Will you help us?

We were funded! Hurray!

Adam Lambert is My Personal American Idol

Apparently I live under a rock, because I didn't know who Adam Lambert was, which is because I do not have a television. Yes, you read that correctly. I do follow a few TV programs via Hulu, but I don't have a TV. This means many conversations go like this, "Hey, Kate did you see... oh yeah... forget it." (And now you know how I have time to write this blog!)

Imagine my surprise to discover that I was getting quite a few donations from Adam Lambert Supports Education to my Donors Choose projects. Actually one fan club in particular, ONTD_AL, had chosen one project, "Avoid the Void" to ask Adam's fans to donate to. (ONTD stands for Oh, No They Didn't - ask someone who follows American Idol to explain... I now understand, but I cannot do the story justice the way some one who followed the show live can.)

Thus far ONTD_AL has lead to 9 donations to our classroom project, which is enough for me to make Adam Lambert and his fans my idols. We celebrated Adam by making him our video of the day (VOD) star on the say we discovered we were on the ONTD_AL short list. How cool is that?

Donors Choose has Issued a Challenge

If teachers enrolled in Donors Choose can inspire 5,000 people to donate (as little as $5) they will release $100,000 in additional funding!

So, would you consider donating $5 or more to one of my projects?

• Avoid the Void - to provide sensory items for students to use when positioned out of their wheelchairs
• Switch - to give us a broader selection of switches to use in our classroom
• What We Really Need is Storage - to give us a rolling storage rack that will provide counter space and 16 cubbies for storing all our belonings

Thanks so much!

A birthday gift (of sorts)!

Thanks to Paul Hamilton's kind comment in the last post I was reminded that today is the second birthday of this blog.

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear teachinglearnerswithmultiplespecialneeds.blogspot, happy birthday to youuuuuuuuu!

Seriously if I had know this blog was going to take off I would have picked a shorter web address!

As a birthday gift (ok,ok it is totally unrelated) the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated half the cost of four of my Donors Choose grants that I was certain to have expire without any funding.

• Accessible Books, needs $251 in 10 days
• Social Skills, needs $224 in 36 days
  
• "If I only had some ink" needs $176 (we have until Christmas)
• Talking Tablet (a tablet PC to use for AAC), needs $1,036 by March
  

The catch? Now I need to raise the money to pay for the other half of the grants! I have much less of a problem watching a totally unfunded grant expire than watching a partially funded grant expire.

Feeling generous? Feeling thankful that teachers are unlikely to loose jobs overseas or to be downsized? Then feel free to donate to a grant above. Consider it a birthday gift!

1,2,3, Go! Help us learn! (and a comment contest)

We need you!

Do you value what you read here? Help us out.

Do you come to this blog when you have questions? Help us out.

Ever had an aha moment, found something to use in your setting or smiled while visiting here? Help us out.

Only 13 days left to fund Chat, Gossip, Discuss - AAC Products for a Special Needs Classroom $919.00 needed

Only 26 days left to fun Can You Hear Me Now? - Learning Assistance for Kids with Hearing Impairment $272 need

Please, please, please help us out! Both the hearing impair grant and the AAC grant are desperately needed by my students. If this blog is supposedly worth $14,000 because of the quality of information it provides, then I am hoping $1200 can be raised to fill these grants. That's just twelve people giving $100, 24 people giving $50, 48 people giving $25. With 300-700 visitors a day, this CAN happen, but don't assume someone else will make it happen. Please click on the link and help us get our grant.

I have several other grants online as well, but they have no or very little funding yet and I would prefer push these ones through because they have partial funding that will be lost if the grant isn't fully funded by the expiration date. One grant proposal for switches just died partially funded. Very sad.

By the way, would threats work? What if I threatened NO NEW POSTS until the grants are FUNDED! Nah, not my style.

How about this, a contest! I will electronically deliver a set of Boardmaker Boards of your choosing (either in .BM2 or PDF format) to anyone who comments on this entry, preferably commenting to say they donated to a grant above. You can choose from AAC boards or books, dynamic display communication board sets, curriculum materials, behavior materials, anything I have. One winner will be chosen at random in 26 days.

Help Us Out!

My class has a couple of partially funded Donors Choose grants that are soon to expire:

• Can You Hear Me Now? Products to increase the understanding of learners with hearing impairment and to teach sign language. This grant is half funded and will soon expire, meaning the money donated to it will be given to other projects.
• Chat, Gossip, Discuss! This is a grant for low to moderate technology AAC devices. It is 1/10 funded and also soon to expire.
  

If you or anyone you know would be interested in funding either of these grants click on the links above.

P.S. We also have several completely unfunded projects about to expire, but I would rather focus on getting these two partially funded grant through.

