One thing I learned during my first year of running a flexible seating classroom is that you really need to take time to get the parents and families on board. After all, there are so many things that are "different from when we were in school" and flexible seating is definitely one of them! Part of what makes my classroom so successful is that I make sure that families know they are an essential part of the team!
The first thing I do is send a brochure about flexible seating home in each child's summer welcome letter. Want to see it? Check it out here!
From there I have 2 "Open Classroom" dates in August where the parents and children could come in and see/experience the classroom for themselves. This gave me a chance to meet with each family individually, make a great first impression, and address any concerns they had. It makes the "beginning of the year jitters" fewer and starts to build rapport!
Common questions to be ready to answer:
"Where do they put their stuff?" "What happens next year when they have a new teacher?"
"What if they want a regular chair?" "What does your principal think of this?"
During this time I give both the parents and the children an article to read about Flexible seating, and ask them to try out a few different seats! Along with learning the theory and research behind it, they will experience for themselves that it is not that scary. For the parents I print this blog post from the principal at Legacy Elementary in Ashburn, Virginia. For the students I use this NewsELA article which can be leveled anywhere from a lexile 470 to fluent.
The first thing I do is send a brochure about flexible seating home in each child's summer welcome letter. Want to see it? Check it out here!
From there I have 2 "Open Classroom" dates in August where the parents and children could come in and see/experience the classroom for themselves. This gave me a chance to meet with each family individually, make a great first impression, and address any concerns they had. It makes the "beginning of the year jitters" fewer and starts to build rapport!
Common questions to be ready to answer:
"Where do they put their stuff?" "What happens next year when they have a new teacher?"
"What if they want a regular chair?" "What does your principal think of this?"
During this time I give both the parents and the children an article to read about Flexible seating, and ask them to try out a few different seats! Along with learning the theory and research behind it, they will experience for themselves that it is not that scary. For the parents I print this blog post from the principal at Legacy Elementary in Ashburn, Virginia. For the students I use this NewsELA article which can be leveled anywhere from a lexile 470 to fluent.
Finally, I post daily or weekly pictures of students successfully interacting with the flexible seating on my ClassDojo app (if you are not familiar with it, please check it out! Free and useful!). I have received tons of positive feedback on these pictures and I think it can really help families build confidence and trust when they can see it with their own eyes.
So bottom line- COMMUNICATION is KEY!