Submitted by Susan Simandle, Kentucky
Idea posted August 4, 2003
I've worked with and without chairs, and there are pros and cons for each.
Chairs: DON'T USE FOLDING CHAIRS!!!!! They squeak, kids fold themselves up in them, and eventually there will be pinched fingers.
Kids like to rock back on two legs. I've had any number fall, and one almost kicked another in the face on the way down. I gave very specific lessons on how to move the chairs - must be held at waist height IN FRONT. My first class in the morning set them up and my last stacked them. When we had a movement activity, the kids moved the chairs out of the way (ONE ROW AT A TIME!).
No Chairs: You need some kind of "organizer" to keep the kids in line. You must be able to call them by name in order to keep discipline. If you have tile, tape, or paint on the floor, everyone sits in a specific row, in a specific order. If you have carpet, velcro works very well. I get velcro-wanna-be in different colors, then have a red, blue, pink, white, and tan row. This year, the rule is the BOTTOM must be on the velcro. This keeps them in line and cuts down on kids fiddling with it and moving it all around.