Thank you for the Micro-Grant. Although I had originally planned to use the money to get wobble feet to put on my classroom chairs, after poking around in other people’s classrooms and conferring with my teen child (age 19), instead I spent the money on 4 different types of items:
- 3 weighted lap blankets
- 3 wobble boards
- 4 inflatable wobble seat cushions
- an assorted box of fidget toys
In the 2 months since they arrived, I’ve noticed that the lap blankets get used several times a week, the inflatable seats also several times a week, the wobble boards are used daily and the fidgets were used constantly for the first few weeks and most of them are now broken or gone.
I think the wobble boards are fantastic, but couldn’t imagine having more than 3 in the classroom, and the seat cushions are great for students who lean back in their seats to help them still be able to move, but in a safer way.
- When I asked the students for their thoughts, this is what they said:
“The balance board helps me focus better.”
“I like the wiggle things that you sit on because the chairs are uncomfortable.”
“Fidgets are legit.”
“All of them are fire.”
“I like the weighted blanket because it helps me calm down and captures my stress.”
“The weighted blankets follow the 3 fs – fun, fabulous, fire.”
“The wobble boards make it so you can focus on what you are doing and not other people.”
So overall, this is a win. You can’t get much better than fire.