Having a ball

Grade 3 and 4 students at École des Voyageurs are excited about their special desk seats.

Heather Colpitts, Langley Advance
Published: Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Gone are the days when teachers admonished children to sit still.

In fact, the students in Manon Langevin's Grade 3/4 class are encouraged to fidget, because it strengthens their little bodies and actually helps them improve their concentration.

Only they don't realize that, while they're puzzling their way through sums or improving their reading, they're also exercising.

Since early 2008, the students at École des Voyageurs have been sitting on big inflated balls, like the ones people use for exercise.

"I like them way better than chairs," Justine Belanger said.

The Grade 3 student and the rest of her class easily balance on top of the balls with no trouble when it comes time to get up and put a laptop away and return to a desk, for instance.

At first, the odd student had a little spill. Connor Vander Ree said he fell over twice in the early days. The students have all mastered use of the seat ball since.

Jodi Strasdine got the ball rolling on the project. \The director of customer development at Polar Spas had heard about some schools using seat balls and visited a Richmond class to see them in action.

She took it on as a pet project to help kids improve their fitness.

Sitting on the balls allows students to do something that would drive most teachers mad - fidget - only their movement is in the service of keeping them balanced.

"Their bodies were meant to move," she said.

Strasdine need look no farther than her son's classroom as her first testers, pitching the idea to the teacher last June.

Langevin talked over the idea with her principal and with parental permission slips completed, the balls arrived in the new year.

Vander Ree went for one of the bigger of the two sizes, and has found that after a few months of using it, his body feels stronger.

"Before I had this, I used to run really slow. Now I can go a lot faster," he said.

One of the main benefits, by having students balance on the inflatable, is increased toning and strength in their stomach and back muscles.

"It feels good on my back," Belanger noted.

Vander Ree has found an added benefit - in warm weather, the ball feels cool and in cool weather, the ball feels warm to sit upon.

The ball inflation has to be adjusted about once a week but the special balls won't burst under a student if punctured by a staple or thumb tack.

Langevin also has her adult-sized seat ball, and is able to still wear dresses and fashionable shoes while sitting comfortably.

"It's very comfortable," she said. "You feel like [you're] on a cloud."

Sometimes the students will wander over and grab a traditional chair for a task but they all enjoy using the seat balls for most of their classroom work.

And then sometimes the students will wander over and grab a chair on instruction from the teacher.

"It's like a privilege. If you don't have the rules correct, you can't use the balls," Belanger explained.

Strasdine is trying to work with others to get the balls into more classrooms to help with fitness.

"I've seen so many kids having so many problems," she commented.

Her company has pitched in some funding to help with administrative costs and she's found a supplier that provides the kits (ball, pump and floor ring to keep the ball from rolling away) for around $23.

Langevin had seen the balls used in Quebec schools and has found for her students, the benefit has carried over into their school work.

"I think the concentration - it's a big part," said the teacher of 11 years. "And for the boys, they can move a bit and they're more relaxed."


© Langley Advance 2008