What is Flexible Seating?

We, in 2^nd grade, love flexible seating! Our kids enjoy having the freedom to choose where they work best.  We have seen a big change in student behavior and productivity since implementing flexible seating in our classrooms.  Have students that need to move? No problem! Stick them on a yoga ball, wobble disk/chair, and watch those wiggles help them learn! While some students still choose a traditional seat option, most students prefer alternative seating.  The students have to cooperate and work out among themselves where to sit each day and to see the conversations and negotiations taking place is awesome! Students take on the responsibility for choosing where they learn best and who they sit next to, which places the accountability on the child to make a great choice.  Kids figure out very quickly their own learning style and how to choose for an academic setting versus sitting near a friend.  It is awesome to see children being empowered!

When asked what their favorite thing is about flexible seating, here is what some 2^nd graders had to say:

“I like getting to pick where I learn best every day.” –Rakkan in Mrs. Palmer’s class

“It allows me to spread out to a different space in the classroom to do my work.” – Rory from Ms. Macha’s class

“It’s just cool because it helps us relax.” – Kannon and Nick from Ms. Bastian’s class

“I like that I am able to choose any seat and there are many different types of seating. We’re not only limited to the chairs.” – Virginia

My personal favorite:

“Why would anyone want to sit in a boring, hard chair all day?!” – Anika in Mrs. Palmer’s class

We are thankful to have the support and opportunity to have flexible seating in our classrooms and we encourage you to try it out for yourself! There are many different options and styles, so feel free to come take a look in our rooms. Be FLEXIBLE! J

11 Thoughts About Teamwork by Jon Gordon

11 THOUGHTS ABOUT TEAMWORK 1. Teams rise and fall on culture, leadership, relationships, attitude and effort. Great teams have a great culture driven by great leadership. Relationships are meaningful and teammates are connected. The collective attitude is very positive and everyone on the team works hard to accomplish their mission. 2. It’s all about teamwork. Sometimes you are the star and sometimes you help the star. 3. If want to be truly great you have to work as hard to be a great teammate as you do to be a great player. I tell this to athletes all the time but the same is true for any profession. When we work hard to be a great team member we make everyone around us better. 4. Your team doesn’t care if you are a superstar. They care if you are a super team member. 5. Three things you control every day are your attitude, your effort and your actions to be a great teammate. It doesn’t matter what is happening around you and who you think is being unfair. Every day you can focus on being positive, working hard and making others around you better. If you do that great things will happen. 6. One person can’t make a team but one person can break a team. Stay positive! Make sure you don’t let energy vampires sabotage your team. Post a sign that says “No Energy Vampires” allowed and keep them off the bus. Most importantly, decide to stay positive. 7. Great team members hold each other accountable to the high standards and excellence their culture expects and demands. 8. Team beats talent when talent isn’t a team. 9. Great teams care more. They care more about their effort, their work and their team members. 10. We > me Unity is the difference between a great team and an average team. United teams are connected and committed to each other. They are selfless instead of selfish. They put the team first and know together we accomplish more. 11. You and your team face a fork in the road each day. You can settle for average and choose the path of mediocrity or you can take the road less traveled and chase greatness. It’s a choice you make each day. Which path will your team take? - Jon

1st grade HOS

This month our first graders are immersed in studying all sorts of life cycles. Insects, chickens, and especially plants! Thanks to our wonderful parent volunteers, all of our first graders were able to participate in a hands on lab experience that let them explore seeds and how they grow!

We started with a seed sort. Each child was to examine a variety of seeds including lima beans, corn, sunflower seeds, and black eyed peas. We made observations about our seeds and compared and contrasted the similarities and differences that we noticed.  We even got to weigh our seeds using a bucket balance!

Next, we took a trip outside. We talked about what plants need to grow. Some of the needs we came up with included soil, water, sunlight and love. Since our school garden is undergoing some construction, we improvised! Our parent volunteers helped each of us to plant our very own lima bean seed. We were given the opportunity to scoop dirt into our own planter. Parents helped us to make a perfect hole for our seeds using our finger. Then we each choose a lima bean that had been soaking in some water. With a little bit of love we covered our seeds and spritzed them with water! We even brought our new plants back to our classrooms where we will continue to observe them as they grow!

When asked what their favorite part of Hands on Science-Plant Edition was, Jenna from Ms. Howard’s class replied “I had so much fun comparing the weight of the seeds using the balance, that was cool!” Aryan in Mrs. Nguyen’s class said “I had fun planting our seed in our own dirt. I can’t wait to see it grow up, up, up!”

We are thankful to have wonderful volunteers that make experiences like Hands on Science possible for our students. This experience definitely sparked some wonder and excitement about plants in these first grade botanists!