My summer internship here is expanding my imagination in areas I've never thought of before. A couple weeks ago, I learned toomanymustachejokes while working on a project for Mustaches for Kids. This week, I discovered, read, and loved many of the creative projects listed on DonorsChoose. Check out my top five favorite projects, which are awaiting funding in the Atlantic Region…“Dem Bones Dem Bones” (Washington, DC)Ms. L states that “At the beginning of the year, this is what most of my fourth graders believe: two long leg bones, two long arm bones, one long back/neck bone, and a skull.” To help the kids understand their bodies better, it would understandably help them if they could see and physically feel the different bones and joints. To accomplish that, Ms. L requests miniature models to enhance their learning in an interesting and intuitive fashion.“Thomas Jefferson’s Think Tank” (Falls Church, VA)Across the country, there are stories of the nation’s gifted children not receiving the education they deserve as they’re passed over for funding. This fun project would help right this imbalance by providing strategy games that test, teach and involve these kids. Just because they’re intelligent does not mean they are any less needful of an appropriate education.“Library Transformation” (Coraopolis, PA)Often, in this Pennsylvanian school library, students want to sit quietly and lose themselves in a book, but have no place to sit and read. This Pennsylvanian librarian, Ms. K, bemoans the students not having “a place to sit and read comfortably.” With beanbag chairs, dozens of kids will be able to enjoy their books in a cozy chair.“Exposure to Differences for Preschoolers” (Burgaw, NC)It’s unfortunate, but true that some of our earliest memories are of getting bullied. The special needs students in this preschool sadly face animosity from their classmates just because they’re different. Equally as harmful are the bullying tendencies that are reinforced because of their ignorance about what is right. Aware of this, Ms. R would like a few dolls with handicap equipment to help promote and show the correct and caring way to accept those different from us, a lesson we all probably could be reminded of more often.“Panther Pocket Books” (Greenville, SC)This project is not just for the kids (though they’re a major part) or just for the teacher (though she would love it), it’s also for the hard working parents who do not always have the right activity to spend time on with their children. With this project, every night, the parents would be able to read a new book to their kindergartener, which is a great way to keep parents involved in classroom learning.If you help fund any of these, I’ll be, as one memorable 4th grader put it, “internally grateful!”Adam AronowWashington DC Intern
