Our school is located in a diverse, urban community in Maine.
We are unique!
Our school is the first teacher-led and governed school in our state. Our student body comes from a multitude of backgrounds; over twenty-two nations are represented, with twenty-nine languages spoken. Over 52% of our students come from homes where English is a second language.
Our Kindergarten class is made up of 20 amazing 5- and 6- year old children who are so enthusiastic to come to school every day. Only about 25% of the students in the class have had prior schooling/preschool and more than half come from households where English is not their native language. We are a lively, diverse group, both in our backgrounds and our abilities.
This year we our district has chose a Hybrid model of teaching. Students will be in school two days and at home the rest of the week. There will be a lot of changes in the classroom this year, with social distancing and safety a must in order to keep everyone healthy.
My Project
Each morning our day begins with a meeting together on the floor. This special time is the place where we build relationships, promote social emotional learning and develop our classroom community.
Kindergarten students have a hard time with body awareness and naturally want to sit close to their friends.
Because of the pandemic, creating a safe space for students to sit distanced from each other has become difficult. This becomes more difficult when the structure of our learning changes. For instance, children sit in rows to listen to a book, but need to sit in a circle for whole group math lessons.
An area rug with clearly defined spaces that allows for different meeting structures would be a great addition to our classroom. This particular rug also promotes learning, with letters and corresponding animals for each spot.
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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. McCallum and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
