PERRYSBURG, OH (Toledo News Now) - If you're a parent of a first grader at Frank Elementary in Perrysburg, you may have noticed something different this week: The students have traded in their chairs for an alternative seating arrangement.
Teachers at Frank Elementary were thinking of ways to keep students focused on schoolwork. What they came up with was seating.
“From doing some research about movement in the classroom, and knowing that we're always trying to keep our kids moving, this was another way to do that in the classroom,” explained first grade teacher Nicole Percival.
First graders at Frank said goodbye to chairs this week and hello to stability balls. The teachers received a grant from the Perrysburg Schools Foundation to purchase the balls, which research has found to have many benefits.
“It increases the blood flow to the brain, which is better for learning, to keep the students active,” Percival said. “It also helps them get their wiggles out, which we do through the day in lots of ways, but this is one way to encourage that and increase that.”
The teachers say the students have rules for what they can do with their new seats and how they sit on them. And as for the students, the stability balls are a big hit with them.
“They're awesome!” said first grader Cole Peters. “Whenever I feel bad, they cheer me up whenever I bounce on them.”
“I like them, that they're bouncy,” added first grader Janie Snyder. “And they can stay up with the chair legs. And when I think, it makes me, like, think better or something.”
Other Perrysburg teachers have expressed interest in getting stability balls for their classes next year.
