Classroom Champions: Child development teacher needs seat sacks for class

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A teacher at Ashley River Creative Arts in West Ashley says she needs help to start the year off right.

Anna Stillinger is a child development teacher who has been teaching for eight years. Three years ago, she was given the opportunity to begin the Child Development Program at Ashley River Creative Arts Elementary School, a program they didn’t have before her arrival.

Child Development is a child enrichment program for children who are four by Sept. 1 in Charleston County. Stillinger says students come into the program from lower socio-economic backgrounds and teachers try to target any risk factors so they can promote literacy and math readiness for kindergarten.

Stillinger is looking for seat sacks, which are organizational sacks, that attach to the back of a child’s chair. This is a place where they can put all of their materials when they come into the classroom.

“It’s nice for the child because everything is there. They’ve got a water bottle, it’s there. They’ve got their pencil boxes, crayons and any material we’re using for instructional time, which is nice because this is the first time they’ve ever been in a formal school setting so the structure and the routine takes a little while to get used to,” Stillinger says, “Having those seat sacks is great because everything is right there at their fingertips.”

Stillinger says they’re doing everything they can to make sure their students are set up for success.

“I tell this to parents every year: ‘I cannot love them as much as you do but I promise I’ll be the second person in line for them,’” Stillinger says. “It’s hard, especially when they’re that little but we love them almost as much as their parents do.”

This year, Stillinger says she’s looking forward to meeting all of her future students and developing a relationship with the parents.

Stillinger also has an Amazon wish list with supplies like dry erase stickers and to celebrate posting behavior she’s including a bubblegum machine with prizes inside.

“The joy and surprise of turning that bubblegum machine when you were younger was a joy, so it reinforces positive behavior,” Stillinger says.

Click here to donate to Stillinger’s class and become a Classroom Champion.

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