My wonderful kindergartners are between the ages of 5 and 7. For many of them, this is the first time they have entered a classroom, picked up a book, or explored music, art, and the sciences. They come to school with smiles on their faces and an eagerness to learn, but they also come from very different backgrounds.
Many of my students live in poverty, many are learning English as a second language, and many are immigrants and refugees from other countries.
Even so, my students come to school willing to take chances and grow while teaching their teacher a thing or two about how to better meet the needs of her students. They also show her how to view each day with open eyes and an open mind.
My Project
Kindergarten is a place for young children to find their confidence in academics as well as to find their young and imaginative voices. Our goal is to build self confidence in each student in all areas including social emotional, academic, and peer friendships. For many students, they love to have their voices heard and will talk for hours if someone will listen. For others, it can be downright frightening to have others hear their ideas. They want to share their ideas but the are easily frightened and their voices shrivel. It is these children that I am trying to build confidence levels in. Often it is a challenge to hear what these shy and timid children are staying and I often request them to repeat what they say. This is where the Qball comes in handy!
The Qball will allow all students to be heard and encourage students to become better listeners.
When a student cannot be heard during an activity, the activity falls apart. The students can't hear their peers and the student who is trying to speak becomes embarrassed. The Qball will allow for the speaker to always be heard and for the students to always be able to listen. More questions can be asked and more students will want to participate as they will get to hold the cool microphone and hear their voice project throughout the room. It also lends itself to adding more physical movement to activities as the microphone ball can be passed from student to student through a quick toss. My hope is that the Qball will aid my students in becoming confident in public speaking and better listeners.
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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 Mrs. Montecalvo and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
