My students need more hands-on STEM materials to explore and work with each day. Students will enjoy creating and building with magnetic building tiles, interlocking disc blocks, connecting straw sets, and construction building blocks.
Our classroom is made up of many generations of families that have attended our small, rural k-8 school. We are located about 20 miles East of the Oregon state capital and are made up of many nationalities and socio economic backgrounds. We also have many migrant families that work in the farming fields surrounding our school and provide much of our local produce.
Our school is a Title I fully funded school that has more than 50% of our student body receiving free and reduced lunches.
Our school and staff families are a huge part of what makes our school successful. We have many parent volunteers that work both in the classroom and alongside our schools Parent Teacher Team to make the best decisions for our school. We have a very diverse Spanish speaking population as well as an almost 30% Russian student population. We as a staff really strive to meet all the diverse needs of our students and work to support students in every possible way we can.
My Project
STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and math) activities and lessons are becoming increasingly more essential to students learning in the classroom. Giving students time to create, collaborate in teams, and problem solve stretches students thinking and abilities and fosters a love of learning. Students need real world experiences and challenges to help them stretch and grow. STEM activities give students a chance to be creative all while exploring and learning. Kids are naturally inquisitive and curious and STEM activities lend themselves to kids own interests.
One of the things I love about STEM activities is the lessons in resiliency and perseverance it teaches my students.
Students need to understand that its ok to fail the first, second, and even third time. STEM lessons focus on resiliency and the need to keep trying no matter what. This is a hard lesson for first graders to understand but an essential one for growth. STEM lessons also are commonly done in groups or with a partner. This too challenges my students to compromise, collaborate, and cooperate to solve problems. Working together with others in first grade can be highly challenging for many of my students but a very important skill to being a successful adult.
My students look forward to our STEM time each day and I am always amazed at their growth each year in working with their peers. This is their favorite time of the day and they look forward to it. My students desperately need more materials to build and explore with. My hope is to be able to use these building materials including plastic disc and straw construction sets, and magnetic building tiles to include in my STEM bins that students can choose from to build with each day during our science block. Please help us expand our STEM lessons!
Star Flex Creative Connecting Construction Kit for Kids by Skoolzy - STEM Manipluative Brain Building Toy Montessori Games Preschool Kindergarten
• Amazon Business
$22.41
2
$44.82
LARGE 800 Piece Straws Builders Construction Building Toy - Giant Pack with Special Connectors by Playlearn
• Amazon Business
$34.99
1
$34.99
Discovery Kids 51 Piece Magnetic Building Tiles Set, Magnet Blocks 51pcs Construction Kit in 6 Colors, Creativity STEM Toy for Preschool Toddlers, Kids, Girls, Boys w/ Storage Bag {Upgraded Version}
• Amazon Business
$29.99
1
$29.99
EMIDO Building Blocks Kids Educational Toys STEM Toys Building Discs Sets Interlocking Solid Plastic for Preschool Kids Boys and Girls, Safe Material for Kids - 120 pieces with Storage Bag
• Amazon Business
$13.55
2
$27.10
Creative Kids Flakes – 1400 Piece Interlocking Plastic Disc Set for Safe, Fun, Creative Building – Educational STEM Construction Toy for Boys & Girls - Non Toxic – Ages 3 and Up
• Amazon Business
$23.98
1
$23.98
Carson Dellosa STEM Challenges Learning Cards (140350)
• Amazon Business
$17.99
1
$17.99
Materials cost
$178.87
Vendor shipping charges
FREE
Sales tax
$0.00
3rd party payment processing fee
$2.68
Fulfillment labor & materials
$30.00
Total project cost
$211.55
Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
$37.33
Total project goal
$248.88
How we calculate what's needed
Total project goal
$248.88
3 Donors
-$200.00
Donations toward project cost
-$170.00
Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
-$30.00
match offer
-$48.88
Match offer toward project cost
-$41.55
Match offer to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms
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 Mrs. Thompson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
