My students need therapeutic art supplies to help them express and share their emotions.
$475 goal
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Hooray! This project is fully funded
Celebrating Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month
This project is a part of the Hispanic & Latinx Heritage Month celebration because
it supports a Latino teacher or a school where the majority of students are Latino.
Even though my emotionally disabled students are in high school, they have never had an art class.
My students are ages 14-22.
Each student has been diagnosed with an emotional disability. The severity of their disabilities have led them to be placed in Substantially Separate Setting away from the regular high school. The school is located in an immigrant city. Eighty-nine percent speak Spanish as a first language. Our school doesn't have many special offerings for the students. They take one year of gym. There isn't any music or art. This time for the first year we are offering 2 electives: therapeutic art and computer. So far the students enjoy the art class. They have been insightful. We did a project were we acknowledged that in autumn the leaves fall off the trees. I asked the students if they were a tree what type of leaf would you like to fall off you? We made collages of the leaves and then wrote and taped to our collages what we wanted to fall off of us this autumn. Responses included, "My Past", "My Insecurity" and "My Lack of Emotion".
My Project
I have asked for a number of different resources. Blank masks will help students make a self-portrait. Water color paper will allow students to make landscapes that relax them. The sailboat models will allow them to think about where the would like to "sail" to after high school. With the wood burning tools, students will decorate their "treasure" boxes. A box where they place strips of paper that answer the challenge of the day. Students choose when to accept a challenge. Past challenges included: "Who have you forgiven", and "When have you persevered". I have asked for pastels, so that students can feel the texture of the oil and smudge away things that make them unhappy. Mosaics have also been ordered to provide a textured medium. Tissue paper will be used to make mock stained glass windows. Students can look through the window to see if events look different from another point of view. The resources will provide a full term of therapeutic art activities to needy students.
Art is therapeutic.
Emotionally disabled students need a safe environment to express how they feel. So far the therapeutic art class has been a success. Students look forward to this part of the day where they can share and create. Students support each other with advice Finding money for the projects has been a real challenge. Donations will make a significant difference. I will be able to plan better lessons. Students can use a wider variety of material to express their feelings.
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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. Parino and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.