My students need comfortable and flexible seating options such as 4 inflatable ball chairs and 2 bean bag chairs in our classroom to promote engagement + collaboration!
I teach in a school in Eastern North Carolina that serves a large military population. My class consists of 17 students with very different interests, personalities and learning styles.
Today's Learners - Tomorrow's Leaders.
My third graders are an enthusiastic bunch with lots of energy and excitement to learn. My students absolutely love to move and work together around the room. They would rather be laying or sitting on the floor than at their desks. They are a sweet group of children that would appreciate your generosity in providing them a comfortable environment.
My Project
It’s 8:45am. You walk into our classroom and you will see students working in pairs or small groups of 3-4 people. They are laying across the rug with some outdoor pillows and clipboards, or kneeling at the low table.They are engaged and working together, sharing their thoughts and processes. You will see me on the carpet sitting cross-legged comfortably on the floor with 3 or 4 students and engaged in a small-group lesson. We have two classroom rugs. One at the front of the room where we gather whole-group most often. We have another in the back of the room with 2 saucer lounge chairs, an exercise ball, large outdoor pillows, a lowered table for kneeling, and a tent. My students love to use this area for reading and small-group work. It is definitely the most loved area in our room. I have decided I want more areas like this. My students love these seating options because they are the most comfortable in them.
I have created a classroom with the philosophy that I want my students to be in a comfortable environment that promotes student collaboration, engagement, and learning.
Right now, each students does not have access to flexible seating because we do not have enough options in our classroom. I want to instill a lifelong love of learning in each one of my students. In order to do that I must ensure that each student feels valued and trusted to make decisions for their own learning in my classroom. Providing students with different flexible seating options allows them to decide where they feel most comfortable. This is why I have decided to create the “Flexible Seating for Learning” Project. This is my first step toward creating a classroom that fully embraces flexible seating.
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