With the closing of school, this has led to some uncertainty in my students' lives and teachers across the world are trying to keep as much consistency as we possibly can at this time. I have continued to reach out to my students during daily live lessons, where I not only instruct, but we get to see each other's faces, chat, connect and try to close the gap virtually in this time of "social distancing."
Monday morning, when we returned from spring break in March, teachers were given short notice to grab stuff from our classroom and go, with the hope that we would be returning the first of May.
As we all know now, that was wishful thinking. But we have made the best of it by finding digital resources to share with my kids, having them create different at-home projects, and even have days where we play games together during our live lessons. It is a new reality for us all, and although we will not get to end the year physically in my classroom, it is my mission to end this school year as still being the #bestyearever!
My Project
Two months ago, we were at Field Day cheering each other on in relays, bouncing around in the inflatable bounce house, and trying to eat our Popsicles before they melted in our hands. And now it seems like the world has turned upside down. But through all of the uncertainty, one thing remains, and that is my love and support for each one of my students.
My students have been stuck at home for over a month without any of their normal social experiences or connections.
The social and emotional toll this has taken on people around the world is severe, especially for kids. Julia Cook is an author that not only knows how to tap into the feelings and emotions of kids, but she writes in such a way that kids really relate to what she says and can place themselves in the settings and situations of her stories. That is why I am asking for a set of her amazing social/emotional books.
Though we might not enter my physical classroom again this year, I can send them into summer knowing that they might not get to have the experiences they might've normally had with friendships, responsibility, cooperating, working through challenges, and practicing executive functioning skills this year, but with the help of these stories, if faced with these situations next school year, they will know how to work through them.
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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. Mullen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.