Our elementary school is a Pre-K through 5th grade community school serving approximately 450 students in 26 classrooms, including the district’s two Functional Life Skills classrooms. Our school is a Title One School, with over 80% of our students receiving free and reduced lunch, that currently educates one of Portland’s most diverse student bodies. Students enrolled in our school speak over 18 different languages and represent a variety of cultures and backgrounds from various countries around the world.
Due to the highly diverse nature of our students, our kids come to us with a wide range of academic, emotional, and physical needs.
Our goal is to create a learning environment in each classroom that helps to support those ranges of needs and ensures every student has equitable access to the tools they need to be successful in achieving their learning goals.
My Project
An identified need in our school, in order to facilitate an equitable learning environment, is the development of emotional regulation skills for our students. When students struggle with big emotions in the classroom, it impacts their ability to participate in academic lessons and access their learning.
Our goal is to teach students how to pay attention to their own levels of emotional regulation and learn strategies to self-regulate when they feel they are starting to lose emotional control.
We have created "Calming Corners" in each classroom for students to use when they are starting to become dysregulated and need a space to calm down. Gaining these fundamental skills will promote classroom engagement and eliminate problematic behaviors and missed instruction time.
The resources we are asking for are all sensory tools to be used with students either at their desks or in a Calming Corner. Each of these strategies helps to target the five different senses (touch, taste, sight, hearing, and smell), the vestibular system, and proprioception in order to help students calm themselves when they are overwhelmed by sensory input or feeling dysregulated. Students will be taught how to appropriately use these tools, as well as other calming strategies, in order to help build their emotional intelligence and self control. The resources from this project will benefit students in each of our 26 classrooms throughout the building.
Dr.Meter EM100 Kids Protective Earmuffs with Noise Blocking Children Ear muffs for Sleeping, Studying, Shooting, Babies 27NRR Adjustable Head Band
• Amazon Business
$9.00
30
$270.00
Weighted Lap Pad for Kids | Unique Warming & Cooling Feature | Help with Self-Calm and Relaxation | Multiple Weight & Sizes | Great for Autism, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder
• Amazon Business
$39.97
6
$239.82
Sphere Toy Rings Stretch Expanding Ball Toys Set of 4 – Assorted Colors – Great for Party Favors
• Amazon Business
$17.99
7
$125.93
RE322 - Lakeshore Sensory Ball Set
• Lakeshore Learning Materials
$34.99
3
$104.97
Trident Sugar Free Chewing gums Pack of 14 (Assorted Flavors)
• Amazon Business
$24.79
4
$99.16
BESTOMZ 3 Pack Liquid Motion Timer Bubbler for Sensory Play, Fidget Toy
• Amazon Business
$15.99
6
$95.94
JJ689 - Privacy Partition - Set of 10
• Lakeshore Learning Materials
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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 Ms. Goldstein-Walsh and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.