My students need LEGO brick sets, building plates, minifigures, and building kits to begin a LEGO Club within our school to improve their social skills with peers their own age.
This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
My Students
A typical day in my classroom consists of Asperger and Autistic students learning how to relate to the social world. By the end of the year, I want my teenage Aspies to feel like they belong to a group of friends.
"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same." Elbert Hubbard
My students are a huge part of my life.
They have taught me more than I could ever teach them. Each student is on the autism spectrum, with most of them having Asperger's Syndrome. They are such intelligent kids and immediately grabbed my heart when I met them. I have so many gifts sitting in my classroom, from the student that will one day be an animatronic artist in Hollywood to the next great Author. The only setback is their daily struggle with peers and feeling accepted. Social awkwardness affects them all, so making friends is a major obstacle. Although our school is very accepting of differences in each student, the students have a hard time "fitting in" with their classroom peers. Basically, their interests and intelligence are so much more in depth and higher that they struggle with the right words and thoughts to join conversations with "typical" teenagers. My goal is to see them belong! I want them to realize they are important and that people do care!
My Project
Starting a Lego Club was inspired by watching my students and the way they work with the few Legos I have in my room. Considering the social struggles my students have, I thought this would be a great way to help them create a friendship circle with peers that have similar interests. In order to start this club, we need Lego building bricks, building sets, minifigures, building plates, and other Lego related items. I'm going to assign my students to the set up and organizing of each club day. This will teach them responsibility and organization along with developing friendships. There will be days of free building and themes. The students will have input on the themes used. By developing this club, my students will not only have fun, but the most important factor will be building friendships through acceptable behaviors that will hopefully last a lifetime.
Any donations would be great and definitely put to use in building friendships within the middle school setting.
Students involved will learn to get along with people that are not only similar to them in ways, but also very different. My Asperger students will find peers that accept them for who they are and will appreciate their differences. Building compassion and acceptance of individualities will be the best reward for my students and myself.
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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. Cutler and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
