Current enrollment at our elementary school is approximately 340 students in grades K-5. At times, enrollment has been as high as 350 students in recent school years. Approximately 10% of the students qualify for special education services, approximately 20% are English Learners (EL), and just under 50% of the students qualify for free or reduced-price meals based on household family incomes.
In my fifteen years as a kindergarten teacher, the times I find my students are learning the most and most importantly, having the most fun is during dramatic play with their friends!
It is during this time we see their little personalities shine through, learn more about their background knowledge and life experiences, and watch them interacting with one another in real-life simulated scenarios.
My Project
In our kindergarten classroom, I find it so crucial to maintain a delicate balance between academic learning provided by the teaching staff and a healthy dose of DAILY PLAY. I ensure my students have ample amounts of time to play within our classroom each day, in a variety of centers and dramatic play settings.
My favorite of these dramatic play scenarios is when our kindergarten classroom restaurant is open for business, and the learning is happening almost as if by magic!
The kids are building social and emotional skills while acting as customers and service staff members in their very own restaurant. Literacy skills are growing as kids read the classroom menus and jot down orders to send back to the kitchen. The students learn about the value of money, as they pay for meals and make change. These five and six-year olds are so engaged, having so much fun as they play, they don't even realize all of the deep learning happening at the very same time.
We so appreciate your support of this classroom project. Our current restaurant play materials are quite vintage, some of them housed in our classroom for over 30 years and some of them being my very own materials from when I was a child. The funding of this project would allow us to receive more multicultural food items, updated and modern small appliances and dish sets, condiments, and more, along with a cash register which would be the first cash register our classroom restaurant has acquired. Thank you again for helping to make our classroom PLAY and LEARNING even more FUN!
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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. Gulden and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
