August 2017 ~ 2nd Day of 1st Grade

This is our 2nd year of using flexible seating in the classroom.  I LOVE it!  I learned a lot last year about what worked with it and what doesn't work.  I learned that not everyone enjoys sitting on the stability balls.  (I had enough for the entire class to sit on.)  I also learned that I can become very motion sick when several kids are bouncing too much while I'm teaching.  Blah!  I also learned that while some students enjoy sitting on the stability balls, it might not be the best place for them due to the fact they can't sit on them safely.  I also learned that these are super for some kids and help get the "ants out of the pants" and are great to help those wiggly kids focus. It's quite amazing!  

  This is another option for seating.  I actually have a trapezoid table with 3 of these for seating as well.  Some kids really enjoy sitting on these cubes.  

 This table is low to the floor so that students can sit on these wobble cushions, on their knees, or just on the floor.  I also have a couple of plastic outdoor chairs that some kids may choose to sit in with their clipboards.  If students do not want to sit on the balls at these tables, I have stools as well as chairs that they may pull up to the tables.  It's interesting that it is very rare that anyone chooses a chair to sit on at one of these tables.  

Here are some pictures of the kiddos playing "Find a friend who......."   We have several newbies to OCA this year, so this is a great way for the kids to move around and get to know each other a little bit.  They are so cute!  

It was a great day!  I love this kids already! I hope you enjoy seeing your children in the classroom!


Below are pictures of a directed drawing the kids did from the story "No, David!".  Below the drawing, the kids wrote our classroom rules.  I think they turned out really cute!