My students are in an on-sight, public pre-k classroom that is nestled in the 3rd – 5th grade hallway. I have 28 students and we are the only pre-k class in the building. My class is specifically for at-risk students. All of my students come from either parents who do not speak English as their first language, single-parent homes or homes in which parents work more than one job, or receive a free lunch based on their socioeconomic status.
Each child in my classroom is fearless when it comes to learning.
They are truly an incredible group, and I am so lucky and thankful to have a new group of learners that are excited and ready to learn!
Teaching pre-k, especially for at-risk students, can be both challenging and rewarding and sometimes at the same time. The biggest hurdle that I have to overcome is making sure I have supplies and hands-on materials because this is how the majority of students at this age learn. We work on academics, social and emotional skills, and fine/gross motor skills equally.
Our program gives children from all cultures, areas, and various incomes an opportunity to learn and thrive within the district.
My Project
My request is for a Cricut machine to use in my classroom for several purposes. The Cricut can be used to create individualized flash cards, individualized work mats, bulletin boards, and creative extension projects. I would use it to cut letters, numbers, and shapes so students have more of their own materials instead of sharing sets. I would also use it to personalize student materials. In pre-k, most of what we learn are rote skills and these are learned by massive exposure - even when it comes to their names. At this point after teaching for 6 years, I still trace or print and cut things by hand. While I plan on continuing with these practices as needed, the use of a Cricut machine would greatly decrease the amount of time I spend prepping and allow me to focus on teaching.
By funding this project you are allowing me to put more precious time into teaching and less time into prepping.
You are helping me to provide my students with hands-on learning. Thanks in advance for considering my project.
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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 Mrs. Darling and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
