{"monthlySchoolDonationEnabled":true,"callToActionDisplayName":"McIlvaine Early Childhood Center","outOfStateSupporters":30.8,"allowSchoolLevelGiving":true,"hasFundedProjects":true,"projectGratitudeData":[{"teacherId":10315340,"projectId":9836459,"letterContent":"It's beyond our words to say how helpful your donations contributed to our classroom! We've been enjoying playing with the math games, enjoying writing on the pages printed with the printer, and using the calm down tools with their emotions. Your incredible support has transformed our daily routine, bringing a renewed sense of joy, focus, and creativity to our learning environment.\r\n\r\nIn the world of early childhood education, having immediate access to reliable printing is a true game-changer. Many of our donors use technology like printers at home for standard tasks, but you might not realize how a dedicated classroom printer functions as a critical, dynamic teaching tool. It allows me to bridge the gap between digital lesson design and the tactile learning my kindergarteners desperately need. I can now print customized visual aids, highly specific writing practice sheets for our character-writing lessons, and differentiated activities tailored to individual student needs on the fly. When a child struggles with a specific concept, I can immediately print a targeted resource to help them practice. The freshly printed, crisp pages make their daily writing exercises feel important and engaging, fundamentally shifting how they approach their independent work. It turns a standard lesson into a personalized learning experience.\r\n\r\nThe new math toys have been a massive hit and are undoubtedly the most exciting new addition for the children. During our classroom center rotations—where students split into our \"Tiger\" and \"Elephant\" groups to explore different subjects—the math center has quickly become the absolute favorite destination. The students are incredibly excited by the colorful, hands-on nature of these products. Instead of just looking at numbers on a board, they are physically holding, sorting, and connecting their math lessons. They are building complex patterns, visualizing addition and subtraction, and developing critical spatial awareness, all while thinking they are simply playing games with their friends. Collaboration has improved immensely as they share pieces, take turns, and excitedly explain their mathematical thinking to one another. Hearing their gasps of realization and triumphant cheers when they solve a puzzle together is truly music to a teacher's ears.\r\n\r\nPerhaps the most profound impact, however, has come from the calm down corner supplies. Kindergarten is a year of massive emotional growth, and big feelings can sometimes overwhelm little bodies. The sensory items, visual emotion charts, and soothing tools you provided have given my students a tangible way to navigate their complex feelings. One student, in particular, has remarkably warmed to this new space. Earlier in the year, this child would experience intense frustration during classroom transitions and would often shut down, unable to communicate what was wrong. Now, when they feel that frustration building, they independently walk over to the calm down corner. They use the tactile sensory tools to physically ground themselves and the visual aids to point out exactly how they are feeling. Within minutes, they are able to self-regulate, take a few deep breaths, and rejoin the lesson with a smile. It is an incredible psychological tool that has given this child their voice and confidence back.\r\n\r\nNone of these beautiful moments—the breakthrough in writing, the joy of a solved math puzzle, or the peace of a regulated emotion—would be possible without your kindness. You have provided us with more than just supplies; you have given us the gift of a richer, more supportive, and highly effective classroom. Your generosity reminds us that we have a wonderful community of supporters cheering us on. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for investing in our students' futures and making such a lasting difference.","fullyFundedDate":1770940414582,"projectUrl":"project/investment-of-future/9836459/","projectTitle":"Investment of Future","teacherDisplayName":"Mr. Wang","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-1_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10315340"},{"teacherId":5454038,"projectId":9835041,"letterContent":"The items that were purchased for our classroom have been a wonderful addition to our learning! Thank you so much for donating these items to our classroom. The children were so excited to see and use each item as they came to our classroom.\r\n\r\nThe writing boards are used every day to help with writing sentences during our morning message. The children are learning how to write complete sentences including beginning the sentence with an uppercase letter, using finger spaces between words, and using appropriate ending punctuation. We also use the boards when new sight words are introduced. Learning how to segment and blend words helps them when they are reading independently. \r\n\r\nThe playdough and markers have been used during our center times. The children like to use the playdough to form letters and words they are learning and working on. These are activities they can use independently as well. The markers add a bit of fun while the children were writing secret words. They used a white crayon to write their words and then colored over the words with the markers to reveal the word. The whisper phones are used to help the children focus on reading quietly so they are hearing themselves and not being distracted by others. This provides a fun way for them to have some quiet time.\r\n\r\nOur binders are an important part of our communication with families. They are filled with notes and message from the teacher. There is room for families and teachers to write messages back and forth to keep a line of communication open daily. Monthly calendars, helpful tips, and folders are included to provide extra support for families who may need it.