Bring Your Own Seat
This year I moved schools and switched grade levels. This was the perfect opportunity for me to use a blank slate and create my perfect classroom. Then I moved in. And realized that I was given the exact same resources as in every other classroom. Desks, chairs, a long table, teacher’s desk and teacher’s chair; the usual suspects. So I used the materials and my uncreative mind and created my usual classroom setup, minus the teacher’s desk.
I did bring in my exercise ball but without a horseshoe table, I didn’t have a place to use it. I offered it up for my students and they loved it. The students created a checklist to keep track of who had the ball and now it rotates around the room.
In October, I saw this awesome stool in the Scholastic bonus catalog and ordered one. The students loved it so I burned some bonus points and ordered three more stools.
In November, I found a $5 stool at Five Below. Slowly but surely, I was building a more student friendly environment.
Then, a student asked me if they could bring in an exercise ball from home. Um, sure! More balls and stools followed. Now, over half my students have their own seat.