Our Room

These pictures show materials pertaining to everything from sensory, communication, positioning, life skills and functional academics. Perhaps 30% or more of the items in the photos came from grants from Donors Choose. All of the sensory materials came from Donors Choose donors. All of the oral motor items. Everything that is laminated and/or bound on the comb binder was made with our laminator and comb binding machine from a Donors Choose grant. The blue and white cart and the materials in it is from the generous folks who sponsored our grant at Donors Choose. Donors Choose philanthropists have made the difference in our room and we appreciate them every day.

Our last several grants have gone unfunded, however we have two grants that are partially funded. Please consider making a difference to use by donating:

• AAC Device Grant
• Hearing Impairment Grant

UPDATED

O.K. folks, short and sweet. My interactive whiteboard is likely not to happen. It needs nearly $2,000 in funding in the next three days or the $850 already donated will be redistributed as directed by the donors when they donated. Please, please, please help us out! Thank you.

Update: This project expired unfunded today, July 13, 2008. Thank you to the donors who raised over $900 for this project. Your money was either returned or re-distributed as you choose when you donated.

Although the blog is currently on hiatus due to some health issues on my part (see the post script on the last post) you may still support this blog/my students by donating to any of the Donors Choose Projects below or Adopting My Classroom. About 15-30 hours a week of UNPAID work goes into this blog, donating to a Donors Choose Project or Adopting My Classroom is a great way to express your appreciation.

• Tablet PC for AAC and More
• Gossip, Chat, Discuss: Low and Moderate Tech AAC
• Morning Meeting Revived
• Can you hear me now? Learning Materials for Students with Hearing Impairment
• Switch on Learning, Switch on Fun

Oh, and thanks for the tips about the D.I.Y. Wii Whiteboards, I just don't think it will work with learners with such intensive needs, we need things to be a bit more straightforward with a clear cause and effect relationship. I could be wrong, but I think that we will just stick with touchscreen until I find a way to make a SMARTBoard or similar happen.

Hurry!

Okay folks, nine days left on my class's Donors Choose Grant to get an interactive whiteboard!

I want to thank these two donors who gave $111 towards our goal, which means we have raised $722 out of $2,833.

Nicole from Loganville, GA gave on July 3, 2008 who said, "I gave to this project because. I really enjoy reading your teacher's blogs - they are super helpful to me as a teacher. I know she will put this to great use and that you guys deserve it."

Lynda from Oconomowoc, WI gave on July 3, 2008 who said, " I gave to this project because your students deserve it! I appreciate all the information I glean from your blog...it helps me do my job so much better. I hope you are able to obtain full funding for this project! Blessings to you & your kiddos!"

Not to start sounding like NPR, but please call in your pledge now! Better yet, go to Donors Choose and sponsor our grant! Only nine days left or the $722 already raised will be reallocated to other class's projects.

P.S. If your class already has an interactive whiteboard (SMART board or Promethean Board) imagine all the great stuff I can share with you if I have one too! Pitch in to make it happen!

10 Days Left to Help My Class Get an Interactive White Board

There are only 10 days left on my class's Donors Choose grant application for an Interactive Whiteboard. Right now only $611 out of $2,833 has been funded (by two individual donors, both women, both from Massachusetts. Thank you so much Kirsten and Laura!

Regular readers of this blog know the many exciting ideas my class and I have for using an interactive white board. We plan to use it for every subject, from using it with Boardmaker SDP as an interactive talking calendar and weather map during morning meeting to using it with sites like Silly Books or Tumblebooks with the mouse on the arrow for single switch users to "read" a giant interactive book to their friends. We will use it for all subjects. To read about how other teachers are using interactive whiteboards check out Talking Smart Boards or Teachers Love Smart Boards.

With just a little over $2,100 left and an average of 200 visitors a day all it would take is 15 dollars a visitor during the course of just one day to fund our interactive whiteboard or even $100 from one or two visitors a day for the next ten days. Please, if you appreciate this blog and the time and effort put into it please donate to this Donors Choose grant or one of our other Donors Choose grants below:

• A Tablet PC for AAC and more
• Mid Range Technology AAC Devices
  
• Morning Meeting Materials
• Sign Language Learning Items
• Switches
• Smart Readers Adapted Audio Books
  

New DonorsChoose for my students

• Teach ME to eat!
• Switch on Learning, Switch on Fun!
• A Special Computer

And of course our last project is still awaiting funding from a couple of months ago:

• Interactive Whiteboard
  

Attention Bay Area Teachers

Have you been walking around with a great classroom idea in your head for weeks? Maybe you even got as far as drafting a proposal at DonorsChoose.org? Well, now’s the time to take the next step! For a limited time we invite Bay Area teachers to submit any proposal at DonorsChoose.org and our sponsors will fund the first $50. That's right - $50 for every proposal submitted by February 26th!

What do I have to do?
Submit your project idea(s) by Tuesday, February 26th!

What if I already have a project posted?
Submit another (and another and another)! Remember, a first-time user can submit up to 3 requests; a DonorsChoose.org veteran can have even more projects posted at any given time. Any Bay Area proposal submitted by February 26th will receive $50.

