JEFFERSON TWP — Second- and third-grade students in Shannon Williams’ language arts and social studies classes at South Butler Primary School are enjoying their classwork thanks to a grant from Donors Choose and BIC USA.

Williams applied for and received a grant for $785 for a tabletop learning set, which includes a 4-by-4-foot dry erase table, four wobble stools that allow the students to move around while working, 12 dry erase cleaning cloths, 12 dry erase markers and 12 personal dry erase boards.

Williams uses the dry erase table for small groups.

“It is typically the center the students are the most eager to work at,” she said. “They love getting to write on the table.”

Spelling, word building and sentence writing are assignments that see students working at the tabletop learning setup.

One second-grade class spent a week working on contractions, so every student got a chance to write a contraction on the table and the two words that combined to form it.

“By the end, there were 23 unique word pairs and contractions on the table,” Williams said. “Overall, the items donated have made simple tasks more exciting for my students and they are more eager to complete them.”

She said the wobble stools allow the energetic youngsters “get their wiggles out.”

“They allow my active students to release some energy without interrupting those around them or feeling the need to leave their seat,” Williams said. “They can wobble while they work.”

The items arrived in December and the students have been enjoying them ever since.

“It was like an early Christmas present for myself and my students,” Williams said.

In celebration of their 60th anniversary, BIC USA allocated $60,000 to fund handwriting projects and classroom requests through DonorsChoose.org.

“The funding will reach 5,500 students nationwide, including nearly 400 K-12 students in underserved areas of Pennsylvania,” said a BIC USA news release.

Williams’ tabletop grant was one of 10 received in Pennsylvania, and the only one in Butler County.