A friend of mine that works for Teach for America in the Los Angeles area told me about a useful resource for teachers. DonorsChoose.org is a nonprofit that helps teachers get the educational tools that they need to enhance the educational experience for their students. Teachers create an account and post projects with supply requests. Donors choose a project that inspires them. When the goal amount is attained the supplies are sent to the school.
"You can save time if someone tells you to put blue and yellow together to make green, but the essence of painting is a self-disciplined activity that you have to learn by yourself," artist, Romare Bearden said. I want my students to not only learn about art but to experience it. My purpose as a teacher is to provide my students with the best possible education for them to be successful in the years to come. In doing so it is necessary to expose my students to a variety of art media. Art materials can be expensive. In order to give my students a quality art education I hope to provide for them supplies that they can explore with.
http://www.donorschoose.org/schadwick
My request for new art supplies:
The resources that I am requesting are new paint brushes because our old ones are in poor condition. We use water color paints so much that we are running very low on them. I am also requesting tempera cakes which will be used for teaching color theories. The students will be able to mix the primary colors together to make the secondary colors. They will also be able to create tints and shades using the cakes. This allows them to experiment with making their own colors. Painting is an important part of any school curriculum. It aids in developing many necessary skills that are the foundation to early education. Painting helps to develop fine and gross motor skills, hand eye coordination, and spatial awareness.
Donations towards my request will make a large impact on the lives of my students. Painting benefits their developmental needs. My students will also be able to experience and experiment with a versatile art medium. They love painting and it makes me so happy to be able to provide them with an opportunity to learn and enjoy themselves at the same time!
After I posted my request I sent out emails to friends and family explaining what I was doing. Within twenty days my goal of $542 was fulfilled by nine donors. The next step was to have my students write letters thanking the donors. I explained to the children that we would be getting new art supplies and about how the money was donated from various people. As a teacher it is my responsibility to enrich the students’ educational experience. Their reactions of gratitude and appreciation validated the reason why it is important to take time to give back to my students. The students created thank you cards for the donors connecting art with language arts and gave them a chance to express their gratitude towards the donors.
The school provides art supplies but I figured I would take advantage of donorschoose.org. Using the website enabled me to teach the students about giving and donating. It places value on the materials that they are using. They become aware of the importance of their education and learn that the community values their education by providing them with new materials for them to enjoy and explore. As an educator I can tell my students that their education is important. Showing them that their education is important helps them to understand better.
*** I would like to thank all of you that donated towards my project!!! The kids are so excited to get their new supplies. ***
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