Let's Get Moving: Better Learning With Sensory Tools
Help me give my students the sensory tools, like weighted blanket and a fun tube, they need to make the most of their day. Many of my students need frequent sensory breaks, or "heavy loading," in order to stay focused on learning through the day.
The students in my classroom impress me daily. I teach in a classroom for students with moderate cognitive disabilities, and it's diverse group with LOTS of personality! Some students are very social and enjoy playing and working together. Others need their space and keep to themselves. But I love seeing how day to day, we are finding ways to connect and grow as a class, pushing through some of the limits that might have seemed impossible to conquer when they first walked into a school setting.
A great example of breaking through limits is one student that transferred into our school midway through his kindergarten year.
When he first arrived, he was nonverbal outside of some echoing, due to his diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Nearly a year later, I have seen this little boy emerge from his shell into a fountain of self-expression. He's asking me to tie his shoes, or if it's time to go to lunch, or to have a seat and help him do his work. This would have been unheard of a year ago! See these students blossom and grow is a remarkable process that (I hope) never get old!
My Project
One of the unique challenges of teaching students with special needs is their bodies have to be a part of the process. Students in my room need breaks to run, jump, climb, rock, and work their bodies so they can come back to a desk and stay focused on their academic work. Right now, to give them those large motor sensory breaks, we have to walk across the school with each child to use the school's sensory room, which has the equipment the students need to burn off that energy and come back to class more focused. This is time-consuming and often not possible for all students, as we don't have enough staff on hand to take each student from the room, even in small groups.
My goal with this project is to bring those valuable resources into our classroom.
If some of this equipment were on hand in our room, we could have scheduled sensory time that all students can take part in, so that everyone has the opportunity to learn at their best. The items listed in this project would put all our students and those in future school years on a better track to learn and reach their goals.
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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. Bilderback and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.