My position in my district is somewhat of a unique one. My teammate and I are STAR teachers who services at-risk kindergarten students between 6 schools. We will soon have 12-13 students each in our classroom for full-day kindergarten (rest of district is half day). Our classrooms will both be very diverse and filled with unique needs ranging from students with IEPs to social-emotional needs. Many of our students will also have low socio-economic backgrounds. The common trait among all of my students is their deficit in early literacy skills.
We are both currently providing interventions for 45 kindergarten students each across 6 elementary schools in the areas of language and phonemic awareness.
After the 6 week intervention is done, in the middle of October, we will determine the 12-13 students that will qualify to be in our program!
My Project
Flexible seating provides my students with the opportunity to take charge of their learning and what they need. Kids are not cookie cutter and neither should their learning environment. By providing different options for seating, my students can be more independent and aware of their needs.
As teachers, we make (literally) thousands of decisions a day that affect our students.
Many times, we tend to make decisions FOR them that could have been made BY them. By providing flexible seating, I am able to teach my students how to be in charge of their body and evaluate what they need to be successful while learning.
I currently have ball chairs in my room and have had a lot of success with it so far. I would love the opportunity to introduce lap desks and other flexible options that students can choose from as a place to feel comfortable and ready to learn.
Additionally, I teach an intervention kindergarten program that services at-risk students. Many times, students in my program come to me with social-emotional needs and lack body-awareness. I believe by explicitly teaching these skills and providing flexible seating, I can support my students to develop a better self-awareness and regulating their bodies.
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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. Ideran and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.