Past projects 37
Sensory Supports for Students
Funded Nov 29, 2022Thank you so much for supporting this project!!! We now have a variety of tools to support students' different sensory needs. I've been working on teaching students to identify when they need a tool and how to request it. They were very excited to see the different options for fidget tools and are motivated to use them. The water bead mazes, pop tubes, and colorful caterpillars are definitely the students' favorite fidgets. They also love the weighted snake lap pad and the rainbow ribbon wands. We use the ribbon wands often to practice imitating, going fast and then slow, and regulating our bodies from feeling excited to calm. The students have so much fun getting their extra energy out with our ribbon wands. For some students, I've also noticed their improved focus while sitting on the wiggle seat and decreased anxiety with the use of the headphones. The supplies in this project have truly been a gift to our school. The tools are meeting the students' needs. They will begin to become more self-aware and identify and request what they need with more practice. Thank you for giving my students the tools that they need to be able to regulate their emotions and improve their focus and comfort level in school.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Allison
This classroom project was brought to life by an Anonymous Classroom Supporter and 8 other donors.Promoting Positive Self-Expression Through Visual Arts
Funded Nov 16, 2022Thank you so much for supporting this project! We have been using all of these supplies in our counseling sessions and the kids are loving the different art activities. Their faces light up when I bring out the paint. I've been teaching some of the students how to mix colors and they are so fascinated by the process - it's magical. Mixing paints can be a really calming activity and we've been using it as an opportunity to practice emotion regulation.
The students have also been REALLY EXCITED to make their own puppets. Some of my students that have had difficulty speaking up in class are using their puppets to become more comfortable expressing themselves. They are also making mini-books about the different feelings that their puppet experiences. They really enjoyed making their puppets and I plan to use them in many more future therapy activities with the students.
These supplies have been so helpful. It's really helped me to expand the opportunities that my students have to engage in positive self-expression. I can't thank you enough for your generosity and support.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Allison
This classroom project was brought to life by The Walt Disney Company and one other donor.Basics For An Organized Counseling Classroom
Funded Oct 26, 2022Thank you so much for helping to bring this project to life and getting us the supplies that we so greatly needed to get our counseling office organized. I started working in a new school this year, and when I arrived there were no supplies at all. This project filled the shelves and stocked our closet with construction paper, scissors, pencils, chart paper, and computer paper. We now have envelopes to send home parent communication, pocket charts and files for organizing student work, and post-it notes for writing checklists and giving students surprise notes of positive affirmation. You've provided us with posters for the counseling space and laminating pouches to create visual supports. We also have the storage bins needed to organize and label the items that kids use in their therapy sessions and make them easily accessible for students. The labels and visual supports will help students develop their early literacy and communication skills. We were even able to create a functional feelings chart for check-ins where students can indicate how they are feeling at the start of their counseling sessions.
I can't thank you enough for helping me to get our counseling program off the ground this year. You have truly helped me to meet each student where they are at in the beginning of our work together. Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Allison
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 2 other donors.A Safe and Comfortable Space for Play Therapy
Funded Oct 26, 2022Thanks to your generous contribution, we were able to get a rug for our elementary school counseling program! This has completely transformed the therapy room - making it warm and inviting and giving students a comfortable place to engage in play therapy activities. As you can imagine, we spend a lot of time on the floor - racing with cars, building with blocks, and reading together. As soon as the rug arrived, the kids naturally gravitated to the comfy new space.
We were also able to get a floor mat to create a calming corner for our school. We are still working to teach students how to request a break when needed. We are also working to add different coping tools to the space that students can select when they need an emotion regulation strategy, but the colorful floor mat gave us such a big boost in getting a coping corner up and running! Thank you for your kindness.
I know that our students will continue to use and benefit from these spaces for a long time. From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much for your contribution.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Allison
This classroom project was brought to life by Panda Cares and 3 other donors.Using Tech in Therapy
Funded Sep 21, 2022How can I ever say thank you! I am so grateful for your generosity! Having this iPad available for counseling sessions has been a game-changer for my work with students!
All of my students are highly motivated to work towards choice time on the iPad. They love being able to explore their interests - learning about the weather, watching a sportscaster at a basketball game, listening to a story, or playing a game about trains. The kids are learning goal-oriented behavior, how to delay gratification, identifying and expressing emotions, patience, and how to handle disappointment when the activity ends or they don't win a game. Time on the iPad is the most requested reward in my office. We have also enjoyed using the iPad to identify and match emotions during a read aloud of The Color Monster - a story about emotions. I am excited to continue to introduce my students to new tools that they can use on the iPad for mindfulness and coping strategies and can't wait to share these resources with their families as well.
Some of my students are not able to communicate verbally. They have enjoyed using an app on the iPad to log their feelings from session to session and express their emotions to me. This has had such a positive impact in their ability to participate in counseling. Thank you so much for supporting my students!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Allison
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 4 other donors.Support Our Counseling Goals!
Funded Sep 20, 2022Words can't express how grateful I am for your support. I started a new position at a Brooklyn public school this year. When I arrived on day 1, the office was completely bare. There were no hands-on resources for students to use in their counseling sessions. There were no visual aids for students. The space felt sad and deserted. Thanks to your generosity, I was able to put visuals on the walls and supplies into the little hands of our kids.
Playing with potato head, having tea parties, and building towns with trains might just seem like fun and games. While it definitely is FUN, there is also SO MUCH learning that happens when kids can engage in these activities during counseling sessions. We have been working on sharing, taking turns, waiting, making choices, sustaining attention, transitioning from on activity to another, and expressing our emotions.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you so much! My students light up with pride when they master the goals that they are working on in our counseling sessions... and this would not have been possible without you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Allison
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 9 other donors.Counseling Kits for Distance Learning
Funded Jan 13, 2021Thank you so much for supporting my Donors Choose project this year. The extra supplies were really helpful in our second term of school and greatly brightened up our students' counseling sessions. We were able to provide supplies to 27 students. The kids were super excited to receive their remote counseling kits and use the supplies in their virtual counseling sessions and at home with their families.
The students have been using the supplies to develop emotion regulation skills and engage in positive self-expression. They have become expert deep breathers by practicing with their bubbles at home. The model magic has been a favorite activity among the students. We have spent time creating with the model magic in some art therapy exercises to develop confidence, self-awareness, and problem solving skills. The kids absolutely loved making their own puppets. They were very proud of their puppets and enjoyed creating and articulating stories with them.
These supplies have added so much to our teletherapy sessions. I've been able to bring some hands on exploration and play back into counseling which has been so impactful. It's helped me to meet the kids where they are at and empower them to use their voices through play and art. I can't thank you enough for making this possible.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Allison
This classroom project was brought to life by Amazon Business and 12 other donors.