This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
Living in a society that is so quick to throw things away, I want my students to go independently think about how to reuse and recycle on their own, at school and at home, so we are going to build a daily habit of thinking "Can I recycle or reuse this?" from day 1 of kindergarten.
My school is located in inner-city Los Angeles and many of my students come from low-income families.
Many of their parents work multiple jobs to make ends meet and are not always able to provide even basic school supplies for their children. Many of the students also do not have regular access to books and literacy, or even regular homework support, and therefore rely heavily on the teachers and other school staff to support their academic needs. Despite this, however, they are an eager bunch of students who come to school ready to learn new things every day. They are inquisitive about how things work and why things happen, and even though, I don't always have the answers, they trust me to guide and teach them the best I can.
My Project
My students need storybooks about recycling, recycle bins, markers, spray paint, and poster board.
I am really excited to start the school year with lessons about the importance of recycling, especially with items that they use and see in their everyday lives. Over the years, I have noticed many of my students are not aware that their water bottles or yogurt cups are recyclable and do not know how to sort trash into items that can be recycled and items that cannot. So one of the goals I have this year is to motivate my students to help recycle bottles, cans, paper and other common items found on a school campus by regularly collecting recyclables in bins that we put around our own school campus. Also, after reading several of the storybooks that discuss recycling and reusing, we will also use some of the items to create our own masterpieces, such as water bottle snow globes.
Since things like recycling and reusing are habits of mind, it is important for children to learn about the significance of these practices as early as possible.
I know how eager and open young children are to understanding the importance of keeping our planet clean and not being so wasteful with our trash. Once children start actively participating in the act of recycling, they will be the ones helping to keep our campus clean and lessening the trash load for years to come.
Nearly all 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
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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. Yee-Garbade and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
