Making It Work: Active Sitting

In my school we are encouraged to offer flexible seating options for students to meet individual needs. Music educators often have dynamic and flexible classrooms to accommodate the many learners who we have the privilege to serve. I am always looking for affordable options to meet the needs of the students in my care. The ButtOn chair is an interesting option to consider for students and teachers alike. This solution also offers opportunities for cross-curricular connections with the maker-spaces in your school or district. Please share alternative seating options that have worked for you and your students in the comments below, so we can all “Make it Work!”

ButtOn chairs help kids integrate movement and creativity in the classroom. It is an active sitting chair that allows and encourages kids to be active when seated. Originally intended as a flexible seating option for any classroom, our team at Teaching With Orff recognized the particular value of integrating the ButtOn chair in an Orff-inspired classroom.

The ButtOn chair is freely distributed as a digital file which can be downloaded at: www.ButtOnchairs.org  Using some plywood, a tennis ball and bungee cord, a ButtOn chair can be made for about seven dollars! Students at schools with CNC routers and/or woodworking shops can make Button chairs as an applied science project. There are two download options: a file for a CNC router and a file using regular wood shop tools.

See Dr. Turner Osler’s TedTalk featuring the ButtOn chair.

The ButtOn Chair is a social mission of QOR360.