Each morning, I stand at my door to greet my 3rd, 4th and 5th graders who spend varying amounts of their day in the resource room. Each student is on an individual journey to overcome various challenges and we work together to set and reach academic, social, and emotional goals. Our desire is for each student to reach his or her fullest potential and learn to overcome past and future challenges.
In our classroom, we use the mantra, "Everyone gets what they need", and often this is different for each student.
Regardless of how long we've had a student, 7 years or 7 days, our school staff members show love, compassion, and enthusiasm for learning through our trauma-informed practices and studying of brain development in children so that we may best teach academics and social-emotional topics. Our students are happy at school, because they know they are surrounded by people that love and support them.
My Project
I teach in a self-contained resource room for 3rd-5th graders who have struggled in the general education setting. My students like to move around so we got standing desks, my students like to fidget so we got stress balls, my students need body breaks so we got STEM tubs to work on as an alternative to playing on un-educational websites. We are in need of noise cancelling headphones to replace broken ones and to give each student their own pair. These headphones often help students who struggle with loud noises or other external sensory stimuli. We have light covers to block out the fluorescent light in our room and try to make it as calming as possible. These tools help to create a peaceful learning environment. Other items to help students learn at their own level during rotations are a new set of headphones to use while on the Chromebooks doing educational math, reading, and typing websites that are a part of our daily routines.
Often, I find that my students struggle to do school "the same as everyone else".
Lastly, my students love to fidget. Don't we all? Having something in your hand to fidget with helps keep the mind open to what is being taught. We need a few more to add to our collection to use and share with others in the class. All of these items will encourage learning while also giving students what they need to be successful.
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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. Weigand and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
