Past projects 108
Mindfulness Matters in Special Education
Funded Jul 11, 2017Hi! It's now fall and we are going to enter our fourth week of the school year on Monday. This summer I was able to watch and learn from the chair yoga webinars that you so graciously funded for me. While we are constantly working out kinks and still working on buy in for some of my students, I am loving our daily teaching of yoga! My students lead lives with so much baggage at such young ages. Yoga is a tool they can take with them ANYWHERE to relax and reconnect to their calm self. I know that with time we will see incredible results. Thank you so much for your generosity.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
Healthy Snacks Can Change the World!
Funded Jul 2, 2017Snack time is a sacred routine in our classroom. My students know it means the day is almost over, and that we can relax, chat, and watch a fun video on YouTube. My students practice caring for one another by rotating "snack helpers" and using manners when they get their hand sanitizer, paper towel, and snack. It has been such a meaningful, organic way to build community within our classroom. My students have hard shells and can be challenging to reach. Food really brings people together - even kids! Without your donation, I would be constantly buying snacks at the store, running around like crazy to get it all done. Thank you so much for easing my stress and bank account, while providing this important routine for my class.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 3 other donors.Project Organization: Special Education Style!
Funded Jun 20, 2017The organizational cubbies that you generously provided for us have become my favorite piece of furniture in the classroom! They thankfully were delivered right before school started. Last year, we had very small hooks where the students would hang their coats and back packs each morning. They would constantly fall on the ground and would drive everyone crazy! Our cubbies are so sturdy, don't take up too much room, and have plenty of space for each student. I love how it teaches them routine and responsibility, and gives them a spot that is just for them. Thank you SO much for providing for us.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
Amazon Echo for Special Ed Learners
Funded Jul 23, 2017My students returned to school two days ago. Transitions can be exceptionally hard for children, no less my students whom have lives full of transition, uncertainty, and constant chaos. Positive distractions can be really useful for my students, and Alexa is just that! Since most of my students live in a residential treatment center, they were totally unfamiliar with Amazon Echo. They were simply AMAZED that when I spoke to the speaker, it answered! We are working on establishing rules/expectations for using it, but I know it will greatly help my students with responsibility, earning fun rewards, and staying engaged. Thank you SO much for your dedication to helping my students learn and succeed.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
Books That Teach Social Skills in Special Education
Funded Jun 13, 2017You are AMAZING. This summer, I made my classroom library a big project. I wanted to highlight diverse books with characters that look like my students, and books that would help me teach social skills concepts to my class. These books are beautiful and have so many wonderful themes. I almost need more space for my library with all of these donations! During a "meet the students" night this week, we read Visiting Feelings, and I introduced some of the other books we received. They were so excited to add them to their individual book boxes. I can't wait to create lessons surrounding each book so we can dive deep into the themes and life lessons attached to each book. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for investing in our classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
Healthy Snacks Needed for Special Education School
Funded Mar 29, 2017First off, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Your generous donation has given us so much.
You would not BELIEVE the looks on my students faces when I un boxed so many snacks! I had to explain, more than twice, that they were not all to be eaten in one day! It was truly priceless.
Our snack time is coveted time during the day. Many students "cash out" their behavior plan points at the end of the day, and we relax with a snack and a YouTube video. It's a great way to chill out after a day of hard work. Thanks to you, we are now no longer scrounging for leftovers from lunch or eating cereal crumbs from an almost empty container. I am so grateful for our stocked "kitchen" with healthy and hearty snacks that are kid and teacher approved.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and one other donor.Successful Guided Reading in Special Education
Funded May 2, 2017Hooray!!! Getting these materials funded was such a blessing to me as a teacher and to my entire classroom. love gaining materials that I will be able to use for years. As soon as I received the funding, I was able to download the materials immediately. This was so awesome and really unique to this project, as everything I requested is downloadable. I immediately printed out individual poetry journals for the students so we could end the year with fluency practice. The students love it! I have been reviewing the Guided Reading materials so I can pilot a new Guided Reading group during our summer school sessions. I am so excited. Thank you again for your generosity, it will make all the difference!”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
Stop the Noise! Headphones for Special Education School
Funded Mar 29, 2017What a relief! These headphones could not have gotten into our hands at a better time. We are currently returning from spring break, which is always a tricky time. Transitions are so tough for our students. We are also completing state testing, which is also such a hard time for our students! Having all the sensory tools we need at our finger tips is helping to make our school a calmer place to be. Our students use headphones to help them focus, to drown out excess noise, and to help them de-escalate and recover from experiencing uncomfortable emotions. Thank you SO much for seeing this need and helping our wonderful students.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
This classroom project was brought to life by Aspect Ventures and one other donor.Extra Extra! Our Special Ed Class Needs Adapted Newspapers!
Funded May 25, 2017We started using our News 2 You subscription during Extended School Year, or summer school. It has been the perfect way to keep working on academics in a way that is still fun and very engaging. We have learned about the new app, Lego Life, that is a kids social network. My students have been SO interested. They love the symbol supported newspaper and all of the fun activities. They have started getting into crossword puzzles after learning how to complete one from this subscription. This is going to be such a fun new curriculum piece to have in our classroom for the school year. Thank you for making this possible and bringing the world to my classroom.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski
This classroom project was brought to life by An Anonymous Funder and 5 other donors.Culturally Relevant Books for Our Special Education Classroom
Funded Apr 10, 2017Getting these books was more special and exciting than I had pictured! I went against our daily lesson plan for reading so that we could spend time checking out our new books. When I laid the books out on the rug and introduced each one, I had to remind the students multiple times to wait before they could grab them! They were SO excited. One of my students commented, "Wow, all of these books talk to us about what people look like and why it's special." I was curious if my class would catch on to the theme. Today, I put all of the books in our library and many students were searching for them to add to their book box. I am so heartened to see so many MORE books that show characters that mirror my students in our library. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping my students fall in love with reading.”
With gratitude,
Mrs. Szczecinski