The school year for us started a month ago and it has been an amazing ride so far! We fully implemented flexible seating on the first week of school. We had an amazing donor who funded our DonorsChoose project in which we received wobble stools, yoga balls, pedal bikes, and wobble cushions. We went over rules for a couple of weeks and practiced what to do and what not to do.  I believe students have better behavior when they can choose where to sit.  Students who need to move will more likely pick a wobble chair or a pedal bike. Students do not need to be redirected as much when they are comfortable or can move when they need to.  Last year I noticed when I started flexible seating that the students’ academic scores improved as well. I am hoping for similar results this school year. 

I have many scholarly researched articles that I have attained while working on my Doctorate classes. I have an enormous binder full of the articles to utilize for my concept paper and dissertation. If you need a few sent to your e-mail, just e-mail me. I am going to try and prove that flexible seating improves students’ math academic achievement scores. The dissertation will be a very long process, but I am hoping to be done within a year from now. Many hours on the weekend are devoted to researching and writing papers.  Therefore, I do not have much time to work on Teachers Pay Teachers products.  I will try to create more products once the program is completed.

Do you like flexible seating? How is it going in your classroom? 

Grant Writing

Do you want to know how our classroom received over $25,000 of resources in TWO SCHOOL YEARS?

Are you scared to write grants for your school or your classroom? Do you think it will take too much time?  I am here to send you a little motivation and strength! Grant writing does not need to be time-consuming.  My husband loves to watch sports, and I may sit near him while he watches sports in the living room, but I may also have my computer out as well.  I will sometimes write grants as we are watching television.  Once you start writing grants, you can save the drafts and only have to change some of the wording to fit who you are writing to or for the supplies you need. (This is especially true for DonorsChoose and local grants where you can reapply) When you start seeing the amount of items you can attain for your classroom, you will be very motivated to keep the momentum going.

A few suggestions are as follows:

·         First, find local grants to apply for.

·         Once you are successful with local grants, then branch out to national grants.

·         State why you need the funding or supplies for your classroom. (Why should someone donate to you over another teacher?)

·         Make sure to be very specific about what you will do with the supplies or funds. 

·         E-mail local business to see if they can donate supplies to your classroom or donate towards your DonorsChoose project. 

If you would like more tips and resources to check out, please click on this link!

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Grant-Writing-Tips-and-Resources-2277440

Do you want DonorsChoose tips? Are you frustrated that your DonorsChoose project does not always get funded? Why do some teachers’ projects fund and others do not?

 

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/DonorsChoose-Help-2004051

Here are two DonorsChoose Projects we have out right now. The projects expire three weeks from now. 

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/an-ipad-is-the-perfect-learning-companio/1913196/?rf=link-siteshare-2016-06-teacher-teacher_2018066&challengeid=319368

https://www.donorschoose.org/project/i-dream-of-a-classroom-where-everyone-ca/1909093/?rf=link-siteshare-2016-06-teacher-teacher_2018066&challengeid=319368  

^^ Dream project! We want to become a 1:1 classroom with iPads by the fall! =)

Please post your projects in the comments below! A.so, what other questions do you have? 

Thank you,

Heather 

Hello everyone! This is my first blog post! My goal is to write a blog post monthly, but maybe a little more in the summer months. My name is Heather Schrage, and I teach second grade in a small town in west-central, Illinois.  I have been teaching at the same school for the past five years.  Additionally, I have taught sixth and first grade at different schools.  I would have to say that second grade is by far my favorite grade to teach because the students LOVE school but are still independent enough to accomplish many tasks on their own.   I am working toward my doctorate in Special Education.  I am hoping to be done in two years.  Finally, I have my own teacherspayteachers.com store @ https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/2nd-Grade-Skittles?aref=l86l3d2w. 

I am on my way to Chicago right now on the Amtrak. I am visiting a friend who lives near downtown, and I am so excited that is summer, and I can stay with her longer than usual! Her name is Ali, and I have known her since third grade. My next post will be on grant writing and how you can attain the resources you need to build your dream classroom! Look for the post on Sunday night!

Thank you!

Find me on Twitter @2ndGradeSkittle

Find me on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/2ndgradeskittles/