Comfy Seating for Reading Fun in a Spanish 1st Grade!

Funded Aug 10, 2016

Dear Donors,

As a teacher, mother and 'Holyoker' (born, raised and now have my own children in the public schools) I want to express my heartfelt gratitude. Our students are using the comfy seating (pillows, beanbags and two sofas) to sit or lay and enjoy reading! One heartfelt moment I'd like to share happened about a month ago. One student has a real hard time staying still. He likes to hum and make sounds. He came up to me one day and said, "Sra. Silva, can I please sit in a beanbag so that I can be calm and not act all crazy?" What struck me was that he said "crazy." This child is only 6 years old and he realizes that sometimes he just can't control himself. But for a child to say such a phrase...It honestly shocked and saddened me. I wondered how many times he had heard this? Of course, I said a big yes. He sat there comfortably and content as we did reading workshop. I thought of how blessed we were by you our donors and how happy you would be if you had witnessed this. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

When the students first saw the colorful beanbags, sofas and the school supply organizers they were instantly intrigued. They love reading and sitting comfortably to work, read, and think. One student said, "you didn't have anything for us to sit on? That means, we'd have to read on the floor and she made a sad face. Then she said, "I LOVE all the different seating options in our class!" You've impacted room 15 in such a great way and this comfy seating will be comforting, calming and attracting many beautiful, young minds for many years to come.

Your generosity also allowed for us to buy Spanish stamps and stickers, one Spanish game and 4 books on CD. We found that we need more books on CD and possibly wireless headphones or even bluetooth. The wired headphones that came with the listening center we have get very tangled. I don't know what else is out there. I'll have to look into it. I also would like RAZ kids in Spanish. It is a great app for reading that is also leveled by reading level and accessible at home and school. With this program, I have access to each child's reading comprehension and progress. I absolutely loved it! I got to trial it for one month last year. I will continue to seek to improve my teaching and my students learning and experiences in the classroom and I will remember your generosity and its' impact for the rest of my life! You made a teacher and 38 children really happy this year and I'll make sure that future generations know that a few people that didn't even know them, believed in them the way I believed in them and thought they were worth it. They really are worth it! :)”

With gratitude,

Mrs. Silva