Have you heard about flexible seating? It seems like everywhere I look I see teachers talking about it. Want to give it a try? Learn how I maintain a simple version of it my classroom!
Flexible seating has taken the teaching world by storm in an effort to make our classrooms more student centered. Think about where you work best. Is it at the exact same spot all day long where you have been told to sit? Is that spot a hard chair and a desk or table that you can not maneuver in any way? Probably not! If you wouldn't want to work in an environment like that, how can we expect our students to?
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| Just say no to seating in rows! |
If you want to try to implement more flexible seating, there is not one right way to do it. You can make it work best for you! I have taken a little twist on flexible thinking to work with my young students. I teach my students that I want them to sit where they can do their best work. I give my instructions for each activity with my students either at their tables or at the carpet. Then, when they are ready to work independently, I let them know which flexible seating choices are open. We spend a lot of time in the beginning of the year practicing going to those spots. We see what they look and sound like when being used responsibly.
Many classrooms that have flexible seating options have no assigned seats. Students are free to sit where they would like and where they feel most comfortable. For me, I have had trouble embracing that idea fully with my young first graders. I have found that my students take comfort in having a spot that is theirs. I have also found that life with young students can be more manageable when they have a spot that they know and can return to quickly.
In my (tiny) classroom I have several tables for my students to sit at. I put their name on the back of their chair and that is technically their seat. I find this extremely helpful in the early days of the year because it helps them to have a spot while I take my time in explaining how flexible seating works.
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| Names on the back of chairs! |
You may be wondering where my students keep their supplies if they just have a chair with their name on the back. I have done seat pockets before, but they are expensive and get messy. I have a rainbow cart for community supplies if we need them. My students keep a pencil at their desk with these awesome cord clips. Then, they used these blue boxes from Lakeshore Learning Store for the rest of their supplies. That's all they need! I do not have my students bring tons of supplies, and encourage them to stay organized. It works perfectly!
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| Cord Clips |
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| Student's blue boxes for supplies. |
Along with my tables (they often move their chairs around and sit where they would like) I have a few other choices for my students to choose from when working. My students have access to yoga mats, scoop rockers, ottomans, and pillows. They each have their own clipboard that they can grab when working at these areas. I know it doesn't sound like much, but I think it is just the right amount of choice for my young friends. Plus, it is all that will fit in my room!
I bought my yoga mats from TJ Maxx. You can usually get them for $7.99. My scoop rockers came from Wal-Mart and were only $4.88. I have heard of a lot of people finding them from Aldi also. My ottomans are from Target. I have bought them during the back to school craze in the dorm section. My pillow cases this past year came from Wal-Mart. I think they were around $3.00 each, but they were cute!
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| Yoga Mats and Pillows |
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| Scoop Rockers |
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| Black Ottoman |
How do you incorporate flexible seating? I am always looking for new and fresh ideas to engage my learners. I would love to hear!
UPDATE!! I have made charts for my students to show where they are sitting. We add our initials and change them weekly. You can download the charts by clicking the pictures below!
Back to school is upon us! Are you thinking about changing your writing to a workshop model this year? Already have a workshop happening? Read on to learn about a fun activity that I use to start my workshop off with a bang!
