This fidget desk is being used in grade 6-12 math classrooms at Mid-Prairie. Photo by Sam McIntosh.

Wobble stools, fidget desks, and rubber balls: what do these all have in common?

They can be found in classrooms in the Mid-Prairie School District. Teachers in all of the learning centers are using a variety of seating methods for their students, from a traditional desk to a floor cushion. The 6-12 math classrooms are using brand new furniture that was funded in part by the Washington County Riverboat Foundation. Mid-Prairie Math Teacher Sara Puttmann says the teachers wanted to use a variety of seating methods in order to excite students and aid those with different attention and learning needs, as it provides an outlet for those who fidget or have trouble sitting in one position for an extended period of time.

Mid-Prairie Middle School Principal Marc Pennington demonstrated the new furniture, “I think these are my favorite over here, fidget desks so kids can stand, and go back and forth. These tables can be reconfigured, we have wobble stools that students can sit in. You don’t have really a lot of basic traditional desks, and I think as more staff are seeing this, we’ll have more interest in it.”

At Mid-Prairie West Elementary some of the classrooms use large rubber balls for students to sit on instead of desk chairs.