My first graders come from resilient and multicultural backgrounds. With the diversity in languages and ethnicities comes a wide range of learners in acquiring mastery of social, emotional, and academic proficiency for student success. Our classroom community includes students who are English language learners, students with individualized education plans as well as students with special needs. We are part of a community school, which means we organize community resources around student success.
My students come from all walks of life, ready to learn and thrive in an academic setting.
As a community school, we engage with community partnerships and services in order to promote stronger families and student learning. My students come to school eager to learn and are so curious about the world. As their educator, I hope to provide my students with wonderful opportunities to thrive with high-quality materials they deserve.
My Project
My friends love to build, draw, create, and move. By incorporating play into our morning routine, students will walk in the door excited to start our day. I looked at my schedule and asked – “Where can I incorporate more play into our already busy day?” Turning morning work into morning tubs was the answer. Students will not waste any time putting away lunch boxes, taking out their folders, and stowing their backpacks because they know time is already limited. While students are ‘playing’, they are also engaging with academic tools in a non-threatening way. They have the chance to explore new mathematical concepts, learn their letters, get creative building with magna- tiles, and collaborating as they're active, talking, and building relationships with one another.
Play sets the foundation for our later interactions with the world.
It poses play not as an ‘extra’ but as a necessity and that play has been substituted for other things – iPads, TVs, toys, etc. With the power of play, my students will learn social skills – how to say excuse me, how to ask to join a group, how to play kindly, how to walk by someone without touching them, etc.
I do believe in the power of play and believe it has an important place in our class. I'm excited to see the excitement and opportunities Morning Tubs has in our classroom.
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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. Szeto and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
