As a teacher in a low-income/high poverty school, my students are faced with challenges both inside and outside of the classroom. Despite the many challenges they face, they come to school eager to learn and engage in our classroom community.
My students are caring, creative and are always excited to learn something new.
They like to dance to get out their wiggles, they love to read and love lots of positive attention. Many of them are being raised in single parent households and receive a free lunch based on their socioeconomic status. Several of my students have experienced highly traumatic events which affects their emotional responses throughout the day. In addition, 12 of my 24 students are English language learners, encompassing the languages of Spanish, Vietnamese, French, Arabic and Rumanian.
When students come into my classroom each day, I focus on supporting the child academically, socially and emotionally. My students start their day with a class meeting where we greet each other and ground our mindset for the day. By focusing on the whole child, I am hopeful to inspire early learners to believe in themselves and see their potential in school.
My Project
Flexible seating will help support the diverse needs of first graders in our class. We only have a total of 30 minutes of recess per day which research shows is not nearly enough time for little learners to move their bodies.
All of the flexible seating options reflect calming colors that will support a calm environment for learning in the classroom while promoting movement to help students focus.
The classroom rug will create a space for whole group learning where students can visually see their own space bubble while having enough room to sit comfortably on the rug. With growing class sizes this rug will allow enough seating spaces for the entire class.
The bean bag chair will be placed near our classroom library and cool down/break space. It will be a choice for kids to use when they read throughout the day or if they need a comfy place to sit and take a break or cool off when they are feeling big emotions. When kids have a safe space to work through their feelings they rebound quicker back to the learning that is happening in the classroom. The wobble stool supports students working at their desk. It promotes building core strength while students can wiggle and work at the same time. Students need a variety of choices for success in the classroom.
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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. Thomas and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
