Linton Springs Elementary School in Sykesville, Maryland on DonorsChoose

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I also was able to use the Uno cards in our math centers. When we were learning how to multiply by 2s, 5s, 10s, and 1s I had a center where the chosen fact was written and they had to flip over an Uno card. They had to multiply that number by the number written. They soon moved to multiplying 2 uno cards together. First, they started drawing pictures but the more they practiced the more they became more efficient and fluent with their basic facts. The tic tac toe was perfect for students with a shorter attention span with immediate gratitude and ability to play many times in a short time span. The brain flakes and magnetic tiles are used to build new designs. Students had engineering design challenges where the materials were used to solve a problem. They involved teamwork, brainstorming, planning, building and revising designs. They learned what engineers do during their projects and how much prep, thought, time, and hard work goes into the designs we use today!","fullyFundedDate":1754407687283,"projectUrl":"project/hands-on-stem-building-centers/9459390/","projectTitle":"Hands on STEM Building Centers!","teacherDisplayName":"Mrs. Heser","teacherPhotoUrl":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/orig/tp9300831_orig.png?crop=1:1,smart&width=272&height=272&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1752704415182","teacherClassroomUrl":"classroom/9300831"},{"teacherId":9300831,"projectId":9470073,"letterContent":"Thank you for donating to my Cool Down Corner supplies in my 3rd grade classroom. When my students came to our school's \"Meet the Teacher\" day they immediately noticed the beanbag corner and ran over to the cool down area. It looks so inviting and relaxing. Last year there were incidents where students were feeling overwhelmed or upset from something at home or at school and needed a safe place to calm down.\r\n The beanbag is memory foam and SO comfortable. In the past I have had one filled with tiny beads, and shortly into the year it gets a hole and is ruined. This material is amazing in comfort and in design so it should last all year and beyond! When feeling upset, it is the perfect seat to cool down and take deep breaths before returning to work. \r\n The LED lamp gives mood lighting that calms them when they enter in the morning and need a relaxing place to work. It also changes color connecting to the beat of videos or music which adds excitement to our brain breaks or math concept songs. \r\n The quiet oscillating fan was perfect for after playing outside at recess when they needed to cool off to be ready to learn. \r\n The sand timers are a visual way for students to see how long they have to take a break before getting back to work. There are different lengths of time so I can choose the most appropriate time period for how a student is feeling or what they need. It also allows students who have earned rewards for good behavior or on their behavior plan to have a set time that they can use legos or draw, etc. When the timer is up they know they have to clean up and get back to work.\r\n I put out a bin of the new noise cancelling headphones where students can access them when needed. Some students choose to use them during assessments to tune out any background sounds and focus carefully on their work. Most of the class enjoys when I play relaxing music during seatwork time, however a few students prefer silence so they choose to wear headphones during that time. During schoolwide assemblies or in the lunch room, a few of my students can get overstimulated with the noise and prefer to wear the headphones. \r\n All of these cool down corner resources are a big need for my elementary students. My students have had a significant decrease in time out of the classroom with the guidance counselor or needing a break to be ready to learn. This shows that the cool down area they are using appropriately and know it is available for when they need it. I have also seen friends go over to talk through a disagreement and then return to work shortly after. I posted posters in the corner of strategies to cool down such as deep breaths, seat push ups, and thinking of a happy memory. 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About this school

Linton Springs Elementary School is a rural public school in Sykesville, Maryland that is part of Carroll County Public School District. It serves 759 students in grades Pre-K - 5 with a student/teacher ratio of 20.0:1. Its teachers have had 2 projects funded on DonorsChoose.

Public School

Grades Pre-K - 5

759 Students

38 Teachers

375 Ronsdale Rd

Sykesville, MD 21784 View local requests

https://lse.carrollk12.org/

Evidence-based impact

Inspire teachers to stay in the classroom and boost student achievement.¹

Give to this school

Ms. Vero, a DonorsChoose teacher for 9 years.

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

Linton Springs Elementary School Teachers on DonorsChoose

Mrs. Heser

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Linton Springs Elementary School Demographics

14%

of students receive free or reduced price lunch

Source: the National Center for Education Statistics

10%

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.

Linton Springs Elementary School Support on DonorsChoose Last updated Dec 5, 2025

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