My first grade class this year is comprised of 25 students who are citizens of 5 different countries! Many of my international students are part of embassy families. My students are empathetic and curious; they love to learn new things and take really good care of each other!
We are part of a school that employs the Responsive Classroom program.
This means that we devote a lot of time and effort to building a strong sense of community, among other things. In our school, every class starts every day with a morning meeting. We all sit in a circle around the edge of the carpet. There is a greeting, personal share, activity (game or song), and teacher-written message.
We end each day similarly with a closing meeting in which we reflect on the day and play a game. These meetings are really special to building our family. It is a safe space for my students to get to know one another and to speak up about things that are important to them.
After spending time to build this close community, my students feel safe to take risks and advocate for themselves academically and socially.
My Project
In an early childhood classroom, the rug is the home base for the class. Students start every day on the carpet and end every day there, too. Much of the day's instruction takes place on the carpet.
I was blessed to receive a classroom rug six years ago when my classroom was renovated, but the rug I received was made to hold 20 students.
Over the past few years, my class has consistently surpassed these numbers, with 23, 27, 21, and 25 respectively. The current rug that I have does not accommodate these numbers.
I often have students who pull up a chair behind the carpet because they feel too squished in. These students aren't able to engage as closely in our community building activities or in curriculum discussions. We start every day by circling up around the edge of the carpet in a morning meeting in which we greet each other and get to know one another. It breaks my heart to see that not all of my students can physically fit into a circle together.
There are also many behavioral issues and unnecessary distractions that pop up because students struggle to find personal boundaries with the limited space. One particular trouble time of the day is math which is a 90-minute block. Students really struggle to find sufficient space to have their work and any manipulatives out in front of them. If we are adding with blocks and then recording facts in our workbooks, this can quickly turn in to chaos. This sounds like such a minor thing, but when it is happening day after day, it can be huge frustration for the kids and for me!
A new rug that is appropriately sized to accommodate the reality of our class size would make all aspects of our day better.
DonorsChoose is the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.
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. Boyle and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
{"pmaHash":"","schoolCity":"Washington","showProjectRecommendations":true,"teachersOnPage":[5913258],"isTeacherViewingTheirOwnProject":false,"hideTeacherDetails":false,"schoolState":"DC","teacherPossessivePronoun":"her","PMsManager":null,"schoolGradeType":{"id":1,"name":"Early Education"},"TeacherPMForms":{},"proposalId":3646036,"proposalMessageFormModel":null,"numActiveProjects":0,"completingDonationAmount":0,"teacherHasClassroomPhoto":true,"proposalURL":"https://www.donorschoose.org/project/new-rug-for-our-classroom-family/3646036/","verifyShowPhotos":"","eligibleToBeCopied":false,"mayHaveReplacements":false,"numStudents":25,"teacherScreenName":"Ms. Boyle","isEquityFocus":false,"authorIds":{"5913258":{"owner":"Ms. Boyle","donationSalutations":{}}},"displayedPercentFunded":1.0,"proposalsOnPage":[3646036],"proposalHash":"1886945088","isApplePayMobileOnly":true,"progressBarPercentage":100.00,"pmaId":"","teacherProfilePhotoURL":"https://storage.donorschoose.net/dc_prod/images/teacher/profile/272x272/tp5913258_272x272.jpg?width=136&height=136&fit=bounds&auto=webp&t=1537836003154","teacherHasProfilePhoto":true,"currentWorkflowStatusCode":21,"teacherChallengeId":21285494,"photosPublished":true,"queryString":"","DonorPMForm":null,"isApplePayEnabled":true,"fundedByTarget":false,"activeProject":null,"donorIdsForImpactPhotoCheck":["NTkzNjEyOA==","NTk1MzQwMQ==","NTk1Mjg4OA==","NTkzMzE1Ng==","NTg5MzM1MQ==","NTcwODAwMw==","MTU2NTgzOA=="],"teacherId":5913258,"schoolCounty":"District Of Columbia","fullyFunded":true,"isStudentLed":false,"isExpired":true,"schoolStateObj":{"code":"DC","name":"District of Columbia"}}