\r\n\r\nAgain, we are so thankful for all of the items you have provided to make our classroom a more enjoyable way to learn!","fullyFundedDate":1770062365385,"projectUrl":"project/building-strong-readers-and-writers-in-k/9835041/","projectTitle":"Building Strong Readers and Writers in Kindergarten","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Aubrey","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/5454038"},{"teacherId":10310207,"projectId":9822712,"letterContent":"It is with sincere gratitude that I tell you how much your donation has helped my kindergartners! When the packages started arriving I showed the students what your generosity bought for them. They were so excited and wanted to open everything right away! \r\nThey throughly enjoy the hands on learning activities and centers throughout the day. During our reading small group time, students enjoy learning how to decode and practice their early reading skills. I truly believe that this has helped enhance my daily instruction and keeps them engaged. \r\nTo put things into perspective, by May 1st, I now have 18/24 students that are reading at or above a 1st grade level! This is so exciting knowing how very little they entered kindergarten knowing. One student who couldn't even read back in September is now reading VC and some CVC words and popping out her sounds when writing! I am so proud of how far they have come. \r\nIt is because of generous people like you that teachers are able to enhance curriculum and provide hands on learning fun! I can proudly say you have helped my kindergartners to learn to read and are well on their way to be successful!","fullyFundedDate":1770062365243,"projectUrl":"project/help-my-kindergarteners-learn-to-read/9822712/","projectTitle":"Help My Kindergarteners Learn to Read!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Marshall","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-4_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10310207"},{"teacherId":5559560,"projectId":9849062,"letterContent":"In small groups, I teach multilingual English learners in kindergarten. I believe the most powerful tool to increase a child's vocabulary is reading children's picture books. The books introduce new vocabulary in a fun, engaging way. In addition, by talking about the story, the students increase their understanding of the English language and their comprehension skills. Choosing books that keep students' attention can be challenging, but books that feature characters who look like them or in situations they are familiar with are a great way to build their engagement. Therefore, I am very thankful for the new books this project helped me purchase.","fullyFundedDate":1770152235557,"projectUrl":"project/helping-multilingual-language-learners-l/9849062/","projectTitle":"Helping Multilingual Language Learners Love Learning","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Holcomb","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp5559560_orig.jpg?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1761074150821","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/5559560"},{"teacherId":10326988,"projectId":9852859,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for donating to my kindergarten classroom to help students become readers. The donated materials will be used in the classroom for many years, helping many future kindergarten students on their reading journey. The classroom materials used with students so far have been such a hit with the kindergartens because learning to read has been turned into a game through the learning games I have received from my DonorsChoose platform.\r\nWith the donated materials, I have created many fun learning opportunities to help my kindergarten students on their reading journey. Students have had the opportunity to play many fun games with the donated materials. Students had opportunities to play CVC word pop-it games, which made them smile ear to ear when they got to use pop-its. Students had opportunities to write their power words on fun manga doodles to practice their reading and writing skills, as well as to build sight words out of donated playdough using the laminated sheets. It made it easy to build fun reading centers and allowed them to be reused over and over again. Thank you so much for donating and helping students learn to read through fun activities.","fullyFundedDate":1770157923843,"projectUrl":"project/learning-to-read/9852859/","projectTitle":"Learning to Read","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gustafson","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-5_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10326988"},{"teacherId":10325759,"projectId":9851674,"letterContent":"I am so incredibly grateful for all of the resources I was able to receive for my students and classroom! We have been able to make learning and reading so exciting with the help of the items provided. My students have enhanced their engagement and success, and it has been amazing to witness their growth!\r\n There were several reading tools I was able to utilize during small group and independent reading. The reading pointers and whisper phones were a great addition to our ELA block. Many students used them to encourage appropriate tracking as they read, and the whisper phones allowed my student to concentrate on what words they were reading. The CVC tile word building game was really exciting for my students working on segmenting and blending to read and write words. The playdoh was a great tactile tool for my students to build words and animals with picture cards during a zoo themed learning day. I was also able to use the new word mapping paddle marker boards during small group sight word instruction. The page protectors allowed me to create words centers that I am able to share and use many times as well. Every item donated has been a huge help with allowing me to promote a love for reading and learning in a variety of ways. \r\n I appreciate everything that was donated towards my classroom for my students and for me! I really feel this has allowed me to grow as an educator by utilizing new and engaging tools within my classroom. I have seen wonderful progress and growth with my students, and I am so very thankful to all that contributed!","fullyFundedDate":1770158532237,"projectUrl":"project/a-love-for-learning-and-reading/9851674/","projectTitle":"A Love For Learning and Reading!