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May 27, 2019

Teaching Tip - Use Pool Noodles for Exercise Balls

Teaching Tip - Use Pool Noodles for Exercise Balls

Before I begin, let me take a minute to let you know that this will be the last Teaching Tip this school year. I will be back in September with more. Don't worry, I will still be blogging and sharing tons of ideas though! Make sure to stop by and check them out.

I LOVE pool noodles! They are so cheap and have tons of uses in the classroom. In the past, I have shared how they are amazing for teaching students fractions. Today I want to share another great use for them!

Try this Teaching Tip: Use Pool Noodles for Exercise Balls.


The Problem...


I love flexible seating! This definitely gets expensive though! Luckily I have gotten some materials through Donors Choose - wobble chairs and exercise balls. The problem with the exercise balls is that that wander all over the room unless you get the expensive ones with the fancy chair backs. Even with a Donors Choose, those were not in the budget!


The Solution...


I took a pool noodle and covered it with duct tape. This became the base of the ball chairs. I made these at the beginning of the school year and they have really held up well this year, although they can definitely use a good scrubbing!

Here are the simple steps to making these.

  1. Hot glue the ends of the pool noodles and hold them together.
  2. Take duct tape and wrap around the entire pool noodle. (This will make it really sturdy.)

Here's what I have I learned though...Start off hot gluing the ends of the pool noodle together. There is no need to even cut the pool noodle down. Even if the ring it makes are a little large, it will still prevent the ball from rolling all over the classroom. I tried bypassing the hot gluing stage when I made future rings. Alas, these keep coming apart. Do NOT skip this step. You will regret it!

The ball chairs are definitely a hit in our classroom! I don't mind them now that they aren't rolling around the room!

Want More Teaching Tips? Check these out!

          

 What is your favorite teaching tip?

Flexible seating options can get expensive! This blog post breaks down how you can use a simple pool noodle in your classroom to create a flexible seating option for students. This is perfect for teachers looking to save money but want flexible seating in their classrooms. #confessionsofafrazzledteacher #flexibleseating {Elementary Students, Kindergarten, First, Second, Third, and Fourth Grades}

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