This is my first blog post in a 3 part series on flexible or alternative seating in the classroom. Click here for part 2 and here for part 3.

August is just around the corner so I am sure all teachers are working vigorously on lesson plans.

*Presses play on 12th episode of Glow in a row*

Ok, maybe not. But here in the next couple of weeks, teachers will be flocking to Ikea, Target, and Teacher Tools to stock up on everything we want need for our classrooms this year. Many teachers are considering flexible or alternative seating options in their classroom.

Flexible seating involves offering students a variety of seating choices in addition to or in place of traditional tables and chairs. Students are often permitted to choose their own seating on stools, bean bag chairs, or even on the floor.

If you are a teacher that hasn’t embraced flexible seating, your opinion on it probably falls into one of two camps: “Flexible seating! I am interested, but haven’t taken the plunge” or “Eeeek! Flexible seating? Kids running rampant in the room with no structure? No how, no way, not now, not ever!”

If you fall into the first category, stick with me here while I convince you that you can and should take the plunge!

If you fall in the second category, I totally get you. Flexible seating sounds really scary. It’s a big release of control as a teacher, and involves putting a lot of trust in students. As a kindergarten teacher, that’s especially hard… it’s the first time many of them are in school or any kind of structured environment. They might not even know how to sit still in a chair, much less on a wobbly stool.

But that’s exactly why we need to offer alternative seating. These little kiddos have not been sitting still in chairs at home for the last five years. They more than likely choose to sit where they like in the comfort of their own houses, just as we teachers like to. (And we definitely haven’t chosen to lay in bed all summer, right? Cough….cough…)

We wouldn’t want someone telling us that we must sit in a certain uncomfortable position all day. So why do we do that to our little students?

Children were not made to sit at a desk. They need movement, they need choices, and they need flexibility.

We have all read the staggering statistics about increased ADHD diagnoses. I am no doctor, nor a diagnostician, and I don’t want to be. There are several reasons for this increase…not the least of which is increased awareness and former underdiagnosis. However, I do firmly believe that we as teachers repeatedly telling parents that their children “have a problem sitting still” drives them to seek medical advice, and sometimes that isn’t necessary. There are many children with ADHD. There are children that benefit from medication. I am not discrediting any of that. In fact, flexible seating can absolutely benefit those kiddos!

But today I am focusing on another category of children-the little ones who haven’t learned how to sit still. The ones who genuinely just can’t help it, and not because of ADHD, but because they need physical activity. We tell parents that there is an issue with their children but in reality…our expectations are the issue. We want students to sit still and listen and their bodies are telling them that they need to move.

This is a systemic problem in public education as we continue to push developmentally inappropriate standards on our little ones. And in truth flexible seating by itself will not fix this issue. If you want to do right by your students, you need to incorporate outdoor learning, extra recesses, free choice centers, movement-based lessons, and brain breaks. But those are all longer discussions for another day.

Flexible seating is not the magic fix to attention problems. It is, however, an important piece of the puzzle.

How can flexible seating help attention issues?

It provides movement

Most 5-year-olds can sit still and focus on an activity for a maximum of 10-15 minutes (and even less if they find it boring or are surrounded by potential distractions). Trying to force them to sit still and learn is like trying to fit a square peg in a round hole. So why not just give them a round peg? By providing seating options such as stools that wobble or exercise balls, you are providing them the opportunity to move while learning. It will satisfy their innate need to move so you can actually get a lesson done without stopping to lecture little Bobby on fidgeting.

It provides choice

Children thrive off of autonomy. The more you try to control them, the less you will get done. You can either spend 20 minutes trying to argue, threaten, and scold your students into sitting on the carpet or in their chair…or you can make the decision to allow your students to have reasonable choices and take an active participant in their own education.

In my class, we talk a lot about deciding what kind of seating is best for you to learn. They get to evaluate this and make decisions. This satisfies that craving for autonomy so that I might not get as much pushback in other areas and reduces the amount of time I waste trying to force seating arrangements.

It provides comfort

My husband loves to read in the car or in an airplane. I can’t get comfortable reading in either of those settings. When I read, I need a soft seat and a place to prop up my feet. I prefer a lamp, he likes natural light. We both have different ideas of a comfortable reading spot. Guess what? So do kids. (And I am going to go out on a limb and say that approximately 0% of them prefer reading while sitting rigidly at a desk.)

Reading is much more enjoyable when you are comfortable. Flexible seating allows students to find their comfort environment for reading and working.

It provides safety

Every single kindergarten teacher has at least one student each year who won’t keep their chair on the floor. They tilt back in it…if you are a teacher you know exactly what I am talking about. It’s extremely dangerous. They need to move so badly that they risk hurting themselves in the process. I used to have to make those students either stand up or sit on the floor to keep them from tilting back and busting their head open. But with my flexible seating, I am able to eliminate the issue altogether! It’s a sanity saver.

To sum up the benefits: flexible seating provides movement, choice, comfort, and safety! Have I convinced you that flexible seating is a must yet? If you still aren’t sure, tune in to the next post in this series, where I get into the nitty-gritty of how to make flexible seating work in your classroom without your students running amok!

 

 

Posted on: July 27, 2018, by : admin