My New Class and Donors Choose

Hi all,
Wow!  We are on week 4 in school.  It is sooo hard to believe that these little ones have been with me this long.  The crying is less...and everyone is starting to understand and follow classroom procedures.  You might be asking right now why it takes this class four weeks to "get with the Kindergarten program?" 
Well, I have 20 little ones and over 1/2 of them speak a different language at home.  Represented in our class is Spanish, Japanese, Twi, Igbo, French, Danish, and Gujarati.  Some of these little ones speak fluent English, but most do not.  Visual cues and modeling....oh my. 
Although our school is considered Moderate Poverty, my class tips the balance toward High Poverty. 
Most of my parents are awesome and want to help their kiddos.  It is hard for them to help with letter sounds and word families, since they don't speak fluent English themselves. 
I created a Donors Choose project to help both my parents and my students.  Now, I need some advice.  How do you get your project funded?  I'm not having much luck and I don't have any experience with Donors Choose. 
Any advice? 
http://www.donorschoose.org/project/can-you-hear-me-can-you-hear-me-now/817548/

The Happiest 5K on the Planet

I haven't posted in a while...the start of school and all that comes with it drained all my energy and motivation.  This weekend I got re-charged.  I ran in The Color Run in Richmond with a team of 20 teachers, friends and family.  It was awesome.  If you have a chance to participate in this event...go for it. 
You begin with a white outfit...
At ever K, you get a mixture of cornstarch and food coloring thrown, squirted and blown at you.  By the end of the "race" you are a colorful rainbow.  Most of the color blows or falls off, but some stays around in the most interesting places. I still have a faint glow of green and orange in my hair.  I think it will come out with the next shampoo.  
I am planning on dipping my shirt in vinegar to save the color. 
Babies, children, teens, men and women.  Some old, some young.  Men in tutus, girls in fairy wings, kids in capes.  I saw it all and everyone was happy and colorific. 
I can't wait to participate next year.  It was the happiest race on the planet. 

Me after the Colorific Fun. 
 

Before the race...



The Color Festival at the Finish.