Light Up Learning! Supplies for Children with Autism!
My students need sensory items and peg boards designed to by used with the light pads in order to engage in science learning and to increase social and communication skills.
My classroom is a self-contained special education classroom for preschoolers with Autism Spectrum Disorders. We adapt the preschool curriculum to meet the diverse needs of the students and to increase opportunities to work on social, communication, and academic skills. It is my goal to find materials and activities to help motivate and engage my students to participate in classroom activities and to increase interactions with each other.
Preschoolers love to come to school to play, learn, and meet new friends, but some kids have barriers that make it hard to enjoy and participate in these activities without support.
The students in this classroom have high level needs, and they are not yet able to participate in a preschool classroom with a larger group of students. They need a structured environment, with a small number of students and many direct teaching opportunities. The school is located in an urban setting, and serves many children who qualify for free or reduced rate lunch. The district has limited funding and early childhood programs rarely receive the materials they need. Many times we need to create or purchase materials on our own in order to have the materials we need.
My Project
The light pads in our classroom have been a great success engaging students in exploration, communication, and peer interactions of students. I would like to get sensory materials and pegs to use with the light pads in order to increase social and communication skills of the students and to increase science opportunities.
Through the use of the sensory items and pegs, students will be motivated to explore with a wide variety of sensory materials, talk about what they are seeing, and work with peers during classroom activities.
This will allow students to make progress on their educational plans in the area of academic, communication, and social interaction.
Donations to this project will provide students with quality science and sensory materials to discuss how light effects materials and will help increase the social and communication skills in my students.
The students will gain skills needed to enter kindergarten and participate more fully in all classroom activities.
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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. Rodenkirchen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.