Albert Einstein said it best, "Play is the best form of research."
Our playground consists of half large equipment with wood chips and half cement with no green scape. It's a fact that "Recess Matters", and that the more we burn, the better we learn, and we want to help our students learn.
Our school is made up of 188 students, 94 boys and 94 girls.
92% of our students receive free and reduced lunch and we have a mobility rate of approximately 24 %.
The playground area of our school is comprised of 1/2 large equipment (swing set, one large jungle gym with slides, monkey bars, and a fireman pole, and another set of stand alone monkey bars) with wood chips, the other half is cement. We have no grassy area. Playground expectations are that balls and other small equipment can only be used on cement. Due to this rule our playground equipment is used and abused, and it does not take long for wear and tear to set in. We have not purchased any new equipment for several years and are in need of items such as footballs, basketballs, and jump ropes.
My Project
At the present time we have three basketballs, one regulation size, and two small ones. We have two footballs, one will not inflate, the other is difficult for the kindergarten and first grade students to catch because it is so hard. We have several sets of walking cups which are cracked and chipped due to the cement. With new recess items like footballs, basketballs, and jump ropes there would be more opportunities for group play at recess, and more variety. We would be able to teach team cooperation as well as improve fine motor skills at recess time and I believe it would help with behavior issues at recess resulting from having "nothing to do" as the students would say.
Many students from our school live in poverty on a daily basis.
As a educator you want to be able to meet their daily needs not only in the classroom, but also on the playground. Studies have shown that recess(movement) makes a difference in learning.
With 188 students at the present time there are just not enough items to go around. If this project is funded it would allow both the boys and the girls more variety and more opportunity to play one on one, or as a group.
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 Mrs. Triplett and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.