My students and I were so lucky to receive funding for a new hardwood block set from amazing donors who connected on this site. Now we need a place to put them! I want to teach my students to respect materials and space, so we need a way to organize and protect our new hands-on learning materials.
I have not met my students yet.
For more than 80% of them, I will be their very first teacher. My classroom will be the first they ever know. It is in this space that more than 90% of them will learn to speak English for the first time, where they will make their first great friends, and learn how to read their first book. Four other groups of kindergarteners have passed through a similar classroom with me to emerge with, what I hope will be, an enduring love of learning. The students that I've already had the pleasure to know in this community are truly amazing. Though their lives may be hard, our school becomes a place where their families can come together to eat, learn, and hope. Their parents see a different future for their children than they had themselves and they believe, like I do, in their boundless potential. Our school is new to the community, but it has already made a substantial impact. I am excited to be part of its future as the teacher of 32 new kindergarteners.
My Project
I asked for a new block set for my students so that I could provide play-based learning experiences to balance our academically rigorous curriculum. I am thrilled to have these new learning tools, but with 32 students, I need to keep these tools organized and contained in a corner of our classroom. The storage unit is perfectly matched to the set I ordered, and it will become an important part of the block experience. When students clean up after exercising their creative muscles, they will have to sort and match the various shapes in order to put them all back correctly, and this activity correlates with some important kindergarten standards.
While the storage unit provides a place for the blocks to stay, the carpet will provide a place for students to play when they visit the block corner. I hope it will bring some cohesion to the space and make it seem cozier.
With these two materials, students will be able to access our amazing new blocks easily and comfortably.
They will help contain the exciting block play to the corner so that other learning activities can go on simultaneously. I work very hard to provide differentiated instruction for my students, and I want all 32 to be engaged at all times so that I can provide the individualized attention my students require.
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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. Otte and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.