To me grant writing seems very intimidating and I did not realize until this week how easy it can actually be. There are so many helpful websites with a myriad of resources to choose from. One that interested me was the Lowe's Toolbox for Education grants and I thought it might be fun to write a grant to have a fun reading area built in all the kindergarten classrooms. This could possibly be a loft with space underneath. I also thought it would be great to build a garden that all classes in the school could utilize and we could coordinate with the cafeteria on cooking some of the vegetables we have grown. A lofty thought but not impossible.
Edutopia had many grant writing opportunities and I would love to write a grant for a science curriculum from Aims at www.aimsedu.org. Our current science curriculum is not very hands or inquiry based and Aims and would benefit all our students. We could purchase 2 kits per grade level at a cost of about $12,600.00. There are many science orientated grants to choose from.
Our district does have its own Educational Foundation and an individual teacher can write a grant for up to $500.00. If two or more teacher write the grant they can receive up to $1000.00. I have written a grant that I hope gets approved for 2 iPad2s. I wrote it with the gifted facilitator and we should find out in September if the grant was approved. Last year I wrote a grant for the Daily 5 literacy program with a fellow 1st grade teacher and we were able to purchase the books and all the videos which have been very useful and gave us the tools we needed to present at an inservice. We also wrote a separate grant requesting funds for iTunes gift cards for the iPads already in our building and it was approved. We received $1000.00 to buy gift cards and they were distributed equally among the classrooms with iPads.
Although it is wonderful to have an education foundation it was extremely eyeopening this week to learn about all the other possibilities to get money. I did sign up for adopt a classroom which I learned about this week to hopefully get more books for my library since I am switching to kindergarten. I also am considering a few projects to post on donors choose which seems like a great place to get some extra items for a classroom. I am thinking about asking for an iTouch to use as part of listening to reading and also to record our reading. Just so much information and never enough time to do it all!
I love your ideas for a reading area in the kindergarten classrooms! The Lowe's Toolbox for Education Grant sounds like a good fit for it and the garden. When I taught in the elementary school I saw many classrooms with reading tubs, special chairs, and extra shelving under the whiteboard trays made out of rain gutters. The kids loved reading in those areas which made them want to read more. If you can find the money AIMS kits are great ways to get students actively engaged in science concepts at a young age. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteJane,
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have ventured into the world of grant writing already and would have a lot to teach me! Your success gives me confidence to start dabbling! I was thinking I would try to get an iPad2 through a grant, but I love you idea of including gift cards for iTunes with it! I also love how your ideas for grant writing include more than just your classroom. They show your passion for your school and your kids. Thanks for sharing your success!
Jane,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading about the different ideas you have for how grant money could be used within your classroom. Being an elementary teacher myself, I love the idea of having a special area where students can read. When I was in elementary school, there was a special room in the school that had bean bags and other comfortable chairs where we could go and read. I sometimes think that just providing an enjoyable environment could provide motivation for students to want to read.
I think you are very fortunate to have an educational foundation which is a part of your district. I bet you will be able to use your experience of writing grants for this foundation to write grants which are provided through other organizations. I agree with you that sometimes the grant writing process seems intimidating and time-consuming, but when I see all of the various ways that educators can get money for ideas they may have, it doesn't seem like it is even necessary to get into formal grant-writing in order to obtain money for educational ideas.
I know you were talking about getting science curriculum from Aims, and it reminded me of a grant program which I was looking at provided through Toshiba. This might be something which you would be interested in looking into as the grant focuses on innovative ways to teach math and science.
Thanks for your ideas and sharing the resources you found!
Jane,
ReplyDeleteWhat great resources. I use donosrchoice.org and haven't got anything yet but a teacher in third grade did. So I guess it is all about luck! Good luck with your grant for iPad2s!! I'm really excited for you!
Jane,
ReplyDeleteI too thought before grant seemed intimidating and this week has given me a much better idea of what it entails. I thought the Lowe’s Toolbox for Education grant also seemed like a possibility for my school. Your idea of creating a reading area into the kindergarten classrooms is way cool! I need to check to see if my district has a similar Education Foundation. Great post!