My students need board games, balance balls, paint, yarn, and paintbrushes to create an arts and games center to express themselves.
FULLY FUNDED! Dr. Moreno's classroom raised $500
This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
My Students
As a special education teacher working in a low-income/high poverty school district, my students are faced with several challenges both in and out of the classroom. However, despite the many challenges they face, they are energetic and full of life. I am looking to foster this energy by providing my students with creative and meaningful learning experiences.
The 15 students who make up our classroom are atypical learners and most are performing way below their grade level.
The majority of my students have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and have been identified as having a Specific Learning Disability. They live in a dense, poverty-stricken neighborhood riddled with gang activity. Many of them are either raised in single parent households or live with extended family in tight quarters. All of them receive a free lunch based on their socioeconomic status. This is not the environment that lends itself to succeed in an academic setting. My students need all of the support that they can get.
My Project
Sometimes it's the extras that count! Special education is about data and goals; "extras" such as arts & crafts and board games often fall to the wayside in an effort to focus just on what's in their IEP. However, enrichment activities have been proven to be effective to help with speech, social skills, and academic subjects such as science, math, and other academic subjects- which can be made more accessible through drawing, painting, sculpting, and mixed media. And that’s just the beginning!
My plan is to have an activity center in our classroom, which will include board games and art supplies like scissors, paint, yarn, and paintbrushes.
This center will serve as a place for my students to express themselves artistically and socially, especially on days in which words may not come as easy. The games will serve as a welcomed break to already stressful and demanding days. Some of these games include A Tic Tac Toe Magnetic Game, JENGA, Bananagrams, Scattergories, and picture riddle books. Games offer students the opportunity to think, react, adapt, master, & compete, all the while enjoying themselves. Research also suggests that board games can help in building social skills and self-esteem, as well as teach students about rules, competition, fair play, and values. I picked games that would stimulate the mind, as well as build language. The balance balls will be used primarily in the activity center, but will also be available to help individual students reach their full potential at their desks, especially for those with sensory processing disorders, ADHD, or just a strong need to fidget. I'm hoping that the combination of games and art supplies that I included in this project, along with the balance balls as seats will encourage students to express themselves in more productive ways.
Nearly all students from low‑income households
Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more
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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 Dr. Moreno and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
