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3 Must Knows About Flexible Seating

Have you decided to implement flexible seating but are slightly freaking out about how exactly to do it? I totally understand because I’ve been there. My intention is to help you look at flexible seating in a manageable way and believe it can be successful when planned out right. By the end of this, hopefully you’ll be relieved of some of the fear and anxiety that happens when you make any major changes in your classroom. 

After implementing flexible seating, I absolutely believe it is an essential component of any successful classroom. When you’re ready to get it all set up, check out my post here where I share all the nitty gritty details on setting up- from acquiring seat choices to expectations, and how to manage flexible seating throughout the entire school year. But right now, let’s get into the top three must knows before diving into this awesome game changing classroom component!

3 must knows about flexible seating

#1- Model, Model, Model…. And Then Model Some More

Modeling is a key component in successfully applying flexible seating options in your classroom. If this is something brand new to your students, chances are they will not know what to expect. Being EXPLICIT as possible when it comes to your expectations for how to treat seats, routines on how to choose and store seats, and procedures for every single thing you can think of when it comes to flexible seating. When I say explicitly as possible, I mean model and practice what everything should LOOK like and SOUND like. You can check out THESE editable flexible seating posters to get you started! We went over our posters and students practiced what it looked like to be in each seat, whereas I would practice what it didn’t look like (students never model what it doesn’t look like). This is how I teach all of my classroom expectations: what it looks like, almost looks like, and never looks like. You can find more information about this in the Back to School Teacher Guide.

Editable flexible seating expectations posters

Editable flexible seating posters

Flexible Seating Essentials

When you’re knee deep in the modeling process, it’s important to remember this is going to challenge your ability to let go of control. You’ll have to let go of how things look and sound because trust me, it’s going to be different. But if you do let go, wonderful things can happen! Practice makes progress and never underestimate the power of spending AMPLE time to get your procedures down. If you want things to be smooth sailing and stay that way throughout the year, spend more time than you think to really ensure your students are meeting your expectations. Once they get it, it’ll become like muscle memory for them! 

#2- Organization is CRUCIAL

When deciding to implement flexible seating options in the classroom, organization of all things has to be thought about thoroughly. Will you have individual supplies, classroom supplies, or a combination of both? Where will students store their materials, books, folders and things of that nature? Where will you store different seat choices? How will students access seats and materials? These are the kinds of questions I asked myself when preparing and organizing my classroom. I decided on a combination of individual and classroom supplies. Students used pencil boxes to store their personal materials, sterilite bins housed extra materials, such as scissors, glue, and crayons, and we used student numbered bins to house the remaining materials such as their books, folders, and notebooks. 

This set up worked for my classroom and my students. You may want things to look different for your students. It’s whatever you feel comfortable with. It’s ok if things don’t work out how you plan….. that’s usually how it goes anyway right? It’s also ok if you have to change things around multiple times. The way I started the year with flexible seating, is not the way I ended the year. Things change but you and your students adapt and it’s all a learning experience. An experience that will push you farther than expected, but so many great things happen because of it.  After everything was super organized, labeling just about our entire room was next. This is crucial because with this new found seating freedom, you kind of have to allow access and freedom to a lot more in the classroom. With THESE editable labels, you can design and organize your space so that your students own the room. These are apart of the Flexible Seating Bundle too! Read more about how to set up your classroom for success here! 

editable classroom labels

student supplies classroom organization

#3- Utilize Good Resources 

I know when I was getting started with flexible seating, I felt so overwhelmed and lost. I had no idea where to start or what to look for when it came to labels, brochures to educate families, or anything! So after years of getting the kinks out of my own flex seating journey, I vowed to create a resource teachers would LOVE to help them because it would have every piece thought about and included! I made a jam packed Flexible Seating Bundle so YOU don’t have to scramble for resources or put a modge podge of random things together like I had to. Instead, you’ll have EVERYTHING you need to begin flexible seating from DAY ONE with students! Included in the bundle you’ll find detailed lesson plans, parent information, editable anchor charts, and SO much more. Check it out HERE! The best part is, it’s EDITABLE so you can be sure it fits each and every one of your needs! Ready to dig into all things flexible seating? Check out the ultimate guide HERE!

flexible seating bundle

Flexible Seating Bundle

Help families understand all about the importance of flexible seating and how it will work in your classroom with the editable brochure. Grab yours FREE by subscribing below!

editable flexible seating brochure freebie

Love this FREE resource?

