Help me give my students the sensory learning materials they need to continue learning at home and be the shining stars they are!
$668 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
Hello everyone! I am a special education preschool teacher in Perth Amboy, NJ. Perth Amboy is a small town only one square mile but it has a huge heart! Covid-19 has had a severe impact on our town, our community, and especially our students. The students of our district are working hard to adapt to distance learning. It is especially challenging for our youngest preschool learners. We have over 1500 preschool students many with special needs. Those are my students. I teach a classroom of 12 students all with individual special needs. They work so hard to overcome challenges and achieve their learning goals. They are my shining stars!
Every star deserves to shine!
My students and their families are doing their best to continue learning at home, maintain mastered skills, and continue developing language and communication. They are receiving instruction and therapies through virtual platforms but are in need of items to meet their sensory and learning needs. These items will be used during individual and group virtual instruction sessions, therapy sessions, and at-home learning opportunities.
My Project
One of the most rewarding things about teaching young children with special needs is the incredible connection we make with each other. That connection is the essential foundation of learning for our students.
My students thrive on their routine and their worlds have been turned upside down.
The hardest part is they don't understand what is happening or why or how to process all the changes that have been happening. I have been working with my student's families virtually and one of the biggest challenges we face is access to sensory materials for learning activities at home. My students need many different sensory experiences throughout their day. When they are engaged in sensory activities they have an increased ability to focus on learning the skills we are teaching.
The materials I chose include musical instruments, play dough, bubbles, beanbags, sensory balls, sensory blocks, dot markers, flashcards, and trays for exploring. These items will be used at home for my students to build essential foundation skills for learning. These foundation skills include using language, signs, or pictures to ask for what they want, labeling pictures and objects, following directions, imitating movements, and matching. All these skills can be built by using these materials at home. My students love bubbles and musical instruments and can be prompted to ask for them building language and requesting skills. They can use all the materials during play-based activities to follow directions. Musical instruments, play dough, bubbles, beanbags, sensory balls, sensory blocks, dot markers are great for building imitation skills. I will be there every step of the way guiding parents as they work on these skills with their children.
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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. McEnerney and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
