Before the corona virus pandemic I have always been blessed each morning to walk into my classroom and see the smiling faces of my students. My classroom has always been a warm, loving, safe environment where my students get to learn through fun, hands-on lessons.
Now in times of uncertainty I do not know what I will be facing come August.
However I feel that it is still my responsibility to make my kinder babies feel safe, loved, and eager to learn, whether it be face to face or through virtual learning.
I will have 17-23 amazing boys and girls in my class. They come from many different backgrounds and ethnicities. Our school differs from others because we have over 300 students in kindergarten alone. There are 13 kindergarten teachers. My students live in a rural area where 100% of our students receive free lunches. Not all will have internet access. Some will have help from adults in the home while learning remotely and some will not. I will have ESL learners and kids that need that one on one help. I just want to make things as normal for them as possible.
My Project
As I try to prepare myself for the unknown of what is to come in August I am preparing for face-to-face learning, virtual learning, or a combination of the two. I have been setting up a personal space in my home for if I need to teach my students from home, and as I am organizing my own materials, it made me think about the learning environments my students will be in if learning from home. Will they have the materials they need? Some will but most won't. Then it hit me! Let’s make a portable classroom for them!
I would like to be able to have a plastic tote for each student that will allow me to provide them with needed supplies and manipulatives and help them keep it all organized at the same time.
I want to vinyl their names on the front of their plastic tote and provide each one of them with primary writing paper, pencils, crayons, glue, flash cards, counters, a few grade appropriate books they can read, a reading buddy and any other materials I can think of to help make them successful learners. Having this will give them the materials they need, teach them organizational skills, and give them a sense of pride of being able to say they have their own portable office/classroom they can use at home. I figured since I’m setting up a “classroom” in my home they need their own classroom at their home. These will be resources they can use at home, in the classroom if we get to meet face to face, or in a combination of both if my district decides we are doing face-to-face and distance learning. This way we are all prepared and ready to learn!
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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. Snider and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
