Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary School in Columbia, Missouri on DonorsChoose

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Many children tore into the paper with eager anticipation, delighted to discover colorful tiles, animals, cars, dinosaurs, and people figures inside. \r\n\r\nTheir faces lit up with surprise, curiosity, and pure excitement as they immediately began imagining what they could build. For many of the children, the unwrapping moment felt magical, turning the materials into something special and inviting. This simple presentation added a layer of wonder that made the experience feel like a celebration of learning, play, and creativity.\r\n\r\nMoving forward, the MagnaTiles sets will become part of the classroom's regular toy rotation, ensuring that all students continue to benefit from the rich learning opportunities they provide. The materials will be introduced during small-group play, the block area, and STEM exploration centers, where children can experiment with building, storytelling, and collaborative design. \r\n\r\nBy rotating the pet, dinosaur, car, and people sets throughout the year, teachers can keep play experiences fresh and engaging while supporting ongoing development in spatial reasoning, problem-solving, fine motor skills, and social interaction. This intentional rotation ensures the materials remain exciting, well-maintained, and accessible to every child, strengthening both independent play and cooperative learning.","fullyFundedDate":1760879926647,"projectUrl":"project/magnetic-mayhem-supporting-spatial-lear/9661339/","projectTitle":"Magnetic Mayhem: Supporting Spatial Learning and Creativity with Magna-Tiles","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. T.","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6368677_orig.jpg?crop=1601,1601,x5,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1705412941534","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6368677"},{"teacherId":6368677,"projectId":8932745,"letterContent":"Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall...We'll Play Through It All continues to allow for excitement as we add the requested materials with each new season! As the seasons change from Winter to Spring we look forward to provide the bug catching materials as a daily choice on the playground. We hope to add a sand box to our outdoor play space for the children to choose during Outside Time in the late Spring that will include the sand and water toys. Of course, the rakes will have to wait until fall! \r\n\r\nUnfortunately, the snow shovels we requested were unavailable during our ordering period and we had to select alternate materials (for which we are very grateful). The Rainbow Wooden Doll Pegs with Emotions have been a tremendous hit in our Doll House and encourage extended dramatic play as the children act out various scenarios and their emotions. As for the Magnetic Blocks, the children have spied them in our storage space and are eager to use them when we rotate toys in our Small Toy Area.\r\n\r\nThese materials have allowed/will allow us to play outdoors in a variety of weather. We are able to practice new and familiar skills and engage with each other in new and unexpected ways. We will continue to offer these materials to our students each day in both structured and unstructured ways that will teach them how to navigate all weather conditions. We appreciate all that you have done to make our outdoor time more purposeful and engaging.","fullyFundedDate":1736478348370,"projectUrl":"project/winter-spring-summer-or-fallwell/8932745/","projectTitle":"Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall...We'll Play Through It All","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. T.","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp6368677_orig.jpg?crop=1601,1601,x5,y0&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1705412941534","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/6368677"},{"teacherId":6368677,"projectId":8894109,"letterContent":"Hip Hip Hooray for Outdoor Play has certainly spiced up our daily outside times and indoor gross motor learning! The morning we opened our boxes during Greeting Time was like \"Christmas\" in November. We've used the Rainbow Tail Throw and Catch Balls DAILY, while chalk and bubbles are staple activities on the playground. The ribbon wands and rainbow streamer have made appearances during structured Stop and Go, Fast and Slow, and Open-Ended Movement learning opportunities. Hip Hip Hooray for Outdoor Play has fostered confidence, independence, and cooperation amongst our learners.\r\n\r\nMost notably, the teachers have enjoyed the collaborative learning that has occurred as a result of our new materials. Each morning several students eagerly await as their classmates arrive, then quickly run to grab a Rainbow Ball to throw with, for, or (sometimes) at a classmate. Throwing and catching are important gross motor skills that we were unable to practice regularly before receiving these items. Other students have enjoyed a slower start to outside time, using chalk or bubbles as they arrive. 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About this school

Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary School is an urban public school in Columbia, Missouri that is part of Columbia School District 93. It serves 268 students in grades Pre-K - 5 with a student/teacher ratio of 11.2:1. Its teachers have had 48 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Equity Focus School

Support towards this school will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Public School

Grades Pre-K - 5

268 Students

24 Teachers

1208 Locust St

Columbia, MO 65201 View local requests

Direct, proactive support

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Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

Kindergarten teacher at PS81 - Robert J. Christen School in Bronx, NY

Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary School Teachers on DonorsChoose

Mrs. Kelley

Mrs. T.

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Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary School Demographics

51%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

40%

of students are Black, Latino, Native American, or Asian

Schools in districts that mainly serve students of color receive substantially less state and local support than similar districts that serve primarily White students. Learn more about this gap, why it exists, and how you can help close it.

Locust Street Expressive Arts Elementary School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 26, 2025

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