Bouncy balls for fidgety kids prove calming for classroom
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SHERWOOD, Ore. – Parents know how much of a chore it is to get a child to sit still but one second-grade teacher may have found the solution.
In Sari Hedges' classroom at Hopkins Elementary there's no sitting still allowed. All her students sit on one of those large exercise balls all day. It might be expected there'd be chaos with 7 year olds on bouncy balls, but in Hedges' classroom the kids are calm.
Hedges replaced the standard chairs with the exercise balls this year with the help of a private, nonprofit grant she applied for. The goal is to get rid of that excess energy through controlled movement throughout the day and help settle the students' minds for school work.
Hedges acknowledges that some people thought she was a little off her rocker.
"But they (the kids) love it and anybody who comes to our class thinks it is pretty cool," she says.
She wanted a way to get her students to focus and sitting still was almost out of the question. So she figured, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
"This gives them the chance to (have) freedom of movement while they're listening and learning," she says.
There were some critics.
"People think the kids can't handle them because they're balls, and they just might throw them, kick them or whatever – that it might be more chaotic in the classroom, but overall I think it helps calm them down for the most part," says Hedges.
She got the idea reading about similar success stories in schools across the country.
There are rules, however. The children can bounce if it's under control and two feet must remain on the ground at all times. If students break the rules, they have to sit in a regular chair.
There are two other second-grade teachers at Hopkins who are now trying to get the same fitness balls in their classrooms.
My son's 6th grade classroom uses these and he loves it. Apparently the teacher feels they work, he used them last year as well.
I use one of these as a desk chair. It's great for strengthening your 'core' while going about normal work. They are also next to impossible to slouch on. I think it's a great idea to incorporate a little exercise, toning, flexibility, stability and correct posture. In the long run the kids will benefit just as much as they do in the short run.
MY wife and I use these as well, very fun!
This could be a major setback to the drug industry!
@swimbad They are sure drugging kids up like none other...have you seen photos of drugged up kids? Its so sad...
A good Spartan mother sent her seven-year-old to a proper agoge (sort of like Marine Corps boot camp, but harder) for the next thirteen years, and they burned off all of their spare energy being flogged and beating each other up. Very polite society.
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They also tossed "defective" children into a ravine, practiced required homosexuality and while successful, could never have a population larger than any of their rivals and thus suffered constant war. Â
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Then they faded into nothing.
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There are drawbacks to every system.
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I once sat on a ball and it was very painful.
I had all of my students sitting on fitness balls instead of chairs. I loved it. They wanted the balls because I prefer to sit on one instead of a chair. It really helped the kids stay on task.
The nuns used to just smack the hell out of us if we didn't sit still. It worked. When I went to see Late Night Catechism a few years ago, I was so traumatized I had a panic attack.Â
Interesting idea.
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When I was a little older I took Rittilan to mellow me out
Back in my day, after walking uphill in the snow to get to school, a ruler was the preferred method of keeping us focused.
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Hey, whatever works. Kudos to the teacher for at least trying something new.
Oh Wow! I'm absolutely going to have to try this with my son here at home. What a phenomenal idea!
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This is a GREAT idea! Good for kiddo energy and also for everyone's spine, tailbone, hips, legs, back muscles, and even the neck. When I was co-owner of a company that had folks working at desks, we tried ergonomic knee balance chairs for those who wanted to use them, full spectrum lighting replaced all of our typical fluorescent tubes, and other things to give our workers a healthier work environment and ourselves higher productivity output as a result. Win-win.
The problem is expecting kids to sit still for long periods of time in the first place. If you were to try to do that to kittens, colts or puppies you would be ridiculed or investigated for abuse. The brain and the body are interdependent and should develop together. Perhaps that is why I do my best thinking when I'm mowing the lawn...
Perfect for kids with ADHD. Doubt my boss would let me put one in my cubicle.
 @Jamie Actually, if you think about it, ALL kids this age are full of excess energy, and the idea that they should "sit still and behave" for 6+ hours a day is absolutely ludicrous.
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This is an amazing idea that should spread across the nation like wildfire.
 @brautigan So true. Kids are suppose to be moving, jumping, running, playing. School should be structured for 1 hour classroom; 1 hour physical learning....repeat. That would end fidgeting, ADD, overweight kids, frustrated teachers.Â
 @KKStJohn  @brautigan Norwegian kids spend most of the time outside playing, and only a couple hours inside. Granted snow is probably a lot more fun than the miserable rain we have.
@Jamie just get a note from your doctor. I worked in an office with people who had them.