My students need a tent, cushions and fidgets for an easily accessible cool-down, sensory area within the classroom so that they can learn to self-regulate behaviors!
Kindergarten is a grade full of consistent routines, repetition, and growth of independence. We also teach various self-help skills, one of those being self-regulation. At the end of the year, I would love for my students to learn coping strategies for managing behaviors.
"Together we educate our children for success in tomorrow's world." We are one of the largest public school districts in rural Pennsylvania.
Currently, we are a class of 17 loving, unique, ready to learn 5 and 6 year olds. We are full of energy and in need of a sensory station to have the ability to self-regulate behaviors before they become an interruption.
My Project
I have become increasingly passionate about the number of hours students with special needs are in my classroom. One of the reasons many students have to leave during the day is sensory overload. If I have a center in the back of my room inside of a tent with materials that can help a student cool down or teach children to go back to the tent and grab a sensory ball to use at the table to help focus, that can add anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour extra per day inside of our room. They could also cool down by laying on a pillow, focus by using a fidget, sit successfully with a sensory cushion, or use any of the other items from the project to regulate. This has been a dream of mine and I believe that all students could benefit from learning self-regulation. I always focus better with a fidget in my hand, it's time to find out if they do too.
It has been a dream of mine to include a sensory station in my classroom.
This station would help to provide a portion of the "sensory diet" which is frequently spoken of. If children are taught to take sensory breaks regularly, it has been noted that the negative behaviors occur less frequently. These items will dramatically assist in managing students' behavior throughout the entire day as well as help students achieve more academic success!
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