Teaching at my school for the past nine years has been the most rewarding experience of my life. Welcoming and inclusive, we truly see every student as a future leader, with their own gifts to share. Our students come from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds, with over 40 different countries represented in our school.
My classroom serves up to nine students, ages 2-5, who receive special education services for autism and related disabilities.
They love to create and explore, like every preschooler. Their laughter and curiosity brighten every day; there is little I look forward to more than spending time with these amazing little ones.
They all have complex communication needs, which means that they struggle with expressing their wants, their needs, and their brilliant ideas. They have difficulty sharing the stories of their day at circle time or with their families. Building these skills is the central theme of our classroom.
My Project
Communication is more than speaking — it is listening, reading, and writing. In preschool, this includes drawing pictures and sharing stories. We had the amazing gift of receiving a Sprocket through DonorsChoose just last month. It has supported their learning — and specifically their writing — in more ways than I could imagine. We capture children’s retelling of 5 Little Pumpkins, pushing a friend in a car, or singing with their baby shark toy. We place that picture in their journals or art, adding words and letters together. And we can do it right then and there, allowing students to truly make meaning of the written word. We’ve also built conceptual knowledge as we create collages of pumpkins, sharks, and so much more.
Technology is truly breaking down barriers as gates that were closed are now open as our students’ voices blossom.
The ability to make meaning of print is one of the most important things we do in preschool. It also shows each student that we believe their voice matters. And we all benefit from the elevation of their voices and ideas. We need more Zink paper so that we never feel limited in capturing a child’s creativity and written expression right here, right now.
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. Vanderland and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
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