What’s the fine print?

• You must be an educator in the Bay Area and submit your proposal(s) by Tuesday, February 26th.
• Only NEW proposals are eligible – we will not fund a proposal that is already posted.
• Application of funding may take up to five days, so we thank you in advance for your patience.

Share the wealth - spread the word!

Warmly,
Jonathon Stewart
Teacher Engagement Manager
DonorsChoose.org Northwest

We want an interactive white board!

My class has a dream! (We actually have lots of dreams.) We want an interactive white board. We would love an interactive white board! It has been a rough year for us. We transferred to a barely handicapped accessible build and had many, many staff changes. We are hoping you want to help us out. Here is a link to our Donors Choose Grant to get an interactive white board!

Would you consider even giving us $20 of your tax refund?

Thanks!

Thank You Notes

Having spent two afternoons last week with my students making thank you cards for our Donors Choose donors and looking for ideas for the Donors Choose thank you notes we need to make this week I stumbled across a post from Donor Power, which I have re-blogged at the bottom of my entry.

Thus far my classroom has had eight grants funded! Eight! We have received two of them, It's Sensational! (sensory integration materials) and "Science on Wheels" (a Delta Education science kit) and are awaiting the arrival of the other six. I am astounded with the generosity of perfect strangers (at least I think they were perfect strangers) who have funded the grants.

Every grant filled needs a thank you packet to be sent back to Donors Choose and forwarded to the individual donors that funded that grant. The thank you packet needs to include seven student thank you cards for each donor, a teacher thank you letter and the disposable camera sent to you filled up with pictures. With only eight students in our class, compared to the 20+ students in a general education class, and having only one of those eight students have any writing ability thank you cards are a challenge. However the post below reminded me that our goal is to make the donors feel like the rock stars they are to my students and I.

Our first set of thank you cards were made with Boardmaker, colored (hand over hand mostly) cut out (with switch activated scissors) and pasted onto construction paper (more hand over hand). They included glued on symbols that showed each students favorite items from the grant. I think for future cards we will bust out the glitter and really make them shine!

(In addition I think I will make a little print out that explains how my students made the cards and glue that on the back of each one.)

Post from Donor Power Blog:

40 thank-you notes = one grateful donor

A whole bunch of kids in South Carolina think I'm cool. And they don't even know I'm a glamorous B-list blogger!

These kids are impressed with me because I donated the money to buy a microphone for some music classes so they can record their singing. I did this through an organization called Donors Choose, which won a coveted Donor Power Award in March.

My gift was some weeks ago, so it wasn't much on my mind when I received a thick packet from Donors Choose: hand-drawn thank you cards from the kids. About 40 letters, most with drawings -- sweet, funny, heartfelt, real. (Logan hopes I didn't go bankrupt.)

They also pointed me to where on the web I can hear their recording of "Hot Cross Buns," made with "my" microphone. If you'd like to hear them too, click here.

In terms of emotional ROI, I'd say that gift was among the best charitable donations I've ever made.

Being Thankful for Donors Choose

Come on teachers and especially other bloggers! Get involved with Donors Choose! Take the Special Needs Stakeholders Challenge!

I just had THREE $500.00 grants funded for my classroom in the past two weeks. One of math materials including Touch Money and Edmark Time Telling. The second of physical science lab materials. The third is of sensory intergration materials. That last grant is amazing because Donors Choose offers catalogs to choose from like Abilitations which have sensory, AT and AAC items in them. I have three more grants up now. One for a DVD Camera to make portfolios, one for vocational training materials and one for writing adaptations and Handwriting without Tears.

Donors Choose is our chance to support a charity that supports us! Bloggers post the Special Needs Stakeholders Challenge Thermometer on your blog. Let's raise some dough!

Donors Choose Challenge

Calling all special education stake holders, especially other special needs and disability bloggers. I am creating a challenge.

Donors Choose is "a simple way to provide students in need with resources that our public schools often lack. At this not-for-profit web site, teachers submit project proposals for materials or experiences their students need to learn. These ideas become classroom reality when concerned individuals, whom we call Citizen Philanthropists, choose projects to fund."

Click here to participate.

A commenter (Ricky) informed me that it is not possible to donate to Donors Choose from overseas. I e-mailed Donors Choose and received the following reply:

Hi Kate –

Unfortunately, due to Patriot Act regulations – we are not technically allowed to accept donations from non-US Citizens. Kind of a pain, I know. However, if donors outside the US want to donate the can follow the following tips for registering their overseas address. Feel free to pass it along:

When registering you should include your city, province (or county) and post code in the “ADDRESS LINE 2” field and your country in the “CITY” field. Then select New York as your state. Enter 5 zeroes as your “ZIPCODE.” For example:

Name: Dr. Dietrick Donor

Address: 345 Hillside Avenue

Adress 2: Saskatoon, SK S7L 0V6

City: CANADA

State: NY

Zip: 00000

Thanks!

Zach