Dayton Daily News Article, July 2018
Four (4) staff members from Clearcreek Elementary have begun work on a sensory garden, which is to be used by students in Preschool, Kindergarten, and 1st Grade at Clearcreek Elementary. The sensory garden will be housed in Clearcreek Elementary’s courtyard, as an area for students and teachers to use throughout the school year.
A sensory garden is a self-contained garden environment that allows both students and staff to enjoy a wide variety of sensory experiences, helping to stimulate each individual’s senses. Sarah Wilguess, an Occupational Therapist, Tina Krukenberg, a 1st Grade Teacher, Amy Parks and Dawn Williams, both
Interventional Specialists at Clearcreek Elementary have taken the lead on the
sensory garden project, along with the help of numerous community volunteers
and organizations.
Occupational Therapist Sarah Wilguess said, “We all have different senses we take in that include sight, smell, taste, hearing, or touch. Due to a more sedentary lifestyle nowadays, in the day of technology, our students can sometimes come to school missing key components of filling their sensory buckets. When these sensory buckets don't get filled, in order to balance the child out, we can often see more needs within the school setting. A sensory garden opens the door for these buckets to be filled.”
Clearcreek
Elementary 1st Grade Teacher, Tina Krukenberg, continued, “Within a typical classroom environment, our students are encouraged to maintain calm bodies and organized minds, in order to be able to transition throughout their day. We feel a sensory garden can further elevate student engagement.”
The Clearcreek
Elementary sensory garden will include a water play station, hop scotch for
counting numbers, a music wall to allow the exploration of different sounds, a
bridge, trees, plants, and a variety of green space.
Amy Parks, an Intervention Specialist at Clearcreek Elementary, said, “Throughout the sensory garden children can visit various interactive, multi-sensory stations to reinforce their skills needed for the classroom.”
Dawn Williams, an Intervention Specialist at Clearcreek Elementary, states, “The sensory garden will also be a space where students who may become overwhelmed with noise to have accessibility to a space that provides peace and quiet in order to calm them. The sensory garden experience will allow students to be more successful academically, emotionally, and socially.”
Fundraising,
donations, and volunteer work has been a large contributing factor in the
development of the sensory garden. In May 2018, an Ice Cream Social was held
for 1st Grade students and families at Clearcreek Elementary. Prior
to the event, 1st Grade students created, glazed, and decorated clay
bowls, which were then sold, in order to help raise money for the initial start
of the sensory garden project. K&W in Springboro, Scoops Ice Cream in
Centerville, and Cold Stone Creamery in Miamisburg graciously donated ice cream
for the event. Following this event, the Springboro Schools Board of Education
donated $1,000 to the sensory garden project.
Over the summer, development of the sensory
garden will continue. Volunteers are encouraged to help. A Facebook page (Clearcreek Elementary Sensory
Garden) has been created
for volunteers to view, in order to see future dates where people gather to
work on the overall vision of the sensory garden.
This project would not be possible without the help of numerous volunteers, their hard work, and dedication to the sensory garden project; Swartz Mulch, Village Rental, Landscape Design Center, Sherwin Williams, Ohio Green Works, Grunder’s Landscaping, Quickrete, Bern’s Garden, Lowe’s, Lawn Impressions, Walmart, K&W, Cold Stone Creamery, Scoops Ice Cream, Dairy Queen, Discount Drug Mart, Sam’s, and Roosters.