Thank you everybody for your donations and support. Now that we've gone over a month into the year, I have a better sense of some of the things I need for the room. Here is how I used the funds. My Master's in Teacher program at Marian University has also started, and I've begun to learn about ways to create a calmer, soothing classroom more optimized for students' brains developmentally. That has been my main focus in spending these funds. (I've also only done the free Amazon shipping, so I don't waste any funds on that!) 

- 4x 25 foot clear bulb string lights @ $15.95 each. (Hanging these will allow me to turn off the florescent lights but keep the room illuminated enough so that students can see well and don't feel like it's too easy to fall asleep. I had noticed hanging string lights in other veteran teachers' rooms and wanted to incorporate it into mine. I only have two string lights that run around the middle of my room over the desks at the moment, so these four will go along each wall of the room and really brighten it up.) 

- 1x essential oil diffuser @ $15.95 (This goes along with the concept of "brain breaks" I've recently been learning about at Marian. It's important to set a calm environment for kids when they come into the room, and scent is a powerful way to do that. I have some problems right now in my class with classroom management and kids being up out of their seats and high energy, so I'm working on adapting my room to be more of a calming environment that relaxes them. That's also why I pained the cabinets and painted the blue mountain mural.) 

- 1x calm body, calm mind essential oil blend, 30ml @ $14.99 (This will go with the diffuser. It seemed like the right scent for the effect I am endeavoring to create in my room!)

- 2x box of 96 Dixon wood #2 pencils @ $11.48 each. (Beyond the classroom environment items, I just need more pencils. It's amazing how quickly students go through them, even when I have them trade in a dull one for the sharp one. They manage to lose them or break them or whatnot quite quickly I've discovered! My school provides a lot of pencils, but I still need more, so this will help that a lot!) 

- 1x box of 144 arrowhead pencil eraser caps @ $4.93 (I've also discovered the students often break off the erasers from their pencils. These eraser caps will allow me to continue using pencils that have had their erasers pulled off!) 

- 1x copy of a paperback book titled, "For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too: Reality Pedagogy and Urban Education" @ $11.19 (I've hear repeatedly from multiple people that this is an important book to read for teachers in my situation. I'm getting lots of coaching from lots of smart people, but I figure if they are all telling me to read this book, I had better get around to doing it.)

Again, thank you to everybody who donated funds to my classroom. It really means the world to me to have your support. This work is harder than I ever imagined it would or could be, so knowing people are there supporting me along the way means a lot to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. My kids will definitely benefit from your generosity.