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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Vanderland from Richmond VA is requesting reading nooks, desks & storage through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Vanderland is requesting

STEAM Lights the Way for Preschoolers

Help me give my students a mirror, Magna-tiles manipulatives, Magna-tile car manipulatives, and the math activity set for their light table center.

  • $289 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

My Students

Teaching at my school for the past eight years has been the most rewarding experience of my life. Our students come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, with over 40 different countries represented in our school.

My classroom serves nine students, ages 2-5, who receive special education services for autism and related disabilities.

These early childhood years are critical for building foundational skills to help them solve real life problems. We learn about spatial awareness, which lets us manage our personal belongings, navigate our classroom, and have positive social relationships. We learn about counting, which is critical for figuring out "how many" we need -- whether it's number of snacks or money to buy groceries. Everything we do is rooted in play, but does the critical work of preparing them for the real world.

My Project

Our light table center has easily become the most popular point in our classroom. Students are regularly drawn to the colorful equipment, the blinking lights, and the sensory exploration. They play eagerly side-by-side, which carries over into increased social engagement throughout the day.

We want to level up our light table to include more of the important early foundation math, science, and life skills that each of our preschoolers will need to be successful.

We are asking for colorful blocks, mirrors, and other items that will increase their understanding of numbers, spatial concepts, measurement, and more. They will build, problem solve, and create together in ways that are fun -- thus setting the foundation for a life-long love for learning.

It may be hard to picture how colorful blocks connect to real world problems, but the connections are numerous. We can build cars, houses, and other things that we need for our early pretend play. We can practice counting with engaging materials, which then transfers to counting how many spoons we need at lunch or how many people are playing a game outside. We learn about spatial awareness, which then helps us solve the problem of how to fit all of our personal belongings into our cubbies. And the bigger, more complicated problems we all face as we age? We do that with the skills that we started developing in preschool.

Ms. Vanderland
Grades PreK-2

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Expand the "Where your donation goes" section below to see exactly what Ms. Vanderland is requesting.

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TEACHERS, FEELING INSPIRED?

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
LL677 - Light Table Mirror Center • Lakeshore Learning Materials $99.50 1 $99.50
DG546 - Magna-Tiles® - Starter Set • Lakeshore Learning Materials $52.99 1 $52.99
LC695X - Light Table Math Trays - Complete Set • Lakeshore Learning Materials $29.99 1 $29.99
LK467 - Crystal Climbers • Lakeshore Learning Materials $14.99 1 $14.99
SVT6022 - Magna-Tiles® Cars Expansion Set • Lakeshore Learning Materials $14.99 1 $14.99

Materials cost

$212.46

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$3.19

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$245.65

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$43.35

Total project goal

$289.00

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $289.00

1 Donor

-$136.00

Donations toward project cost

-$136.00

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$0.00

Matching donations from our partners

-$129.00

Match offers toward project cost

-$109.65

Match offers to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$19.35

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$24.00

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

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

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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. Vanderland and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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