My students are eager, fun loving and are excited to be at school for the first time. For many of them, this is their first, full day experience with school, learning and making friends. They are excited about the small things, like using crayons for the first time or a new game! Some students don't have the supplies to do those fun and engaging activities at home! Living in rural Wisconsin, is hard on families and children and they don't always have the resources and money to have learning experiences.
Kindergarten is the best grade because I get to see so much growth in my students.
They come shy and not knowing a lot about social and academic aspects of life. Within the year, many learn to read and they develop a love of books and numbers and most importantly, they have fun doing it. My students break out of their shell and develop friendships and learn manners, sharing and how to navigate situations.
I work at a school that is primarily low income. I want to fill my room with new things for them to explore and learn from. School is a safe place for a lot of my students.
My Project
My project has different STEM materials for students to create and build with. For example, my project has a kit to build cars with, so that students can try to create their own car. Students have to use what they know to design their own model car. Another item I have included are the magnetic pattern blocks. These blocks can be used in math, as they are the same as the patterned kindergarten shapes. They can also be used to create structures like houses or buildings. Students can show their creativity!
STEM materials are essential to kindergarten because they promote problem solving skills, fine motor skills and applied learning skills.
It is an engaging task that students will persevere through. It also promotes creativity and social skills as many times, students will interact with other students or be in a group creating things.
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