Tools

You can sit on it and wiggle around to your heart's content. Sound like a cool new toy? Nope--it's actually a tool. It is always rather difficult to adequately convey to the rest of the class the single most important feature of the plastic, air-filled, fun-looking seat cushions that we have in our classroom for a few students to use. They are to help you move around a bit in your seat so that your focus stays on the lesson. They are not inflated instruments of entertainment. They are tools for kids who need to use them.
  There are a variety of other tools that physical therapists have suggested. The stretchy, plastic "focus fidget" is also not a toy but a tool to help your hands move around so that your focus stays on the lesson. This refrain of one's focus and where it should be appears in pretty much all of my explanations of the tools. The stretchy band around your chair legs is for your feet to kick and move around so that--everybody say it with me now--your focus stays on the lesson.
  One day, Andrea decided that it was about time for her to have one of these nifty little tools. However, her rationale had nothing at all to do with focus.


Ms. S I need a tool because my butt hert


  Sadly, I was unable to fill this request because the stated problem did not fit with the intended purpose of the tool. They are for helping with focus, for keeping kids from tipping back in their chairs, for keeping kids IN their chairs, but sadly, not merely for the comfort of one's behind.

2 comments:

luckeyfrog said...

Amusing!

But seriously, do these actually work?

Sarah Garb said...

Well, for the butt comfort--sort of :) As for the fidgety-ness, they do have some effectiveness for some kids--not a magical cure-all, though. However, wiggling around on one is a good alternative to tipping back in your chair, and some kids do benefit from the additional sensory stimulation. One school I know about has ALL the kids sitting on those large inflated exercise balls instead of chairs!!

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