Can you imagine listening to a teacher read the story of the 3 Billy Goats Gruff without using any props to help you understand what is happening? Or being asked to retell the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears when you can't speak? That is a problem my preschoolers with special needs face daily.
I work in a preschool classroom for children with autism spectrum disorders.
My classroom is located on an isolated site with 5 classes that only serve children with special needs. Because we are a preschool site, we do not receive Title 1 or ADA funding because those programs do not assist preschools. However, because we are a special education site, we do not receive the funding that other preschool programs receive such as HeadStart. This means that any "extras" we need in the classroom are not likely to be purchased by the school district and in the end the teachers donate their own money to purchase these materials.
My students are adorable and friendly. They LOVE to be at school and just like any other preschooler, they love exploring the world around them and learning new things. It is just a little more difficult for my students since they don't have typical language skills and need hands-on materials to help them understand spoken language.
My Project
Can you help me make story time with nursery rhymes more accessible to my preschoolers with special needs?? We need hands-on materials like puppets that are related to the various nursery rhymes we learn in my preschool program. The puppets are a great way for me to add a little bit of visual fun to my story time while also helping my students understand the context of the story.
The nursery rhyme puzzles are yet another way to reinforce the story during our fine motor activities and allow little hands to develop dexterity and coordination while recreating the nursery rhyme.
Your support of this project will give my preschoolers with special needs the chance to use hands-on materials to understand and retell a nursery rhyme because they can't use their voices!
More than three‑quarters 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
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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. Ramsay and reviewed by the DonorsChoose team.
