Jumpstart your DonorsChoose Project and get all Donations Doubled Today!

TODAY ONLY! All donations to your project will be DOUBLED if you enter the code JUMPSTART thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Maximum donation per donor is $1,000. DonorsChoose credits will NOT be doubled, but donations via credit card, Amazon Payments, Google Wallet, or PayPal will be doubled. SHARE this with friends and family!

Here is how to help the DonorsChoose giving page that I administer with Laura Candler, Caring Classrooms, get credit while you are making a donation:

When you look at the URL for your project, just add the following to the end of the URL:

?challengeid=304297

Refresh your screen, and then you will see that Caring Classrooms gets credit for your donation. If you don't see Caring Classrooms when you donate, it just means you did not refresh your screen.

Here is an example:

http://www.donorschoose.org/project/fluency-for-first-grade-fighting-illini/1640884/

becomes:
http://www.donorschoose.org/project/fluency-for-first-grade-fighting-illini/1640884/?challengeid=304297

Free Field Trip to see the New Malala Film!

Just announced by DonorsChoose! Free field trip to see the film, "He Named Me Malala" for middle school and high school public school teachers! Share this information with your friends!

"With the upcoming theatrical release of HE NAMED ME MALALA
in October 2015, the social action campaign accompanying the film has launched a program that will fund middle and high school field trips to see the film and learn from Malala’s story.  If you are a full time employee at a U.S. public school and spend 75% or more of your time with students in grades 7-12, you’re eligible to request a field trip to see HE NAMED ME MALALA in just seven easy steps!"

Here is the PDF to learn all about it!
http://www.donorschoose.org/docs/teacher_instructions_malala_7.23_jmeditsincorp.pdf

Get Authoriztion Forms Signed for your New Students - DonorsChoose Projects Need Them!

DonorsChoose supplies are being delivered to our schools for many teachers! Get those authorization forms signed, take your photos, write your impact letter, so you are ready for some great offers coming up from DonorsChoose.

There is nothing worse than not having any available spots on DonorsChoose for a new project!

Are you making your Quill list? They usually offer a 50% sponsorship in a month or so, so start putting together the toner, flash drives, paper, pencils list so you can post that project as soon as the Quill sponsorship is offered. High school teachers, get ready for a great opportunity! Remember to sign up for my blog so you keep up with all sorts of DonorsChoose news!

Some of us Have Local Malls that Want to Sponsor our DonorsChoose Projects!

Your local mall might want to help you get your DonorsChoose project funded! Is your school near one of these malls listed below? If so, you can get the mall to help you fund your DonorsChoose project! Go to this link to learn more if you see your mall posted below:

http://kickstartyourclass.com/PREIT® Malls 

Participating PREIT^® Malls:

Arnot Mall 
Beaver Valley Mall 
Capital City Mall 
Cherry Hill Mall 
Crossroads Mall 
Cumberland Mall 
Dartmouth Mall 
Exton Square Mall 
Francis Scott Key Mall 
Gadsden Mall 
Hudson Mall 
Jacksonville Mall 
Logan Valley Mall 
Lycoming Mall 
Magnolia Mall 
The Mall at Prince Georges 
Moorestown Mall 
New River Valley Mall 
Palmer Park Mall 
Patrick Henry Mall 
Plymouth Meeting Mall 
Springfield Mall 
Springfield Town Center  
Susquehanna Valley Mall  
Valley Mall  
Valley View Mall
Viewmont Mall  
Voorhees Town Center  
Washington Crown Center  
Willow Grove Park  
Wiregrass Commons Mall  
Woodland Mall  
Wyoming Valley Mall

Global Read Aloud - The Year of Billy Miller for Second and Third Grade

You might want to participate in the Global Read Aloud. My class is participating in October with a new book by Kevin Henkes entitled The Year of Billy Miller. There are books at each grade level. It is a read aloud, so you don't need a class set. I wanted a class set so we can dig in every year. You connect with teachers all over the world and set up arrangements to Skype or have your students write or blog with each other.

This is an annual event, with a different book each year.

Here is a link to learn more about the Global Read Aloud:
http://theglobalreadaloud.com/

LilySarah Grace Fund = Arts Funding for Title I Kinder-Fifth Grade Classrooms

My focus right now is getting ready to be a third grade teacher instead of a fifth grade teacher, and the charity of my choice, DonorsChoose.

This blog will be a site for you to learn the latest funding opportunities for DonorsChoose. Sometimes the opportunities last just a week or so. Since that is the case, learn about them here first and write that proposal so you don't miss the sponsorship match.

Right now you can get ready with a Lily Sarah Grace Fund grant.

The Lily Sarah Grace Fund is amazing! They help teachers get their projects funded through DonorsChoose. The Stepping Stone Grant is just about to be opened up, but the LSGF has requested that more people follow LSGF on Twitter. LSG funds grants that integrate the arts into an academic subject.
https://twitter.com/LSGFund

The Stepping Stone Grant submission period will open on September 1st. Stepping Stone Grants are funded twice a month. There is a rubric at the LSGF website which you should download and follow exactly! This will be your guide to getting your grant approved.You actually get graded with this rubric. Your DC proposal just isn't able to describe everything needed on the rubric, so there is an extra step to this grant.

You write a DonorsChoose proposal, just like usual. But then you go to the LSGF site and provide info about your proposal once it is posted. That is when you add details that show you are hitting the points on the rubric. You can even submit additional information to LSGF on your project by sending them an email.
The Stepping Stone Grant is for first-time applicants to LSGF and should meet the following criteria:
Grades K-5
Title 1 School
$450.00 Maximum Project Cost (They will pay 100% of this, but just not right away!)
http://lilysarahgrace.org/grants

The Lily Sarah Grace Fund - Helps You Get Your Art Projects Funded!

Twice a year the Lily Sarah Grace Fund helps public school teachers get the art supplies and theater resources they need. They have a large $1,500 grant and a smaller grant too.

To apply, you need to be a Kindergarten - Fifth Grade teacher, and teach at a Title I school. What you do is first think of arts related project that you can tie into your academic curriculum. You write a DonorsChoose proposal, limiting your resources to either the large grant or the smaller grant.

The deadline for Fall is September 30th, so hurry! You need to go to the Lily Sarah Grace Fund site to read their rubric on how they "judge" your proposal, and complete the questions they have about your grant.

If they decide to fund your project, it will be FULLY FUNDED in mid-October! That is an amazing gift!

My class is going to read a book, turn it into a play, and perform the play. We asked for theater resources, paint, backdrops, and other art resources for some other smaller projects too.

If you miss the Fall deadline, get ready for the spring deadline! http://lilysarahgrace.org/grants

You might have seen the movie they made of my class a few years ago! I love this organization, and they love me too! :) Here is the link to the movie they made of my class:

http://player.vimeo.com/video/75087660