What is Flexible Seating

What Flexible Seating is and Why I love it.

I am sure you’ve all heard the hype of flexible seating floating around on the internet and I was one of those people that wanted to try it after seeing all those classrooms with the “cool” seating options.

I went out, spent more money than I would like to admit, introduced them over time and guess what… it didn’t work as well as I thought.

Yes, my students love having options and moving around more but for some students they didn’t do as well with these options. They needed more structure in the classroom.

After playing around with flexible seating for a couple years I have learned something:

Guess what, you don’t need cool seating options to do flexible seating. What exactly is flexible seating? Well as long as you have different options for students to move around and work that’s all you need. That means that fuzzy rug in your library counts or high/low tables!

And yes, that means if they choose to lay on the tile floor so be it! They chose that spot; they are working in that spot and that is flexible seating.

My first year introducing flexible seating I had 30 students and that in itself was a task. Incorporating flexible seating in such a large classroom had its downfalls: lots of running to seats, lots of arguing and lots of broken items.

I was confused and still managing all the other things in my room. So I did what I had to do and that was to take all the flexible seating away and put the chairs back.

Yes, it was hard to do but also it wasn’t the right time for me and my students. We made it through the year and I still wasn’t willing to completely give up flexible seating as I saw the benefits. It was a little farther to reach than I initially thought.

Then I realized flexible seating would never work if I didn’t build my relationships first. I needed to have a solid behavior management plan in place before allowing flexible seating.

Now I introduce flexible seating all at once. I realized adding a little here and there was not a good idea. It led to the kids fighting over the only 5, 10, 15 spots I had at the time. Then they would get bored with them and just wanting the new seating in the room solely because it was new, not because it was the best working spot for them.

My second year adding in full flexible seating furniture

My next year I went to a new school and decided to invest a little more into my flexible seating choices because even though in the past I spent money, I spent it on cheaper choices which led to them being easily broken or damaged. With the help of some donations, Facebook Marketplace and saving up I was able to acquire enough options for all students.

My students were staggered coming in, this means I only had half the kids for half the day and then half the kids for a full day before all my students came to school at once. This allowed me to focus on building those relationships right off the bat. I also made sure to keep my management system clear and consistent throughout the year. (Stay tuned for a blog post on the system I use in my classroom).

After a couple days I started to show them different options in the room and what the purpose of them was. Yes, the students notice the first couple days there are not typical classroom chairs but it is not a main priority. And to my surprise, not making it a big deal allowed them to think nothing different of it.

Flexible Seating Rules

As a whole group we went through the rules on how to use each spot the correct way (yoga balls, the nugget, crates, floor tables, tires, etc.) and I allowed them to help come up with guidelines for our classroom seating options. And this is what they came up with:

Let me say allowing the students to help come up with these rules also held them to be more responsible in following them. The flexible seating chairs and table are a privilege and can be taken away.

We never had assigned seats and there never was an argument over spots as they were free to move throughout the day. I do not let them move throughout a lesson though. Sometimes I had to intervene when students didn’t choose a spot where they could stay on task. They just got up and moved because there were tons of options, more than enough for students in the class. They knew the guidelines upside down with their eyes closed (jk but we went over them daily).

I also saw my students holding each other accountable, my 5/6 year old’s were keeping each other on task.

“Hey, I don’t think we should sit next to each other, I’m going to move my chair over here”

“Since you sat there earlier any chance I could have a turn”…“Sure”

“Ms. Topper is watching us, we better stay on task”

Thinking about it, I get a little chuckle because they were on top of it but also hearing it for the first time allowed me to realize how much these kids CAN handle. Also, how if they want something they will work for it.

My 3rd year doing Flexible Seating in Kindergarten

Going into my third year I have decided to try something a little different which can be scary but exciting. I have decided in my classroom to continue flexible seating but more toward real “home” furniture. I made my decision based on a couple things:

1. They have these at home, which means they should know the rules (aka not jumping on the couch).
2. They are more durable and should hold up longer.
3. It still allows those students that want a typical chair and table to have it. They will be velvet chairs, a little comfier in my opinion.
4. They can lay down, sit criss-cross, have their legs out, up, sideways etc. on most of the furniture (unlike my small stools and yoga balls).
5. Most of the items can’t fall over, roll around or tip over easily. (yes it could still happen but not as many times as my crate chairs.)

I am continuing to build my relationships with my students and making sure my management plan comes first. I will still allow them to help me with the guidelines and I will monitor it throughout the year. It is okay if you have a class that can’t handle it though.

My New Classroom

The school year has started I wanted to come back and update you all on my flexible seating this year. Go check out my Classroom Tour Blog Post to see all my other options. My students are taking great care of all our flexible seating options, nothing is broken or damaged. I believe our many conversation about how we take care of our classroom, after holiday breaks or after a student has misused a piece of furniture has helped the most.

If you decide to try flexible seating this year please don’t be hesitant to reach out. Via my email, Instagram or Facebook as I would love to see what flexible seating options you have!