My students need a dollhouse and dolls to accommodate the doll house furniture that we already have so that we can model family interactions and involvement through play.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
Do you remember spending countless hours playing and interacting with your dolls or action figures, and how you could spend an entire day playing with nothing but a toy or two and your imagination? Unfortunately for many of my students, they do not have the opportunity to have a similar experience.
My school is a small public school designed specifically for Pre-Kindergarten students, ages four and five.
Students in this school will attend Kindergarten next year at their community school. Our school is an inclusion program, which means that we provide mainstream education services for students with special needs. Special education students comprise about 15% of our total student population. We also have a large number of English as a Second Language (ESL) students, primarily of Hispanic and African descent. These students make up approximately 20% of our total student population. ALL of our non-special needs students MUST meet federal income guidelines, which means that all of them qualify for free or reduced lunch and are all low-income, highly at-risk students. Most of our students come in with very little knowledge in regards to pre-requisite Kindergarten skills such as reading and writing their name, letter knowledge, number awareness, and color/shape recognition.
My Project
Many of our students come from non-traditional families. This means that mom and dad may not live apart, and in some cases my students do not know their dad. Many students live in blended families or reside with grandparents or other extended families. As such, when we begin our yearly unit on "Family", we must first spend a substantial time discussing the "typical" family and familial roles so that students may better understand traditional roles and expectations for family members. One of the most meaningful ways that we incorporate interactive learning into our classroom is through daily centers. During this time, students are able to interact with a wide range of materials and subject matter at their own choice and pace. The materials I have requested will allow our students to dramatize family play and family roles in our housekeeping and block centers. These materials stimulate creative play and role-playing, which increases our student's speaking and listening skills.
We have a great selection of doll house furniture in our classroom.
However, due to budget issues and reductions, we never received the dolls and dollhouse needed to meaningfully use these materials. I have brought in an old, donated, out-of-shape doll house into my classroom before, and ALL of our students were instantly drawn to it. Surprisingly, the boys in our classroom seem to be the most intrigued by the dollhouse. These materials will allow students a whole new way to explore FAMILIES.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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 Mr. Spratlin and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.