project was definitely the 30 Chromebooks, but many of my projects are $100-$300 projects.  

Kids on Chromebooks on Grammaropolis.com. (both funded by DC)

Need a book? DC has that covered.

Every kids gets their own copy of  When You Reach Me.

Another DC Double.  Colored paper for Interactive Notebooks and The Lost Hero books.

When a proposal is funded, you have a few expectations to meet.  First you confirm that you still need and want the materials by writing a quick thank you note and choosing a date to have the final thank yous done.  Then when the kids get the materials, you need to take photos of them using the materials (make sure you have permission), write a more detailed thank you note from yourself, and sometimes the kids have to write thank yous too.  I like this part the best. Some donors want them, others don't.

Who wouldn't want to get this in the mail?

Does every proposal get funded? Of course not.  One of my proposals for Kore Active Stools just expired because it didn't get fully funded.  Bummer, but not the end of the world.  The donated money goes back to the donor and you can always repost.  I recommend starting small, a $100-$150 proposal.  DC works on a point system.  Each project is so many points.  You get points for completing steps and the more you have the bigger projects, you can post.

On the serious side Donors Choose does an amazing job, especially for school hit hard by natural disasters.  The tornado that went through Moore, OK, Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, even the Flint water crisis have all affected schools in those areas.  And DC was there every time to help rebuild.  Right now Louisiana  is having the worst flooding since Katrina.  If you've watched the news, you know just how bad it is.  But then again, you don't.  Unless you live there, you have no idea how truly bad it is.  Once again Donors Choose has stepped up to help.  

If you're a teacher, get onto Donors Choose immediately, open and account and start writing proposals.  And if you can, help out our fellow teachers in Louisiana.

USS Intrepid

Since I posted about Fleet Week yesterday,  I thought I'd do a series about field trips I've done.  I usually go on 8-12 field trips every year, depending on behavior and weather.  As I mentioned yesterday,  Every year I take my kids to Fleet Week and up until last year that meant the USS Intrepid.  

The USS Intrepid is a retired aircraft carrier that saw service in WWII, the Cold War and Vietnam. It's decommissioned now and docked in  West Manhattan at  Pier 86 at 12th Avenue and 48th Street,  i always took the subway there and then the long walk down to the pier, but most school groups go by bus. It's a good 20 minute walk from the 42nd St-Times Square station, but the walk back is downhill.

I always did the self guided tour which used to cost $9 per child with 1 free chaperone for every 10 kids.  You have to send in a request for more updated prices. They also have guided tours which obviously cost more money, but are available for all grades K-12.  You can also book the lunchroom with a food package.

I love the self guided tour.  There are retired sailors who are extremely knowledgeable who are just as good as a guided tour. I highly recommend the movie about the history of the ship.  It's only 8 minutes, perfect for children's attention spans.and gives the kids a thorough history of the ship.  Also outside are a bunch of great exhibits that help the kids understand the ship. I usually take them to the spot where one of the five Kamikaze planes hit the ship.  The kids love that.  And then we go up to  to the flight deck where the planes are and into the top part where the navigation systems are.  That takes about an hour to an hour and a half. We eat lunch at the outdoor spot they have ste up and then we're off back to school.

There are a million other things to see there, like the living quarters for the men, the combat info area, both on board the ship.Of course outside, there is the Growler, a sub, one of the Concorde supersonic jets, and the space shuttle. They also have some simulation rides for an extra charge. 

Overall, it's a great trip, and gets the kids involved in the history of the USA.  All of my kids have always had a great time there.  Once we even were invited to a ceremony for the remaining Marines who stormed Iwo Jima!  It's a little prices, but you can always put in on Donors Choose (yes, they can fund field trips too). 

http://www.intrepidmuseum.org/

21 Century Classroom

As I sit on my couch on another dreary Brooklyn weekend,  I started looking up how to make my classroom into a 21st Century one. 

I already have a start on it with my Donors Choose projects.  I'm trying to get rectangle tables, wobble stools, and stand up desks.  I'd like to have them by the start of the school year to offer half of my class flexible seating.

I'm pretty excited about it, and the bike desks I have my eye on.  Can't wait to see if it works out.