First, I am so sorry for my delay. This time of year is the busiest, and with students with diverse learning abilities, testing, schedule changes, after school programs, and much more-everything is in constant motion!
This quarter we had a schedule change and initially my group of 6th, 7th and 8th graders together were extremely challenging to instruct. Each grade level was working on different standards, and within those groups, different skills. I could barely keep up...I couldn't keep up.
So I created sensory stations with slime, stickers, legos, games, books, coloring, etc. and allowed students to choose their stations. I observed them to see what they were interested in, how they worked together with one another, how they behaved.
Cursing stopped completely. Eloping from the classroom did as well. The students that couldn't sit still never got up anymore and those who didn't want to come in, found a safe place to sit.
With your donation, we now have stations where children are comfortable, safe and confident. They work well with and respect one another. And because of that, I can now go to each grade level and instructional level to work on their learning standards and expectations. Initially students were self-assessing using a rubric we created - giving themselves "D"s and/or "F"s. Today they know no other grade than an A!
We are so thankful and again apologize for our delay, the madness was overwhelming but in the long run...well worth it for these outcomes. If you walked into the classroom you would see the safest, calmest, most productive and confident students and environment. And all thanks to you.”
With gratitude,
Ms. Cindy Alvarado