Monday, June 5, 2017

#TeacherFriends: Flexible Seating Chat on Twitter & Win-a-WOBBLE!

June has arrived! I am resetting my JOY barometer. So many thrilling things on the horizon! I have so much to share. Let's get this party started............. 

Tomorrow, June 6th, our weekly Tuesday night Twitter chat is going to focus on #AlternativeSeating (or #FlexibleSeating if you prefer.) Our very own Maggie of Maggie's Kindergarten is going to take the spotlight. 

She is going to lead the conversation and reflect on her thirty years of teaching and the evolution of her classroom -- as it relates to "Student Voice and Student Choice" in the arena of student seating options. [I had a MASSIVE RoundUP on this topic in this previous article here on my own blog.] 

You'll want to consult Maggie's blog article for her further insight on placement of choices and their introduction. 

Now let's take a look at a kindergarten classroom in central Ohio last week. 

TeacherFriends Twitter chat focused on AlternativeSeating and FlexibleSeating
I was thrilled to see 'our' WobbleSeats in ACTION at one of my final end-of-the-year author/illustrator school visits. In the photo above you can see the two tables of wobbles in this amazing kindergarten classroom. Mrs. Grote has both the 14" and the 12" size wobbles available for her student's selection. There are several other 'choices' as well: stationary stools, cushions and traditional chairs are each available. 


TeacherFriends Twitter chat focused on AlternativeSeating and FlexibleSeating



If I understood correctly, each morning a different team of four students has first choice at selecting the seating of choice. With so many options available Mrs. G assured me that there has never been an 'issue' with her students. Wait till tomorrow and your team will be choosing first. What goes around comes around. 

Here is a glimpse of one portion of the selection process. The students photo is on a 'button' with magnet back and they place their smiling face on their choice. 



Here are the questions that we will be using in our Tuesday night chat this week. Most of us use 'Tweetdeck' in order to follow the conversation with more ease. It is free and puts all of your conversation into columns. 


We will be giving away a WobbleSeat at the conclusion of the chat! 
YOU could be the winner! 
Be sure that you have your name and contact info in our Google Doc that will be tweeted throughout the evening. Winners are chosen randomly right before 10 PM EST. 


Thanks to our friends at WobbleSeat.com for continued support. 
BTW: that's my husband, Allen. 

***Call him if you have any questions for Purchase Orders or Quantity Discounts. 


Here are some 'other' flexible seating options that I saw on the west side of Columbus last week. YES! I had four school visits four days in a row. 






There are so many reasons to get more active and involved on Twitter! 

Building your PLN is at the top of the list! 

I founded our #TeacherFriends chat on Tuesdays, with the hopes that more teachers could learn the Twitter ropes. My goal was to establish a warm and supportive environment, where newbies would feel free to explore. 

We are now approaching our third anniversary of weekly chats and in honor of all of the learning, we are having a BIG party at the end of the month. Mark your calendars now for JUNE 27th! 

We have already begun gathering the prizes. We're thrilled to have corporate support from ESGI Software. They are giving away $2000 worth of their licenses! We will pick five winners and each will have a second license to offer to a friend. How incredible is that? 


Here are the first dozen prizes to be offered by the three of us who work together weekly and also our fellow bloggers.