Education Grant WinnerLeticia McNabb

When you’re a kid, is there anything more fun that getting to build stuff? LEGO sets, Play-Doh … Lincoln Logs! It’s all awesome. They’re great hands-on exercises—it’s a fantastic activity to bridge into the classroom, too. Having students immersed into projects where they get to collaborate, problem-solve, and utilize their creativity is a great way to build critical thinking!

Leticia McNabb, educator at Villarreal Elementary, wanted to channel our local DoSeum Children’s Museum by bringing life-sized learning to her classroom, and saw an opportunity for her students to explore concepts with curiosity. Thanks to Power of the Dollar® members, she was awarded a $1,000 grant in December 2025 for her “Life-Sized Learning: Where Ideas Go LARGE” project idea, which she then used the grant funds to purchase jumbo foam building blocks, a SuperSpace set, and other giant building pieces for kids to construct!

“I was inspired by the DoSeum and also Mrs. Bacon of the Firstmark Foundation,” said McNabb. “I didn’t want to just add more inventory; I wanted it to be purposeful—something different. I was at the DoSeum for the Museo Institute working with a cohort of educators and we had some time to explore the DoSeum. They had the giant LEGOs, and I was like, ‘Those are so cool!’ I thought about how great it would be to have life-sized materials for the kids to apply the STEM principles that go with the curriculum. So, Mrs. Bacon, Firstmark, and the DoSeum inspired me to bring life-sized learning to my classroom.”

She’s not kidding, either. The items she’s purchased have been a hot commodity in her classroom. With kids collaborating feverishly, you can see how much of an impact it has had thus far. Developing essential communication and teamwork skills at an early age are not only beneficial in Ms. McNabb’s classroom but also outside the school walls. How well they converse with their peers, family, community … these types of character-building qualities are long-lasting for students’ growth as they make their way through grad school.

“The impact has been tremendous,” she said. “Thank y’all so much for investing in our classroom. I could not have gotten these materials without the grant. The biggest impact here is I’ve seen a lot of great improvement in their negotiations skills and strategic thinking. I want them to remember that just because your idea isn’t being used, they have to learn it’s not always going to be what they want it to be. Strategic thinking and negotiating, those are lifelong skills, so it’s going to impact our students for years to come!”