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Stombaugh","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10325759"},{"teacherId":10325384,"projectId":9849947,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for your incredible generosity and support. Because of your kindness, our kindergarten speech therapy classroom has received new toys and materials that will make a meaningful difference in the lives of our students.\r\n\r\nFor young learners, play is how they explore the world—and for my students, it's also how they learn to communicate. The resources you helped provide will give them engaging, hands-on opportunities to build speech and language skills, grow their confidence, and connect with others in ways that are both fun and meaningful.\r\n\r\nYour donation goes far beyond supplies; it brings encouragement, inclusion, and joy into our classroom every single day. I am truly grateful for your support and belief in our students.","fullyFundedDate":1770927106154,"projectUrl":"project/speech-therapy-fun-for-caesar-rodneys-l/9849947/","projectTitle":"Speech Therapy fun for Caesar Rodney’s Littlest Riders!","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Wells","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-3_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10325384"},{"teacherId":10325756,"projectId":9850532,"letterContent":"Thank you so much for supporting our classroom through this project. Because of your generosity, my kindergarten students now have carpet circles, fidget toys, LED drawing tablets, squishy balls, and flexible seating options that are already making a positive difference in our learning environment. Your kindness and willingness to invest in young learners means more than words can express.\r\n\r\nKindergarten is a time when children are learning not only academic skills, but also how to be students. They are discovering how to focus, share space, regulate their emotions, and engage with learning in a structured environment for the very first time. The resources you helped provide support these important developmental steps and allow my students to learn in ways that work best for them.\r\n\r\nThe flexible seating and carpet circles have been incredibly beneficial for many of my students. At this age, sitting still in a traditional chair for extended periods can be challenging. Flexible seating gives students the opportunity to move slightly while still remaining engaged in their work. This helps them stay focused longer and participate more actively in lessons.\r\n\r\nFidget toys and squishy balls are also valuable tools in helping students manage their energy and emotions. Young children often need sensory outlets to stay regulated throughout the school day. \r\n\r\nThe LED drawing tablets have quickly become one of the most exciting additions to our classroom. They provide students with a fun and interactive way to practice writing power words, sentences and solving problems. Because they can easily erase and try again, students feel more confident taking risks.\r\n\r\nOn behalf of my kindergarten students thank you for helping make our classroom a place where students can grow, explore, and succeed. Your generosity is making a meaningful difference in their early learning experiences, and we are truly grateful for your support.","fullyFundedDate":1770927420506,"projectUrl":"project/super-seating/9850532/","projectTitle":"Super Seating","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Purnell","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-9_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10325756"},{"teacherId":10327367,"projectId":9853657,"letterContent":"I want express my sincere gratitude for your support and generosity in supporting the almost 500 kindergartners who attended McIlvaine Early Childhood Center.\r\n\r\nProviding basic supplies such as tissues, cereals, underwear and other clothing items really assist in helping the children be ready to start their educational journey.\r\n\r\nIt isn't always the huge donations of money that result in the positive outcomes, it is often the result of many smaller contributions that add up success.\r\n\r\nFrom the bottom of my heart I extend my deepest appreciation.","fullyFundedDate":1764005412928,"projectUrl":"project/helping-the-first-year-at-school-be-succ/9853657/","projectTitle":"Helping the First Year at School Be Successful.","teacherDisplayName":"Ms. Gina","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-4_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10327367"},{"teacherId":10313698,"projectId":9832762,"letterContent":"Thanks to your generous support, my kindergarten students and I have been able to use these new resources daily to support learning, communication, and engagement in our classroom. I teach a class of 24 kindergarten students, including 7 students with speech IEPs, and these materials have made a meaningful difference in how all students access instruction. We have been using the resources during whole-group lessons, small-group instruction, and independent practice to reinforce language development, vocabulary, and early academic skills. One especially meaningful moment was watching students who typically struggle to express themselves confidently participate and share using the materials as a support.\r\n\r\nWhen the students first saw the materials, they were incredibly excited and eager to use them. Many immediately wanted to explore, touch, and talk about the items, which led to rich conversations and increased engagement. For my students with speech and language needs, the materials provided additional visual and hands-on support that helped reduce frustration and build confidence. I saw students using more language, attempting new words, and staying engaged for longer periods of time.\r\n\r\nMoving forward, these resources will continue to support our current lessons by helping students strengthen communication, collaboration, and foundational skills. We will use them during targeted small-group instruction to support speech goals, as well as during centers to encourage peer interaction and language use. Your generosity has truly enhanced our classroom environment and created meaningful learning opportunities for my students. Thank you for giving my students the tools they need to grow, learn, and succeed.","fullyFundedDate":1760926403505,"projectUrl":"project/kindergarten-reading-magic-watch-us-lea/9832762/","projectTitle":"Kindergarten Reading Magic: Watch Us Learn and Love to Read!