In a community where children want to stay at school because it is often the only safe place for them, I want to be able to provide the best possible learning experiences for them - to allow them to play and learn while playing. These materials will allow them to be kids and play while learning.
My school is 97% American Indian, on a reservation, and has 80% of students eligible for free and reduced lunch.
Many of my students come from single parent families or live with grandparents, aunties, or foster families. They struggle with attendance (I believe due to the fact that the school is virtually devoid of their culture and does not reflect them in the materials used in the classroom, and the lack of importance placed on education in the home).
Many of the students suffer from the effects of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, had parents who used drugs while they were in the womb, suffer from and/or are witnesses to physical or mental abuse, are not fed, etc. Many of their home lives are a struggle, to put it mildly. The gamut of problems you can find on any reservation are prevalent in this community. In order to find a "family," many students have begun to turn to gang life, which is very prevalent in our community.
My Project
I would like to be able to provide a different classroom family for my students where they can let go of the weight they carry and just be kids, play, and learn. I am a former fourth grade teacher in the district and experienced the frustration and detachment the students already had by the young age of 9 and 10. I hope to be able to have such a great effect on these young children, inspire them to love reading, love stories, love to sing and play and rhyme, love to learn.
I hope that this love of learning will stick with them. I believe that the big books, puppets, and other literacy and fine motor development materials will truly make the classroom a more fun, interactive environment for the students to have a safe, loving place where they can learn and learn to love to learn.
This project will benefit not only my students this year, but also every class of students I teach in the future.
Students who have so little at home, who have so little in their corner, need as many positive, fun learning experiences as they can get. I hope that these items will add to the inspiration I hope to instill in these students who already have so little hope.
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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. Halverson and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.