My students are an amazingly diverse group. They vary in socioeconomic status, religion and race. Like many children, they have many influences, both positive and negative. However, the students at my school are sponges for good guidance. They are wonderful youngsters who are trying to find the right path in life.
Like most children, my students want to choose the right behavior but don't always have the necessary skills.
As their school counselor, my goal is to find clever ways to guide them even when my direct intervention time is being cut back every year.
My Project
Yes, academics are important, but it is crucial that schools help create good citizens. Increasingly, there is less and less time in the day to work on anything other than academics. It is critical that schools help mold our students into kind, tolerant, and caring citizens. My students need materials to help learn, practice, and reflect upon their character development.
Just like some parents sneak veggies into their child's mac-n-cheese, I want to sneak character development into my student's playtime.
My students need indoor recess games that serve a purpose. I want them to play games that teach character development. I found card games such as "Peace" (a twist on the classic game of War), "Mad Dragon" (similar to Uno but cards prompt the students to reflect upon how anger affects their relationships), and "What do you stand for?" (students collect one of each type of card and respond to scenarios).
Imagine the look on the lunch aides' faces when students ask to play "Mad Dragon". Imagine the parent who asks their child why they fed the cat without being told and their child responds, "Oh, I got the idea from playing Peace at recess". Imagine the teacher who overhears a student telling his neighbor to be a good citizen and erase the pencil mark she just made on her desk. It's only a matter of time, and it's all in the cards!
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 Mrs. McIntosh and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
