Help These ECSE Preschool Students Learn Through Using Their Hands!
Help me give my students a wider variety of fine motor and sensory experiences in order to increase their fine motor skills, participation in sensory activities, social interactions, engagement in activities, and pretend play skills.
My classroom is a self-contained special education classroom for preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders. I have an incredible team and we are passionate about finding ways to help these young students engage in a variety of learning activities to both strengthen and teach skills while developing a love for learning!
Our students are incredible children with unlimited potential... and it's our goal to make sure their first school experience helps to support them being excited about attending school and becoming lifelong learners!
Our students often lack a variety of play skills and have delays in their fine motor skills. They often do not like to touch different materials in their environment that typically developing children often enjoy and lack strength and dexterity when using their hands. Developing these skills are often targeted on their Individual Education Plans, and it's my goal to find curriculum materials and activities that are engaging, enticing, and will help to improve their fine motor skills.
My Project
Because my students have a variety of sensory issues and delays in their fine motor skills, they need opportunities for structured teaching with a variety of materials that hold their attention and interest, yet challenge and aid in them building their fine motor skills. The Minnesota Early Childhood Indicators of Progress outline how pre-school children should be using their hands and fingers to manipulate a wide variety of materials in their environment. For these ECSE students, I will have a teacher directed fine motor activity or a dedicated activity center in the room that features varying activities using the materials requested in this project. We believe students learn best with hands-on manipulative materials. My goal is to help them develop effective fine motor skills, which in turn supports their learning important developmental concepts. The items in this project, such as the Magna-Tiles, water blocks, and snap-dines, will provide unlimited opportunities for strategic thinking, creativity, and hands-on problem solving skills.
Structured activities and a variety of manipulatives supports a range of fine motor skills including stacking, building, pouring, snapping, stamping and pretending!
It is a rich environment to have fun while learning!
Manipulatives are essential to developing and targeting a variety of early childhood curriculum standards. The materials in this project will help provide enticing and motivating learning activities in this pre-school classroom that both engage and support young learners as they develop their fine motor, social, and pretend skills.
More than three‑quarters of students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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. Julie's "Trainroom" Classroom and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