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Yuckel","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-10_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/10313698"},{"teacherId":7678462,"projectId":9832757,"letterContent":"We are so truly thankful for our Donors choose project for our immersion classroom. As a teacher of 50 students- it can be very expensive to provide materials for all. Students in immersion are leaving both English and Chinese. The materials donated have helped us in many ways.\r\nThe Esel board has helped our students be more interactive with our morning message and is helpful to display work we will be doing. The students loved seeing it on the day it arrived. They enjoy coming up and acting as teachers themselves! \r\nThe cubby bins have been helpful in organizing all their materials like headphones and pencil boxes. These are handy with students needing to share cubbies too. \r\nThe writing boards with lines are used during ELA for students to write along with me as I teach. This has been great to help with all student involvement and their handwriting skills.\r\nThank you again Donors Choose! You are a blessing to teachers!","fullyFundedDate":1760742045191,"projectUrl":"project/mrs-laws-immersion-class/9832757/","projectTitle":"Mrs Laws Immersion Class","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Laws","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://cdn.donorschoose.net/images/placeholder-avatars/272/teacher-placeholder-2_272.png?auto=webp","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/7678462"},{"teacherId":4790545,"projectId":9820473,"letterContent":"My kindergarten students are using the new literacy resources every day during whole-group instruction, small-group lessons, and independent literacy centers. These materials have become an essential part of our classroom routine and have helped transform how students engage with reading and language. One particularly meaningful moment occurred during a small-group phonics lesson focused on letter sounds and beginning blends. Students used the materials to identify letters, say their sounds aloud, and build simple CVC words. As they worked, students excitedly sounded out words, helped one another, and proudly shared their success. For many students, this was the first time they could independently decode a word, which was incredibly powerful to witness.\r\nThe hands-on nature of these resources allows students to physically manipulate letters, match sounds, and explore words in ways that support all learning styles. Students who previously struggled to stay engaged are now focused, motivated, and eager to participate. The materials also support differentiation, allowing me to meet students where they are and provide targeted instruction that builds confidence and independence.\r\n\r\nWhen the materials arrived, the excitement in the classroom was immediate and contagious. Students gathered around with wide eyes and big smiles, asking questions and eagerly waiting for their turn to explore. Many students exclaimed, \"This is so cool!\" and \"I want to try that!\" The joy and curiosity they showed reinforced how impactful engaging, high-quality literacy tools can be for young learners. Students handled the materials with care and enthusiasm, clearly understanding that these were special tools meant to help them learn and grow as readers.\r\nFor kindergarten students, learning should feel joyful and meaningful, and these resources instantly created that atmosphere. The excitement carried over into our lessons, with students showing increased participation, confidence, and willingness to take risks with reading and writing.\r\n\r\nThe following steps for my students involve continuing to build strong foundational literacy skills that will support their long-term success as readers and writers. Students will use these resources to strengthen letter recognition, phonemic awareness, phonics skills, and sight word knowledge through structured lessons and independent practice. As students grow more confident, they will begin blending sounds to read simple words and sentences, retell stories, and express their ideas through early writing activities.\r\nThese materials will also support collaborative learning, allowing students to work together, discuss their thinking, and learn from one another. Over time, students will take on more challenging literacy tasks, such as identifying word patterns, reading decodable texts, and applying their skills across subject areas.\r\nThanks to the generosity of our donors, my students are developing a strong love for reading in a supportive and engaging environment. These resources will continue to make a lasting impact throughout the school year by fostering confidence, curiosity, and a lifelong passion for learning. Your support has truly made a difference in our classroom, and we are incredibly grateful.","fullyFundedDate":1760330666076,"projectUrl":"project/building-strong-readers-with-science-of/9820473/","projectTitle":"Building Strong Readers with Science of Reading Tools","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Ivory","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp4790545_272x272.png?width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1536586733816","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/s-ivory"}],"pageName":"schoolpage_44468","usesDonorsChoose":true,"infoPageType":"school","demographicsInfo":{"numStudents":487,"numTeachers":34,"percentFrplEligible":29,"percentAsian":3,"percentBlack":35,"percentWhite":51,"percentIndigenous":0,"percentLatinx":6,"showFreeAndReducedPriceLunchInfo":true,"showDemographicsInfo":true,"sourceTooltipString":"the National Center for Education Statistics","percentHawaiianImputed":0,"percentMultiracialImputed":3,"gradesServed":"K - K","studentTeacherRatio":"14.3:1","demographicsDataSource":"MDR School","equityFocus":false,"titleOne":true,"metroType":"SUBURBAN","ncesMetroType":"SUBURB_MIDSIZE"},"inStateSupporters":69.2,"schoolId":44468,"financialInfo":null,"twitterShareText":"Learn more about McIlvaine Early Childhood Center on @DonorsChoose:","schoolName":"McIlvaine Early Childhood Center","canonicalPageUrl":"schools/delaware/caesar-rodney-school-district/mcilvaine-early-childhood-ctr/44468"}