Animal Hospital

Today I just wanted to do a quick post to share my favorite dramatic play center from the school year.  During our animal unit, I turned our kitchen into an animal hospital.  I wish I had taken more pictures, but, hopefully,you will get the idea.

To start, I gathered (stuffed) animals that I had in my classroom and at home.  Next, I went to thrift store and picked up a few animals that I thought would be good additions (snake, owl, hedgehog).  While at the thrift store I also looked for animal cages.  I found a cat carrier for $6.  I ran it through the dishwasher at home and it was good to go.  I also was able to get a few more small animal cages by asking friends on Facebook.  I also added scrub tops, stethoscopes, masks (I asked our school nurse for these) and other "doctor" supplies that I had.

I knew I wanted something more for out little hospital.  After thinking, I knew that last thing we needed was x-rays.  To make my x-rays, I used Google images to search for x-rays and printed them out on regular paper. I labeled each x-ray so the kids (and adults) would know what it was.  I then laminated the x-rays and put them in the center.

The kids loved this center (the ones in my classroom and my own kids before and after school)!

Educators Night Out

Last night, one of my best friends and now blogging buddy, Desiree (You can check out her blog at Paper, Pencils, and Progress Reports) and I went to an Educators Night Out that was sponsored by our local mall.  It include door prizes, free gifts from merchants, free food and drinks and discussion of how our local PREIT mall is supporting the community and educators.  They have teamed up with Donors Choose to help fund projects through a program they are calling KickStart Your Class.  I also provided an interview with a local photographer , Susan, from Fowler Studios. The interview was conduct in the fashion of  People of New York (I had never heard of this until tonight!).  She was delight and I can not wait to see the final product!

Now to decide what to write my Donor's Choose project on...... Do you have any current projects?  You can check out some of my past blog posts for help to get started!

Guest Post from The Autism Classroom Project: Donor's Choose

If you have not heard of DonorsChoose, or you are one of the teachers who has checked it out, but has been too intimidated by the proposal writing process, then this post is for you!!!  

In March of this year, I wrote my very first DonorsChoose proposal for a color printer so I could create colorful visual supports in my classroom.  Within 2 hours of my project going live, it had been fully funded.  Within 3 weeks, I received my printer.  Well, that started a whirlwind of ideas for other projects.  I immediately started writing new proposals and since March, I have written 6 more.  Of the 7 proposals I have written these past few months, 5 have been fully funded and the other two have been partially funded! Some of the other items I have gotten from DonorsChoose include over $300 in therapeutic art supplies, math and language arts centers, an X-Box with Kinect, and supplies to support a student led recycling center.   I have done the math, and to date I have had over $1500.00 worth of materials and supplies donated to my classroom!  So, needless to say, I have experienced great success with DonorsChoose and would love to see more teachers utilize this spectacular resource.  

Here’s how to start and if you need a little more in depth help go here http://www.donorschoose.org/docs/DonorsChoose.org_Submit_a_Project_Tutorial.pdf

1.   Go to DonorsChoose.org and create a teacher’s account and upload a classroom profile picture.
2.   Use your start up points to submit a project that is under $400.  These have the best chances of being fully funded.
3.    Think of a creative and catchy title that will grab the reader’s attention.
4.     Go shopping!! DonorsChoose has partnered with School Specialty, Lakeshore, Nasco and several others of our favorite teacher catalogues.  Keep the items student centered!!!
5.    Summarize your request.  Explain why your students need the items your requesting.
6.   Tell your story.  This is the part where you describe your students and how these items will help your class.  Remember to write well and from the heart! 
7.   Lastly, you are going to provide some simple project details and then quantify the impact. 
8.   Be sure to look for Partner Funding opportunities!  These are companies or other charitable foundations that want to help!  4 of my projects have been helped through Partner Funding!!

From start to finish, creating a project usually takes me 20-30 minutes.  I LOVE DonorsChoose and I know that you will too!!!  Good Luck and let me know how you do!  If you have any questions, please let me know!!

You can follow me at The Autism Classroom Project on Blogger and Facebook!

Leann Sorrell

http://www.donorschoose.org/leannsorrell

Wow....what a week...

Wow... so I told you all about my first week back with just the teachers, we added the students this past week and life went crazy! My students are great. I actually only have one new student and one new to me. The rest I have looped with from last year. It was a crazy week at school just trying to get schedules straight and figure out who needs to be where when. My oldest son also started kindergarten this week. He loves it which makes this momma happy. The consistency of being back in school and on a schedule has really helped with his flapping and chewing everything. (For those who don't know, A, has a diagnosis of PDD-NOS)

So on top of all of this, my best friend's father passes away on Thursday from cancer. I am hoping she doesn't mind that I post a picture of him. I know he will be missed greatly by his wife, daughters, and grandchildren.  He was a great man and I have many memories of him keeping C and I out of trouble when we were kids. 


On Friday, I checked my email to find that my Donor's Choose project was completely funded. Yay!! I can not wait to get those materials to use with my students.  I will be getting an ice cream maker that has is shaped like a ball and is rolled instead of cranked to make the ice cream, kitchen utensils, and a picture cookbook. 


After I picked up my youngest from day care, the boys and I headed home only to get a phone call from my husband that he was in a car accident. Everyone involved was ok, but the my husbands pride and joy, his 2002 Mustang has a boo boo(as my kids would say).

I am hoping for a better week coming up. I will be posting some things I have made this past week for my classroom and a review of some awesome flashcards. Thank you to everyone who has stuck by me these past few weeks and my lack of posting!

Donor's Choose & Limeaides for Learning

Have you ever put a project on Donor's Choose? I am currently working on getting my second project funded. Last year I wrote a proposal for a book display shelf and the kids LOVE it. This year my project involves cooking. This is a necessary life skill for my students. Donor's Choose and Sonic have teamed up again this year to help fund projects. The projects with the most votes each week will win. So, this is where you come in... please please please click on the link below and vote for my project.
Also, if you have a project in the running please leave a link to it in the comments so I can help you out also.
Thank you for your support!