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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Jones from Chicago, IL is requesting other through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Jones is requesting

Bubble Bouncing to Excellence!

My students need to have these stability balls available to them as a viable tool that will assist them in focusing in class, while still allowing them movement.

  • $565 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

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Help Ms. Jones

My Students

Imagine a classroom of A.D.H.D. and Autistic children. I recently read about a "stability ball" being used in classrooms that has shown positive benefits for keeping students engaged in learning. Grand State University Prof. John Kilbourne, of Michigan, has proved the success of the balls.

I teach special needs students from grades K-5 at a charter school in a urban neighborhood in Illinois.

Our mission is to build a sense collaboration within the community of families of our school. We stress cooperation, respect, excellence and strong moral character to our students. The students' disabilities are L.D., A.D.H.D., Autistic, Dyslexic, emotional impaired and cognitive impaired. They are great kids that just have a special way of learning. They require a great deal of patience and often come from homes with family issues that can inhibit their ability to learn. They are challenged to remain focused, interested and engaged during direct instruction. Each has a different preferred learning style. I have students who are visual learners, tactile learner, audio learners, kinesthetic learners, or combination thereof. I do not have a teacher assistant, so it is up to me to redirect behavior and provide individual instruction almost seamlessly. This is an exhaustive process.

My Project

I read about Prof. Kilbourne's study. Classroom chairs were removed and replaced with stability balls. The results were increased concentration among the students. To quote, "Children on ball chairs often quit flopping over their desks". The balls provide students with the ability to make tiny movements that, in turn, help stimulate their brains and keeps them focused. This was the conclusion reached by Dr. John Ratey at a Harvard University professor and author. He concluded that, "...just by using their core muscles more, they're flipping on (their cortex)...using more muscles causes the prefrontal cortex to get turned on and can even inhibit impulses." I am constantly interrupting my instruction to get my students to sit up straight, stop wiggling or to stop crawling around on the floor. I allow breaks, but my students still have a compulsion to move in off task ways. Having the ball seats will provide my students with just enough stimulus to allow learning to take place.

My students want to learn, but are impaired by their disabilities.

I believe that having these balls in the classroom will motivate them to learn. It has been my experience that having a toolbox of strategies does not guarantee a student's success. The students must believe in themselves. When I have a child tell me "I am trying, but I can't help it", it breaks my heart. Students must compete to gain academic progress against national standards and need more help to prepare for the future.

Ms. Jones Shabazz Charter School - Betty Shabazz Academy Grades 3-5

Celebrate Black teachers and kids! This project supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of students are Black.

Equity Focus

At this school, more than 50% of students are Black, Latino, and/or Native American, and more than 50% come from low-income households. Learn how your donation to this school supports a more equitable education.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Ms. Jones

Chicago, IL View local requests

Nearly all students from low‑income households Data about students' economic need comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, via our partners at MDR Education. Learn more

12 students impacted 9donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
Stability Balls • WittFitt LLC $29.00 9 $261.00
Stability Balls • WittFitt LLC $24.00 3 $72.00
WittFitt Stability Balls • WittFitt LCC $35.00 1 $35.00
Resource Packet • WittFitt LLC $25.00 1 $25.00
Classroom pump • WittFitt LLC $20.00 1 $20.00

Materials cost

$413.00

Vendor shipping charges

 $35.00

Sales tax

 $0.00

3rd party payment processing fee

$6.20

Fulfillment labor & materials

$9.00

Total project cost

$463.20

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$101.68

Total project goal

$564.88

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $564.88

9 Donors

-$564.88

Donations toward project cost

-$463.20

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$101.68

Still needed View calculationHide calculation

 $0.00

Our team works hard to negotiate the best pricing and selections available.

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As a teacher-founded nonprofit, we're trusted by thousands of teachers and supporters across the country. This classroom request for funding was created by Ms. Jones and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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