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This teacher needs your help!

Ms. Traphagen from San Pedro, CA is requesting professional development through DonorsChoose, the most trusted classroom funding site for teachers.

See what Ms. Traphagen is requesting
Professional development

Building a Strong Classroom Community

I need a collection of books for the Responsive Classroom approach to teaching. These books will guide me in establishing a strong classroom community. The Morning Meeting Book will help with our morning routine.

  • $324 goal

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Hooray! This project is fully funded

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Traphagen for her next project!

Help Ms. Traphagen

Keep the momentum going! Make a donation to Ms. Traphagen for her next project!

My Students

After fourteen years of teaching, I still get so excited to meet my new class each year. My class is a diverse group of students. Some come from low income families, some have special needs, they come from several different cultures, and all are ready and eager to learn.

Kindergarten is a unique age, where they are still comfortable being themselves.

We begin the year as strangers and evolve into a classroom community that is more like a family. Our classroom is special because I encourage my students to be independent and rely on one another for help, while I focus on individual student's specific needs. Teaching five-year-olds not to rely on an adult is not always an easy task but the result is awesome and will serve them for years to come.

My Project

Through acquiring this library of books for the Responsive Classroom approach, I will be committing myself to a belief in my students' capacities to take care of themselves and each other in our classroom. "The Morning Meeting Book" will teach me how to hold our daily "morning meetings" that include a greeting song, a student sharing time, the morning message and a class activity. The book "The First Six Weeks of School" will show me how to set my students up for a year of engaged and productive learning. Other books will give me ideas that I can use for morning meeting and guide me in choosing activities to do each day with my students that support the development of social-emotional skills, like respect, responsibility, and stretching the boundaries of their social world.

By using the Responsive Classroom approach that all of these books support, my students will be able to express their feelings and problem solve on their own.

These are skills that will benefit them throughout their educational career. Often times we see individuals who struggle socially because they did not learn social skills. In a time when there is so much emphasis on the academic component in Kindergarten I want to be sure I don't lose sight of the necessity of my students' social development. I want to foster independence and working together. Ultimately my goal for the year is to create a safe environment for learning and socializing with classmates.

Ms. Traphagen Park Western Place Elementary School Grades PreK-2

Equity Focus

This project directly supports students at a historically underfunded school. Learn more about our Equity Focus.

This project will directly impact historically underfunded classrooms.

More about Ms. Traphagen

San Pedro, CA View local requests

More than half of 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

25 students impacted 8donors

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Where Your Donation Goes

Where your donation goes
Materials Cost Quantity Total
The Joyful Classroom: Practical Ways to Engage and Challenge Students K-6 • Amazon Business $22.80 1 $22.80
The Power of Our Words: Teacher Language that Helps Children Learn (Responsive Classroom) • Amazon Business $22.80 1 $22.80
The First Six Weeks of School • Amazon Business $22.80 1 $22.80
The Morning Meeting Book • Amazon Business $22.80 1 $22.80
80 Morning Meeting Ideas for Grades K-2 • Amazon Business $20.90 1 $20.90
99 Activities and Greetings: Great for Morning Meeting...and Other Meetings Too! • Amazon Business $20.27 1 $20.27
Closing Circles: 50 Activities for Ending the Day in a Positive Way • Amazon Business $19.00 1 $19.00
Rules in School: Teaching Discipline in the Responsive Classroom ( Second Edition ) • Amazon Business $18.96 1 $18.96
What Every Kindergarten Teacher Needs to Know (What Every Teacher Needs to Know K-5) • Amazon Business $18.05 1 $18.05
Energizers! 88 Quick Movement Activities That Refresh and Refocus, K-6 • Amazon Business $16.88 1 $16.88
Yardsticks: Children in the Classroom Ages 4-14 • Amazon Business $16.20 1 $16.20

Materials cost

$221.46

Vendor shipping charges

 FREE

Sales tax

 $20.26

3rd party payment processing fee

$3.32

Fulfillment labor & materials

$30.00

Total project cost

$275.04

Suggested donation to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

$48.54

Total project goal

$323.58

How we calculate what's needed

Total project goal

 $323.58

8 Donors

-$322.69

Donations toward project cost

-$275.04

Donations to help DonorsChoose reach more classrooms

-$47.65

Excluded support for DonorsChoose

-$0.89

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. Traphagen and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.

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