• Edera Class Photo
     

    ST. LOUIS, MO. September 5, 2012 – Ms. Mary Pat Hart, a first grade teacher at Dewey International Studies Elementary School, always looks for new and innovative ways to help her students learn, so when she heard from colleagues about the benefits of exercise balls as classroom chairs she gave it a try.

     

    “I bought my first set in 2009 and immediately saw results,” she said.

     

    Students were quieter, especially those that had a tendency to be disruptive. Class work also improved as students were better active listeners and participated more during class lessons.

     

    In his book Driven to Distraction and Spark, Dr. John Ratey, a clinical associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, said, “Indications are the tiny movements kids make while balancing stimulates their brains and help them focus.” In addition, studies published by the American Journal of Occupational Therapy in 2003 and then repeated in 2011 “found increases in in-seat behavior and legible word productivity for the students with ADHD when seated on therapy balls.”

     

    In Ms. Hart’s classroom, students are allowed to move around on the ball as long as they are staying on task and not making large distracting movements.

     

    “Students are allowed to wiggle and jiggle, but they are not allowed to bounce,” she said.  Students are also taught how to sit correctly on the balls to promote good posture, another key point by research advocates.

     

    E’dera Davis, a first grader in Ms. Hart’s classroom, was definitely curious about the chairs when school started, but now she says, “They help me concentrate, which means learn, and reach stuff.”

     

    After having the exercise balls as her classroom chairs, Ms. Hart said, “I wouldn’t go back to a chair.”

     

    Supporting her was E’dera, who smiled and said, “They are fun to sit on.”

     

    Dewey International Studies Elementary School, a SLPS Magnet School, serves preschool through fifth grade by integrating the study of world languages, cultures and histories into the standard elementary curriculum.  All students begin world language studies during preschool with a rotation through each of the four languages. Beginning in third grade, students specialize in a language of their choice. Currently, Dewey offers four world languages: Chinese, German, Russian, and Spanish.

     

    To view Ms. Hart’s classroom, or to learn more about the school, the faculty and staff at Dewey International Studies Elementary School, located at 6746 Clayton, invites students and their families to attend an Open House on September 12 from 9:30am-11:30am.

     

    For more information please contact the Office of Public Information at (314) 345-2367.

     

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