Bouncy Bands

Aloha friends!  I hope the weekend is finding you well rested and ready for a new week.

This year, like most years, I have some wiggly boys who have an incredibly hard time focusing and finishing their work.  They are highly capable, but spend more time out of their seats getting drinks, going to the bathroom and wandering around the room.

I came across this site for Bouncy Bands and read all the information about this simple tool that could help my students stay seated and focused.

I spoke with Scott over at Bouncy Bands and he sent me a set for a 

chair and a desk to try out and review in my classroom.

They were super simple to install and I had them on each one in less than 5 minutes.

The rubber band is pretty thick and I can see that they are very well made and will hold up a long time.

When my kiddos came in the next day they immediately sat down and started bouncing their feet on the bands.  I didn't say anything, I just watched them play around with them at first.  

I then told them to get started on their morning work and they did as their feet kept wiggling the whole time.

I talked with them both later and I told them the bands were there to help them wiggle and move while they were working.  I wanted to see how they used them throughout the week.

On Friday I asked them if they liked the bands and they both said yes. I'm not sure they knew that the point of them was to keep them both in their seats, but I noticed they didn't get up as much as usual.  They also didn't tip their chairs like they always do. I don't think anything could keep either of them in their seats for a very long time, (maybe duct tape) but they were both definitely more focused!

The kids around them were a bit jealous and they all wanted to have bands on their chairs too.  I am planning to write a Donor's Choose project to get bands for all of my chairs.  The Bouncy Bands site has a sample application to make the process really simple.

They also have some great statistics on how the bands have helped teachers and students across the country.

139 Teachers and 686 K-12 students from throughout the U.S. completed online surveys asking them about their results with Bouncy Bands. 

• 88% of students reported that Bouncy bands helped them focus in class.
• 84% of students stated that Bouncy Bands made it easier to do their work.
• 87% of students felt calmer when they took tests. 
• 92% of teachers reported that Bouncy Bands help students release energy.
• 76% of teachers stated that students using Bouncy Bands tend to stay on task longer. (17% didn't know)
• 91% of teachers said that Bouncy Bands are quiet. (6% didn't know)
• 71% of teachers reported that students using Bouncy Bands tend to be calmer when they take tests. (24% didn't know)
• 87% of teachers stated that movement helps students focus better. (10% didn't know)

I would definitely suggest checking out their site and finding out if these little bands could help some of those active students in your classroom. ----> Bouncy Bands

If you decide to order you can use the code 15OFF to receive 15% off of your purchase for the next 7 days!

I'm looking forward to using these for the rest of the year and hoping to help my students get their wiggles out while they work!

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Thankful for Donor's Choose!!

Aloha Friday friends. I bet some of you are hootin' and hollerin' because you are officially on Thanksgiving break.  I am officially jealous!  I have never had off the whole week for Thanksgiving, but I can't really complain.  This was the first week in a LONG time that I have taught 5 full days!

This post finds me happy and excited about having another Donor's Choose project funded!!

My latest project was funded a few weeks ago and I just received all of my items.  I was very fortunate to have it funded by Chevron Fuel Your School.  They funded all projects in Hawaii for the month of October.  You can check them out on Facebook if you want to learn more.

So here is what I asked for - 4 new iPads and the cases to go along with them.

Isn't that the most beautiful sight!  I now have 8 iPads and they were all funded by Donor's Choose except one, which was given to us from Admin.

The kids literally flipped when they saw them all!  Of course the bright colored cases make them even more alluring for my 2nd graders.

The cases are from Amazon.com and they are really cool.  They are made of a thick foam like substance. Perfect for my tropical colored classroom! 

Now my only problem is organization.  How to store and charge all of these and keep it looking decent.  (If you didn't already notice the horrible wires everywhere, check the picture)

So I headed back over the Amazon and found this storage unit.

It has 8 slots for each iPad.  It seems like it will be sturdy enough, especially with the thickness of the new cases.

Now I just need this little gadget to get them all charging without a huge powerstrip!

Ahhh, I could go on and on, but for now I am excited with what I have!

With 8 iPads I can use 4 for our listening center and 4 for word work during Daily 5.  During math rotations I have 6 students in each group, so they can use these to access our Reflex Math program.

I can also use them for small groups to do research, and during my intervention block my higher kids can read KidBiz articles and play enrichment games.

I am really excited to plan a lesson using QR codes.  Once I get it all going I will share what we do.

I posted this on my Facebook page yesterday and I had a few requests for apps to use in the class.  I am working on a new post and will get it up soon.

I would love to hear how you use iPads in your classroom and feel free to share any apps that you love!! I am always on the hunt for great apps!

I am also linking up with Doodle Bugs Teaching for her Five For Friday post.  Go check out some other fun blogs!

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Donor's Choose and Caring Classrooms

Aloha friends!  Spring is in the air and my little munchkins are starting to get antsy!  I have had to tighten up the reigns in the classroom and we need to really stick to those routines to keep everyone on track.  I hope things are a bit calmer in your classrooms!

I just wanted to share my latest Donor's Choose project that was funded recently.  I love it so much!!

My new kidney table from Lakeshore.

I have needed this table for so long and it was finally funded in the last 30 days of the project!

The parents in my classroom were very supportive and I received almost half of the funding in the first week when I posted it in December.  After that, my project sat untouched for a few months.  I sent out emails to friends and family and that raised a bit more, but still had a lot left on the project.  

Now that I am doing guided reading and math groups, having a comfortable spot for my students was so important and I really needed more space.  I put in a large donation myself to get closer to my goal, but it was still too much for me to pay all on my own.

Then I discovered Caring Classrooms.

I had heard a little bit about their Facebook page, but had never really looked into it.  I am so glad I did!

Basically you go to the Caring Classrooms page on Donor's Choose. You donate to projects that are on the page.  It can be as little as a $1 donation.  Once you have donated then you can enter to have your project placed on their page.  It gets tons of exposure and most likely will get funded.

Well, I decided to give it a try.  I went to their Donor's Choose page {click Here} and chose a few projects that I wanted to help fund.  I donated to each one and then posted on their Facebook page. That was it. The following week I found out that my project had been chosen to be placed on their page!  They announced it on Facebook on their Sunday Fund-Day post and it was fully funded in a few hours!!

I can't tell you how happy and excited I was that my project was funded so quickly!  I gave a little and received so much in return!  Teachers helping other teachers to get their projects funded.

Laura Candler from Teaching Resources is one of the gurus behind this great idea.  Swing by her website to find out all the details on getting your project funded. {Click Here}

Just a few more picks of our new table in action.

Writing help from our Sped teacher.

My students love going to the table and sitting in the "Teacher's Chair".

I am so thankful to Donor's Choose for helping me to add wonderful teaching tools and resources to my classroom.  The Caring Classrooms Community has now added a new way to help get our projects funded and into our classrooms.  Mahalo!!

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