My students need different types of seating to choose from. Wobble chairs, chair balls and mobile seats are on our wish list. My kiddos also need five tables instead of desks for a cooperative learning experience.
Children need to move! We have taken away recess, play time and P.E. and children have become restless. We need alternative seating in our classroom that can help us with fidgety behavior and bolster our learning. We need tables to enhance our cooperative learning experiences!
I teach 20+ first grade kiddos in a school that exemplifies our ever changing world.
Our multicultural backgrounds are ever present with 6 different home languages with a beautiful array of traditions, cultures and religions. They are wonderful learners that strive in a setting that promotes cooperation, consideration and movement. Our school is a Title One school whose population is transient and mobile, but are dedicated to character and understanding.
My Project
Currently we have 20+ traditional desks with old cracked chairs. We group them together to form groups to better enhance cooperative learning experiences, but the arrangement is still very restrictive. Sitting in a chair at a table for hours at a time is nearly impossible for most of us, but we are requiring our youngest to do this for hours at a time. We have lost all but 15 minutes of recess once a day and only get P.E. every other day.
Kiddos need to move and allowing alternative seating will give them some desperately needed movement. Learning will be enhanced because their bodies will be engaged! Because of the confining seating arrangement now, we are constantly looking for areas in our room where we can spread out to learn-we need to be side by side and comfortable in order to perform our best!
My goal is to create the best learning environment for my children.
Allowing them to sit in groups will enable them to work together cooperatively and share ideas in a close proximity more effectively. Whenever my kiddos have the option to sit somewhere besides their desks, they always choose sitting or laying on the carpet, cushions, soft benches, stools or milk crates covered with pillows. They are always more engaged and I rarely have to redirect them! I want to provide the best for my kids!
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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. Petrosino and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
