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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Ellis from Madison, WI is requesting supplies through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Ellis is requesting

Calm It Down: Emotion Management Tools for All Learners

My students need Theraputty, stress balls to squeeze, puzzle (Rubix) cubes, tangled fidget toys and visual ooze tubes to help them remain calm and focused for learning.

  • $1,857 goal

This project expired on September 4, 2015.

This project expired on September 4, 2015.

My Students

"We are all learners. Together we achieve." is our school motto. We strive to ensure all learning takes place in a positive and safe environment. Our community is dedicated to engaging students in exemplary learning experiences that are rigorous, differentiated and authentic.

Students at our school are diverse and dedicated learners.

Our mascot is Topper the Tiger, who helps to teach the students to Be Respectful, Be Responsible, Be Safe, and Be Kind. The students work very hard to meet these expectations. However, many of them have witnessed violence or experienced other forms of trauma in their lives, making it difficult for them to regulate their emotions and stay calm and focused in the classroom. When you enter our school you will notice our €œCore Values€: Collaboration: A collective investment of resources and expertise to achieve a common goal. Engagement: Active participation in a variety of learning experiences. Shared Responsibility: Every adult advocating for every kid, everyday, whatever it takes. Our school'€™s staff and parents feel strongly that these core values will lead the work we all must do to empower our students, provide opportunities for our students to feel and know what success is.

My Project

I am requesting calming tools much as squeezable stress balls, colored puzzle cubes, ooze tubes, and Theraputty. These items will be used in the classroom's Take A Break box, which students can access to regulate and refocus themselves before their feelings become "too big". This strategy is also called a "positive time out", as it is intended to be used proactively to build student awareness of their own emotional needs. Being able to figure out what our bodies need to feel "just right" in order to complete our daily routines is something that comes naturally to many people, and everyone varies in what they prefer to do to feel more calm or alert. Some people, especially children, whose neurological systems are still maturing, may struggle to get their bodies to maintain this "just right" state. These calming tools will help students find and maintain a state of mind for learning.

My goal in providing sensory materials is to help students learn how to independently regulate their emotions, remain calm in the classroom, and ready for learning.

Many of my students have experienced trauma and struggle with those three skills. Like the many ways students learn academic content, students also need different ways to regulate their emotions. By teaching students to use these tools, I hope they will become socially, emotionally, and academically stronger.

Ms. Ellis Whitehorse Middle School Grades 3-5

Equity Focus

This project directly supports students at a historically underfunded school. Learn more about our Equity Focus.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

Madison, WI View local requests

More than half of students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

467 students impacted

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Cyclone Boys Xuanfeng Speed Cube 3x3x3 Stickerless Smooth Magic Cube Puzzles (57mm) • Amazon $8.99 40 $359.60
Small Ooze Tube - Assorted Colors • Amazon $6.99 40 $279.60
Set of 3! Tangle Jr. Original Fidget Toy • Amazon $13.12 13 $170.56
My First Mandalas Coloring Book (Dover Coloring Books) • Amazon $3.99 40 $159.60
3 x 3 Stickerless 6-Color Puzzle Cube Engineered for Speed Solving by Brybelly • Amazon $6.99 20 $139.80
CanDo Theraputty Exercise Material - 2 Ounce - 6-Piece Set (Tan, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue, Black) • Amazon $16.00 7 $112.00
Rhode Island Novelty Assorted Squeeze Ball, 25-Piece • Amazon $14.16 2 $28.32

Materials cost

$1,249.48

Vendor shipping charges

 $279.40

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$18.74

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$1,577.62

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$278.40

Total project goal

$1,856.02

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Ellis and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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