I knew I was on to something great when a) the first thing kids would ask me in the morning was, “Are we doing Walking Classroom today?” with a gleam in their eye, and b) I heard “Yesssssss!” when I would share that Walking Classroom was actually on the agenda for the day. And, oh, the sad faces when my reply was, “Sorry, not today.”
I teach fourth grade and have 18 boys out of 28 students. We need to keep moving in a variety of ways in order to stay focused! I have noticed that attention spans are getting longer and listening skills are improving, largely due to the Walking Classroom. I appreciate that kids participate in the recordings on the WalkKits; this definitely motivates my students to listen more closely!
With The Walking Classroom, the kids realize they get to participate in something special, and they take great care of the equipment. In fact, caring for the equipment has been a way for a few of my students to step into a leadership role that allows them to shine!
Kids in other classrooms are quite interested in the WalkKits and have lots of questions about them when they see me. There are a lot of disappointed faces when I tell them this is for fourth and fifth grade students!
The resources have been a great help to aid my implementation of the Walking Classroom into my classroom. The tips and organizational advice are great! I can see where there could be lots of kinks to work out, but the suggestions make this very easy to take on.
As a side note, between reading and writing groups, I feel like I sit my chair for a large part of the day. This is also a great way for me to get moving and learn something new in the process!
Lynae Friese
4th Grade Teacher
Arkansas Elementary
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