Let's put the play back into kindergarten! With the heightened focus on test scores, buying small manipulatives for play is not in our school budget. Most of my students are not familiar with classic building toys such as bristle blocks, beads, and Lincoln Logs.
My students are bright, funny children who tend to be from high risk family situations due to poverty or crisis.
Our school is a federally funded Title I school based on the extreme poverty of the students. Like most children today, my kinder kids watch television and play video games during their free time. They have never experienced building a log cabin or designing a bristle block creature. Since they are not exposed to these items at home, I wish to update the manipulatives I have for free choice play. As most of our toys are well over 20 to 30 years old, I would like to add to the current selection. This purchase will not only help the children with their fine motor skills but also give them real life opportunities to share and negotiate with each other.
My Project
My project is important because the new resources will help the kindergarten students to appreciate the power of play. Not only will they learn how to play with the materials but they will gain a stronger pencil grip which will help them with all the writing they will be doing this year. Since we live in the beautiful, Pacific Northwest, the students often cannot go out to recess. Having materials which they like will make playing inside much more enjoyable.
My project is important because I feel like we need to put "play back into kindergarten." We have become so academically driven that there is little time remaining in the busy school day where children get to interact and discover during play.
I want my students to be inspired by their new classroom blocks and building items and then ask their parents to purchase them for home. This constructive piece of intellectual development is important for creating well rounded 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. Garcia and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.