Meet Your Teacher Night
Back-to-School night is a big night for our kiddos; meeting the teacher, seeing where they'll be learning, and (of course) checking out who else will be in their class! However, it is also our chance to make a great first impression and show them what a fabulous year we'll have. I've spent a lot of time thinking about how to do my Meet Your Teacher Night. Okay, I've mainly been worrying that my room will become a zoo when kids see things like stability ball chairs, bean bags, and my beloved couch. I went so far as to think "Maybe I won't put out certain seating options for Meet Your Teacher Night," but then quickly dismissed that horrible thought! A back-to-school night is the perfect opportunity to not only get the kids excited for choice in their classroom, but it is the ideal time to introduce flexible seating to their parents. I plan to jump back into the practice of giving up control and proudly display my flexible seating classroom! When families walk into my classroom, I want them to get an accurate picture of the flexible seating model. There will be no names on tables suggesting where students might sit on the first day of school. I wanted parents understand that we do not have assigned seats in our room, and I want my students to be excited about all of our different seating options (not just one). On one of my tables, each student will have a folder with his/her name on it that contains information about our classroom. I'm sure this is a common way of getting back-to-school information home with each student that many of you already use. I'll include this parent letter that explains flexible seating and why we do it in our classroom. A tip for getting parent support: invite them into your classroom or share photos of flexible seating throughout the day! I share "in-action" photos of the kids working on our Facebook page to show parents how flexible seating benefits their child.
Beginning of the Year
After Meet Your Teacher Night, students will immediately be interested in how flexible seating works in our classroom. It will be one of the first things we discuss on our first day of school. I try to simplify flexible seating and keep student-friendly language in mind; I call this model "free choice seating" with the kids. We'll look at our guidelines, then groups will act out how to use seating options appropriately (and inappropriately). Instead of unleashing my students on all options at one time, I plan to rotate them through each seating option over the next few days. I'll assign them to a group (based on behavior to help scaffold their time at new types of seats) and rotate the groups through my different tables. I do have a few options that kids might not sit at all day long -- couch, bean bags, pillows, yoga mats, and bath mats. I'll pair these options with a table, and students may try them out on their assigned day. At the end of the rotations, I'll have students reflect by evaluating each option and deciding which areas work best for them. I believe this rotation time will be beneficial because:
1. It allows students to experience each option. When we bring choice into the mix, they will have tried out each seat. I'm hoping this will eliminate the everyone-wants-the-same/new-option that I sometimes experienced last spring.
2. Students get to focus on using seats appropriately. This is incredibly important, especially since I received most of my materials through our PTO. We must treat our materials with respect and keep them in good condition. Once a stability ball chair is punctured by a pencil or pair of scissors, it is gone. Students tend to focus on the choice aspect, and this puts the use-appropriately part at the forefront.
When the time comes for students to choose their own seats, I will remind them of our other guidelines. I will make it clear that this review is their one and only warning about Guideline #4 -- Mrs. Chapman has the right to move anyone at anytime. If they are not doing their third grade best, I will relocate them to an assigned spot for the remainder of the subject/day, and they will receive no warning before I do so. This sets a high expectation for student responsibility and work ethic. I make a point to be strict on this starting out; it will ensure that the rest of our year will run smoothly.
Morning Routine
One of the questions that I've been asked most frequently is "What does your morning routine look like?" I have a very small window of time between when my students arrive at school and when they go to Art/Music/PE; students begin arriving at 8:25, the bell rings at 8:35, and AMP starts at 8:45. I know some people like to have students start at a home spot and rotate which students pick their seat first. The main reason I do not do this is simply because do not have time! I'm lucky if I get my lunch count in prior to AMP time! So, when my students come into our classroom, they sign if for lunch, hang up their backpack, and pick their seat. This works for us because students have the option to move to a different spot throughout the day. If a seat becomes available, they can move there if they'd like. We will have a few discussions when starting flexible seating that help this go smoothly -- avoiding "hogging" a seat, when your seating is "up for grabs", etc. (more details on these topics will be coming soon in my post about resolving conflicts). I am sure to let students know that if they run to their seat, I will be choosing their spot for the day.
Whole Group
I have always been the sort of teacher that likes students to be right there during my whole group instruction. During this time, students have an assigned spot at our carpet space in front of the Promethean board. My school is very big on cooperative learning, and assigned spots allow me to sit students next to a partner who is academically compatible. I also have these "learning teams" posted on our board, just in case we need to get with partners while we are in flexible seating. Even with assigned whole group spots, my students spend the majority of our day in a spot of their choice. Whole group instruction takes up a small portion of each subject. We spend most of our day in small groups/workshop time or cooperative learning structures where I let groups choose where they work.
Leaving the Room
Whenever we are leaving our room, whether it be for lunch, recess, etc., students are still expected to tidy up all materials. This includes our floor materials -- yoga mats, bath mats, and pillows. If these materials were to be left out all day, they would become a hazard to those walking around our room. If students want to use a floor material, they must put it away when they are finished or before we leave the room. Then, they can sit at an open spot and show me they are ready to go. Last year, students often would sit at my chair table or back table with stools during transitions. They would even keep things like a water bottle or glasses case on these tables while they were working on the floor. This was an easy routine that worked well for us.
When implementing a flexible seating model, some problem solving will be necessary. My suggestion would be to develop a plan that you feel will work well in your classroom. However, be willing to edit that plan! You may have to tweak it (or even make big changes) once you try it out with your students. What worked well with my students last year may not be the best fit for my group this year. I'll just have to try it out and be flexible!
Finally, if you follow me on Twitter (@mrs_chapman3) or the amazing @DesklessTribe, you've seen information about #TourMyStarbucksRoom. When I was researching flexible seating, I really just wanted to look at a bunch of classrooms! I'm hoping this hashtag will:
1. Sort out virtual tours of classrooms.
2. Promote flexible seating classrooms and the positive impact they have on students.
3. Provide ideas and inspiration to new flexible seating teachers and to experienced ones.
4. Connect flexible seating educators with one another.
I know many of you are still setting up your classrooms, myself included!! When you're ready, please tweet out a virtual tour of your room and use the hashtag #TourMyStarbucksRoom. Picture tours are awesome, but don't forget that you can record or upload a video that is up to 2 minutes and 20 seconds long. I also love the app Bubbli, which allows you to create a 360 degree "bubble" of your classroom. Be sure to check out the details below and share your classroom!