Your classroom should give off a friendly, welcoming ambiance where students feel they belong. Wobble chairs encourage active sitting and provide light exercise for the legs, back, and core. Wobble chairs (or wobble stools) are perfect those students that just can't sit still. Students can use a low table to kneel, sit cross-legged, or even sit on top of - for example, during reading activities. You may even require customized adjustments to a normal table.īut the fact that many flexible classroom teachers go through the trouble of getting them suggests that they can be worth the effort.Įquipped with or without a cushion, low tables represent yet another option for kids who don't sit well at desks all day long. This can make low tables difficult to find. Low TablesĪ low table sits at a diminished height relative to conventional chairs. Since their benefits are numerous and their impact on performance can be unmistakable, there’s no sense in conceiving of standing desks as useful only to adults or in the context of professional work.Īs with many flexible seating options, some students may take time to adjust to standing desks.īut once they become accustomed to the new experience of working while standing, they’re likely to prefer a standing desk to a conventional one! 8. While standing desks are better known for their increasing popularity in offices and workplaces, their presence is also growing in schools around the world.Īnd they’re catching on for a reason: numerous studies show that prolonged periods of sitting can be terrible for our health. If your school is unable to help finance your new classroom arrangement, you can ask for donations or view discount options at second hand stores. If you are working with a limited budget, a couch will probably not be your first option. While a couch is not always suitable for individual activities, it can anchor a specific section of your classroom. You probably don’t associate a couch with academic performance or mental focus, but it is a viable - if slightly less common - option for flexible classroom seating. A simple cushion or mat is one flexible seating option that works because, as she says: Kristine Fourman, a teacher in the Bucyrus Elementary Preschool Program, is passionate about the connections between seating, students, and academics. Both of these scenarios demonstrate that you don't need expensive equipment to transition your classroom into one that supports flexible seating.Įvery student learns (and typically, sits) differently, but teachers often find that a simple cushion or mat is a popular choice among students in flexible seating classrooms. In the example below, students read books. In the example above, students use tablets on the floor. While it may seem disorderly at a glance, working on the floor is an ideal solution for students who have difficulty sitting still for prolonged periods of time.įlexible seating encourages children to sit where they wish based on their needs, and - as you will likely find - children are often satisfied to work (and work productively) on the floor. Many teachers enjoy using them as options in a flexible seating classroom because they are conducive to both individual, quiet study as well as more collaborative, discussion-based group work.įinally, stools with high tables are also useful because they give students the ability to switch between sitting and standing within the same working or studying session. Stools allow students to adopt different - and, frequently, healthier - postures than conventional seating arrangements. She even argues that the physical arrangement of a classroom can signify a broader shift towards a new approach to teaching overall, remarking:Ī simple change compared with most flexible seating trends, stools(typically coupled with high-top tables) are a great option in a redesigned classroom. These two students are pupils of Kayla Delzer, a 2nd Grade teacher and author whose passionate advocacy of flexible seating and classroom redesign has earned her the title of one of the top 100 innovative teachers worldwide.ĭelzer, like many teachers who now embrace flexible seating, is keen to note how changing the physical space of a classroom directly maps to an impact on student behavior and learning outcomes. Many students respond well to using exercise balls (also known as stability balls, yoga balls, or balance balls) because they offer a range of motion while allowing a student to stay seated. It can be hard for children to sit still, which - as every teacher knows - can make it difficult for students to stay on task.
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