While shopping at Christmas Tree Shop on Friday, I found these 3 tray tables on sale for $9.95. They are metal and wood- very solid! Found a few small round cushions for a good price- viola! 3 new floor spots! I am really starting to get excited for this week! Tomorrow I am presenting a session on flexible seating at the Berks-Lehigh EduSummit! Then, Friday I have an "Open House" where my upcoming students and their parents can come in and check out the flexible seating. I have reading "assignments" for each of them about the benefits of flexible seating, and a survey for the students to complete to share their current preferences with me! So excited for them to come in and see their classroom!
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Here's my girl having a snack at my standing table. Table is set for 9/10 year olds, which is why it looks really tall compared to her 5 year old frame. Students can stand on their feet, on a wobble board, lean on a stool or do the "one leg on chair" move they love so much!
I used heavy duty bed raisers to lift it 5 inches and am very pleased with how sturdy it is! Cheap solution! I am really excited about this coming school year. I have been working really hard in my classroom and have the "bones" all set up! Last year I had an issue with the floor pillows being all over the place, so I decided to use command hooks and have a place for them to hang when not in use! I purchased bed raisers and am going to turn the large table by the window into a standing table. Currently, all I have in the red rolling table (I tried ironing boards but they did not make it long!), so I am glad that I will be able to offer more standing spots this year! The stools will go near those spots in case students need a break from standing. My amazing husband built this shelf to go above my bins. They take up a lot of counter space, and then there was a lot of space above them that was often wasted. I thought that this would be a great place to store pencil pouches when not in use!
Last Friday I went to 5 Below and found some awesome and affordable items for my flexible classroom!
In the pics below you can see my daughter (5 years old) testing out some of our new items! The standing board is from Amazon ($24/each). This is something I've been considering for quite a while now (see previous blog post). I was a little unsure about this addition. Would it be too distracting for standing workers? Would they be falling all over the place? Once my 5 year old showed me how she could move, "work" on her color-by-number and focus at the same time, I was THRILLED! I can't wait to see how my 4th graders respond to it! For starters I bought 3, but as funds arise throughout the year, I may snag a few more!
If you've found some great deals this summer, share your leads in the comment section! Over the past 2 weeks I have been brainstorming my "wish list" for the fall and where I plan to get it from. I've started to enlist the help of some friends and family to make it happen and am so fortunate to have people in my life that are super supportive of my career and risk-taking! Here is what I've come up with so far: I wanted to share with which of these items I am definitely getting and which are "wish" items. 2 boxes blue tape- You know those stretchy bands you get a physical therapy? That is what I am talking about here! Last year I purchased 2 boxes off of Amazon (see below) and cut 3 foot strips. Then, you tie them to students' chairs (I only had a few of those!) or table legs! This gives students some extra sensory input as they work. They can tug on it, pull it, touch it, and it is really not at all distracting to others around them. 2 boxes gave me a piece for each child. ($18.29/box) For this coming year I found- PLUM! (Anyone who knows me knows I LOVE purple!) Stools- On my end of year flexible classroom survey, many students responded by saying they wish I had more stools for standing spaces. I only had 1, and it was very popular. I thought standing spaces were for standing, but I guess, naturally, they want the option to sit occasionally as well. I plan to get 3 more stools- easy fix! Standing Boards- I got the idea for this when I stumbled upon FluidStance.com, which sells these boards you stand on to balance. They were originally designed to keep adults who stand at a work desk moving throughout their day. They are starting to break into the education world, but had no reviews from teachers, which I thought was unfortunate. They are VERY expensive, so I reached out to see if they would let me pilot a set. When that came back a "no", I started digging and found similar products that already existed. I plan to purchase 4 of these wooden standing boards from Amazon- $26/each. That's it for this week! I'll update with progress as I make it! Let me know your thoughts in the comment section. Share any other suggestions you have to keep kids moving (appropriately) in the classroom!
These are my green table cushions we used on the floor for the low-sitting table. I purchased 6 of them ($5/each) from Walmart last August. As you can see they are grotesque. Two didn't make it, two are leaking a filler that resembles human hair and they are all gross and stained. They are as flat as pancakes and just plain repulsive... yet the kids love these spots.
Tip: Make sure all seating is stain proof and/or washable/disinfectable! The floor cushion table allow students to kneel or sit on their bottom. I have noticed that it works especially well and is preferred by my "squirrelier" boys. They can go knees to bottom as desired and they can also lean into their work more. One thing that I DID do to try to keep these cushions sanitary is to denote a "floor" side of the cushion, using a piece of duct tape. This way, the same side was always going on the floor, and that strategy did work! Interestingly, the floor side is now cleaner than the non-floor side. Monday is our last day of school and then these babies are going straight to the trash can. I've been brainstorming with some colleagues for solutions and am going to go 1 of 2 ways (or maybe both! 1- Outdoor cushions (sunbrella fabric)- wipable, DISINFECTABLE, stain resistant... but expensive! 2- Foam yoga blocks Comment with your thoughts or successes! As I approach the end of my first year running a flexible classroom, I am reflecting on my attempts and successes. What a year it has been! If you are at all interested in embarking on a flexible classroom set up, here are some honest, real-life tips to get you started, learned through my own trial and error!
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Starting with the 2015-2016 school year, I piloted a Flexible Classroom.
I be extending this pilot into year 2 for the 2016-2017 school year. I hope you find my blog informative and maybe even a bit inspirational! AuthorKendy Schiffert is a 4th grade teacher at Wescosville Elementary School. Along with her classroom position, she also holds the role of head teacher of her building, and East Penn School District's 4th grade leader. She has a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Kutztown University. Archives
March 2017
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