Flexible Seating in K-2

At this point everyone has probably heard of flexible seating, am I right?  There are still some who say “no way that is not for my classroom”, but many others who have bought in 100%.  I saw all the social media posts about flexible seating and loved all the changes teachers were making in their classrooms, but was not ready to jump in yet.  In these classrooms you could see how excited, yet engaged their students were with the new seating available to them.

Fast forward to this spring sitting in a professional development session and I was finally sold on flexible seating!  The presenter was positive (and realistic) as she discussed how she used it in her classroom, showed pictures, and even brought examples of seating with her.  The what-if’s and fears were calmed as we learned from the presenter.  Teachers could see a classroom very similar to what they taught in and saw it was working really well.  I was at Walmart, Five Below, and Goodwill that afternoon!   The types of flexible seating in my classroom are yoga balls, sensory cushions, small metal stools, 30” barstools, yoga mats, raised table, desks, traditional desk chairs, folding chairs, and carpet areas.

The first day of flexible seating all of the new seating was set up as students came in to the room.  Their faces were priceless as they looked around the room.  For the first week of flexible seating students had to pick a different type of seat each day and just try it out to learn what worked for them.  Students were in charge of their new seating and were driven to prove they could handle this new privilege.  From the teacher side of things I really had to sit back and watch them explore this new responsibility of not only picking the type of seat that worked for them, but taking care of these items.

Flexible seating did amazing things for the behavior management of my class.  You could hear and see the changes immediately.   There were some students who picked the same type of seat almost every day and others who would rotate different types of seating available.  The biggest fear I had with the younger students and flexible seating was that they would fight over whom sat where.  I never once had this problem!  One student who thought it was a big hit said “plain old chairs aren’t squishy like yoga balls; you can lie on a yoga mat, or stand if you like to stand up”.  If behavior would have been an issue I could have used a sign-up sheet for the seat options.  I will definitely be using flexible seating again and again.  It looks messy and a little chaotic, but the learning that takes place is magical.  

About Melissa Mooney –
Melissa is a classroom teacher and has taught grades 2-5 (in a classroom and a trailer) for the past ten years.  Her two big focuses at the moment are flexible seating and personalized learning.

Engaging & Empowering Educators- Join Us!

NCAEE is proud to host the 14th Elementary School Conference this fall. This year's theme is Engaging and Empowering Educators and our goal is to do just that-- make sure our attendees are highly engaged throughout the conference and leave feeling empowered to do whatever it takes to meet the needs of our students. This, in turn, will lead you to engage and empower your elementary students! Save the dates for October 22nd-24th and plan to attend the a conference specifically focused on elementary school teachers.

Once again, our conference will take place at the beautiful Charlotte-Concord Embassy Suites and Convention Center in Concord, NC. The Embassy Suites features spacious suites with separate living rooms, refrigerators and The Embassy Suites also offers a free, made-to-order, hot breakfast each morning and a nightly Manager's Reception. Staying at the Embassy Suites means you will have a great time, even when the sessions are over. The hotel is offering a reduced rate for our conference attendees so be sure to reserve a room early by clicking here.

Concord, NC is just minutes away from Charlotte and there are many things to do, including Lowe's Motor Speedway, Concord Mills, and a variety of different restaurants.

Opening Kick-Off & Closing Celebration

We are mixing things up just a bit! Our conference begins on a Sunday afternoon and ends on a Tuesday afternoon. We will have an opening kick-off session on Monday morning and Dr. Pitre-Martin will bring greetings and an update from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. We are so excited to have her at our event!

For the first time ever, we will have a Closing Celebration on Tuesday afternoon and NCAEE fan favorite, Justin Ashley, will speak. You won't want to leave early and miss this!

It wasn't long after being named North Carolina History Teacher of the Year that Justin Ashley started noticing signs of burnout. He knew he needed to make some radical changes in how he handled his work and personal life. In his session The Balanced Teacher Path, Justin will share his personal story—illuminating how easy it is to give your job everything you've got and leave yourself with nothing outside of school—and will show new teachers and veterans alike the self-care techniques they can employ to create work-life balance and prevent burnout. With equal parts humor and wisdom, Justin will analyze four key aspects of every teacher's life—career, social, physical/emotional, and financial—and offer practical advice to bring these areas into sync, reigniting a passion for teaching in the process!

Luncheon Keynote Speaker

This year's luncheon keynote speaker is highly acclaimed educator- Dr. John Hodge. He will present BE THE ONE! He will discuss how the education of America's youth is a challenging prospect when one considers the many burdens faced by impoverished children and their families. Research indicates that poverty need not be a barrier to academic excellence. As co-author of the book  Standing in the Gap, Dr. Hodge states, "Across the nation, schools are demonstrating that it can be done: That students can reach high standards, that all children can succeed, that the gap between white and minority students, poor and affluent, can be closed." More often than not, one caring adult can make all the difference in the world. Dr. Hodge's presentation will encourage all of us to  BE THE ONE!

Featured Speakers & Breakout Sessions

We have secured a fantastic lineup of featured speakers--Kyle Greene, Rick Jetter, Justin Ashley, North Carolina's Teacher of the Year- Lisa Godwin, The Bag Ladies, and Kathy Bumgardner. Their session titles and descriptions can be accessed here.

In addition to our featured speakers, our conference boasts over 60 breakout sessions. Our Board of Directors has selected a wide range of high-quality sessions with engaging content in the strands of Educator Effectiveness, 21st Century Learning Approaches, Active Learning, and Social Emotional Learning. We are confident our participants will find sessions relevant and will be able to apply what they learn immediately in their classrooms.


On behalf of NCAEE, we wish you a wonderful summer and hope to see you in October!