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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Nestler from Chicago, IL is requesting other through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Nestler is requesting
Fully Funded

Ms. Nestler's classroom raised $503

Light Boxes for Super Kindergarten Writers!

My students need personal light boxes so they can have a fun and engaging way to practice writing and develop their fine motor skills throughout the school year.

Classroom photo
Ms. Nestler University of Chicago Charter School - Donoghue
Chicago, IL Grades PreK-2

My Students

Learning how to write is a complex cognitive and physical process. For kindergartners, just trying to hold a pencil can be a frustrating experience. Help motivate my young writers by providing them with a unique and enjoyable way to practice their emerging writing skills.

My students are an enthusiastic and curious group of kindergartners who attend a successful charter school located in a low income, inner-city community.

Despite the challenges of growing up in a high-needs urban area, my students come to school each day ready to learn and explore. Many of my students are not provided with quality early literacy experiences before they start school. They often do not have paper, crayons and other writing materials available at home nor are they exposed to much written language in their daily lives. Despite their beginning Kindergarten well behind their suburban peers, my goal is for each child to leave my class reading and writing on grade level. Last year, my kids met this challenge with gusto - 100% of my class met grade-level expectations in literacy at the end of the year. This year, I hope to create an even more exciting and stimulating classroom environment in which my students can develop and succeed.

My Project

A light box is a back-lit frame with a clear plastic face. Light boxes are most commonly used by artists and designers to trace and transfer images. In the classroom, light boxes are an invaluable resource for helping kids master early writing skills. My students already enjoy writing but learning to form letters correctly is a difficult task that takes a lot of practice. The light boxes will provide a portable, personal workspace on which students can trace and write letters, words and pictures. Students can also use light boxes to transfer art work, create geometric designs and explore the concepts of symmetry and rotation. In addition, the light boxes will make simple writing tasks infinitely more exciting. Since writing on a light box is such a "cool" experience for a 5-year-old, I foresee it being much easier to motivate my struggling writers if I have these boxes in my classroom.

Donating to this project will help open up the world of written language to a population of kids who enter school starved for rich, stimulating literacy experiences.

These light boxes will be an integral part of our daily work and I am confident that using these light boxes will be an unforgettable experience for my kids. By making this project possible, you will help nurture an early love for writing that will launch my kids onto a path of long-term success in literacy.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households

80 students impacted 15 donors
Ms. Nestler University of Chicago Charter School - Donoghue Grades PreK-2

Celebrate Black teachers and kids! This project supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of students are Black.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Chicago, IL View local requests

More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

80 students impacted 15donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
THIN LITE/8.25X11 MATTE BLK • Blick Art Materials $65.99 6 $395.94

Materials cost

$395.94

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$5.94

Fulfillment labor & materials

$35.00

Total project cost

$436.88

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$65.28

Total project goal

$502.16

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $502.16

10 Donors

-$163.00

Donations toward project cost

-$143.11

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$19.89

match offer

-$337.67

Match offer toward project cost

-$293.77

Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$43.90

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$1.49

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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Project Activity

Project Activity
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DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Nestler and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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