Past projects 11
Energizing Students Through Snacks
Funded Dec 18, 2024Thank you for donating to our therapy room. Your donations has allowed dozens of students to have access to snacks within therapy sessions. This has been a game changer for student performance and participation.
Many of our students come from low income homes which makes it an additional challenge to have a variety of snacks on hand throughout the school day. Many of our students also don't eat breakfast due to traveling from far in the morning missing the opportunity at school. With the access to these snacks they have been able to know that the OT room is place of comfort and safety for many with food insecurity.
My students and myself thank you again for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 2 other donors.Small Group Sensory Needs
Funded Sep 20, 2024Thank you so much for donating to this project. With the funds I have been able to provide weekly whole class push in occupational therapy sessions. Each item has been so well loved by the students and specifically target certain OT goals the students have.
Additionally the bubble tube has been a huge hit. It has been placed within our newly created sensory room. It providers such a calming respite for our students. Students have also grown very fond of the sensory socks, and the liquid stepping stones. These have become a stable in their daily routine.
Thank you for supporting our class room! Happy Holidays.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
Sensory Exploration Equipment & Discovery
Funded Apr 4, 2024Thank you for your support in donating to my therapy room. The supplies that we were able to buy made a huge impact on treatment sessions. Students were able to explore new sensory systems through play, exercise, and various creative obstacle courses.
When we first opened up our donors choose boxes, the students were so surprised. They couldn't believe we were able to get so much. A favorite has been the sensory pea-pod, bean bag, and stepping stones. The equipment has been such a success that we are going to recreate these wonderful sensory experiences within our small special education classroom this year.
Your support has helped so many students & I am so thankful!”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
Printing Power
Funded Jun 15, 2023I wanted to say thank you again for your generous donations to my therapy room. As the school year has kicked off and we are now underway in month 2 your donations helped supply ink and a teachers pay teachers gift card.
With the gift card, I was able to purchase at the start of the school year assessments to gather baseline data from my students as well as get my students involved in the purchase of worksheets. Students made lists of their interests and I was able to buy worksheets that would be motivating and engaging while still informative. These included of course Minecraft, Star Wars, and Roblox themes.
My students are having so much fun seeing new activities and ones that are truly geared to them. Thank you so much from myself and my occupational therapy students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Supporter and 3 other donors.Sensory Discovery
Funded Nov 3, 2022Thank you so much for donating to my therapy room! These tools that you have purchased for us have made a huge impact on students' excitement and participation within sessions.
Sensory play and sensory-motor activities allow students to be exposed to a variety of sensory processing inputs such as tactile, vestibular, and proprioceptive input. As our bodies take in new information, we prosses that information which in turn produces an output or response. For students who have difficulty processing sensory information, allowing them to explore new inputs in a controlled environment helps their bodies to produce positive effects. This could include reducing anxiety, alerting the body from a hypoactive state, calming down the body from a hyperactive state, or providing proprioceptive input to help the body understand its position in space.
Each item you have purchased has made an impact on my students and in turn, has helped them become better participants in their classroom.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
Rewards That Are Worth It!
Funded Sep 29, 2022Thank you to all who helped fund this project. My students have loved being able to choose from a variety of prizes thanks to you. These prizes/rewards have worked well with our new reward system within occupational therapy sessions. Students are able to identify positive moments or progress they have made and get points for each positive impact/statement they make. Students have been learning to see their hard work and things that were once challenging to them as something that they are able to achieve. As they earn points they have been saving up and learning to budget their points. This has greatly helped our sessions and my students are so thankful.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 3 other donors.We've got the WRITE stuff !
Funded Sep 20, 2022Thank you again for donating to my occupational therapy classroom. Your donations have helped to give my students the needed supplies to learn and love how to write. Students have shown an improvement in engagement and I can already start to see an improvement in their handwriting and it's only October!
I am so encouraged by the support of family, friends, and strangers alike. Occupational therapy is such a critical service to have within the school building and being able to have the supplies I need to provide for my students has been such a blessing.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 8 other donors.Swiftly Cleaning Away Germs
Funded Apr 7, 2022Thank you again for donating to my classroom. This past school year was like none other due to covid and many uncertainties. I knew that within my therapy room I wanted to provide a clean environment where I and my students felt comfortable. Thanks to your help, we were able to deep clean weekly and make our room always looking great.
The students were very excited to open up the packages and see what a Swiffer wet jet was. Many of my students had never seen one and it became the hot commodity and most requested "job" within the therapy room. Mopping and sweeping itself is a complex task that takes motor planning, spatial awareness, and hand-eye coordination. Thanks to your help my students were able to work on their skills, learn new life skills, and help maintain a clean classroom.
I look forward to continuing to use these products and tools in the upcoming school year with my students.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose community & an Anonymous Partner and 7 other donors.Light Up the Room, Sensory Box
Funded Dec 28, 2021The sensory light-up table has been a huge source of encouragement, growth, and joy over the last few months. The table gets used daily as a way to engage students in self-regulation, fine motor, and academic tasks.
When my students first saw the sensory table they were so excited, we tried out every color light and manipulative that went with the table. Each student has their favorite combo of light and manipulatives. Using the table, I have incorporated the learning of letters/numbers by tracing symbols, hiding letters within the box, playing letter matching, and providing much-needed sensory input for the tactile and visual systems.
Without your generous donation, I would have never been able to provide this resource to my students. This table is just the start of what I hope to be part of a much needed sensory room for students to use and incorporate into their day.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 7 other donors.Play Is My Favorite Occupation: Functional Therapy Games
Funded Dec 1, 2021My students were so shocked when they opened up the packages with all our new games and resources. These materials have helped to encourage my students to build strong fine motor, problem-solving, and social skills. Fan favorites so far have been the Zoob tubes, and the ISpy game. As an occupational therapist working with children, their main occupations in life are being a student and playing. With your generous donations, I have been able to combine both occupations so well. Play in itself is motivating so being able to provide my students with new and up-to-date games, helps to motivate them to do challenging work. My therapy room is really starting to fill up and become a place to provide helpful and effective treatment to hundreds of kids in the years to come thanks to the wonderful donors here on DonorsChoose.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Alana Valle
This classroom project was brought to life by The DonorsChoose Community and 6 other donors.