Sign up now and get exclusive access to this freebie and many more in the continuously growing freebie library!

Flexible seating is a new challenge but so worth it. Students love being given choices and you will be amazed at what they can do when they’re empowered to do it. I believe if this works with my firsties, this can definitely work with your kiddos! If you’re looking for more beginning of the year tips and set up, you’ll love the Back to School Teacher Guide that goes through every detail of setting up a classroom to help you successfully set up and have a smoothly run classroom. Even if you’re a veteran teacher this guide can still help you think about things you may not have before! If you’d like a more interactive approach, check out my Building A Student Centered Classroom Course to work through the guide and transform the way your classroom runs! 

I really hope you enjoyed learning more about how to successfully implement flexible seating in your classroom! Don’t forget to subscribe to my email list! Not only will you get the most up to date tips, tricks, and classroom projects… and of course more fun FREEBIES including the Flexible Seating Brochure FREEBIE! You will also have exclusive access to tons of digital how to videos! If you would like to learn about this and other things happening in my classroom follow me  @sweetnsauerfirsties on Instagram.

To follow me on TPT and get all the latest updates on HALF OFF new products, click HERE!

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This is one of my absolute favorite back to school activities that I hand out at our meet the teacher event.

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After spending a LOT of time setting up classrooms…. I’ve learned a few tricks along the way. Here are a few of my favorites! 🤩

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🌟 Line up all your pages to be hung up and count until you find the middle. Start hanging from the middle and work your way outside to make sure it’s even.

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Lindsay Sauer

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It’s time for a G*I*V*E*A*W*A*Y! 🥳All week I’ve been sharing about how to totally rock your first week of school with tons of ideas and tips. Now it’s time to celebrate and help kickstart your year by giving away one of these mega kits!With this kit, you will have your ENTIRE first week of school planned for you. We’re talking detailed lesson plans, anchor chart headers, daily classroom slides, editable procedure posters, engaging activities, and of course tons of team building!Entering is EASY! 1️⃣ Make sure you’re following me2️⃣ Tell us your favorite part of this kit 3️⃣ Tag some friends who would love to win too!🌟 For BONUS entries…. Share this post to your stories and don’t forget to tag me! I’ll choose one lucky winner Monday morning! Good luck! 🤩••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #tptfreebie #tptsale #igconnect4edu #firstyearteacher #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherinspiration #teachershare #classroommanagement #backtoschool #classroomcommunity #makelearningfun ... See MoreSee Less

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Lindsay Sauer

1 day ago

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Let’s have some fun! If you had to choose one, which would be your IDEAL classroom?! This is a hard choice for me but if I had to pick only one I would choose classroom 4!!Which would you choose? Let us know below! ⬇️Image credit @educationtothecore ••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo #igconnect4edu #tftpickme #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherweekend #primaryteacher #teachershare #backtoschool #teacherquotes #teacherfun ... See MoreSee Less

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Lindsay Sauer

2 days ago

Lindsay Sauer
It’s time for #tptfreebie Friday! 🥳This is one of my absolute favorite back to school activities that I hand out at our meet the teacher event.It’s a super simple easy activity to get to know your students even better. Students put three things that represent them in the bag and bring it back to school during the first week of school.They bring the most THOUGHTFUL things in. I have definitely shed some tears at the sweet stuff they bring in. 😭With this EXCLUSIVE freebie, you will have everything you need for this great community building activity. Grab yours now! Happy Friday! 🎉{🔗 on profile}••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo #igconnect4edu #ilovemystudents #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #classroomcommunity #teacherinspiration #backtoschool #meettheteacher #backtoschoolnight ... See MoreSee Less

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Lindsay Sauer

3 days ago

Lindsay Sauer
Help students get to know their space with a scavenger hunt!This is one of my favorite first week activities because not only does it help students but it is also a great way to get them up and moving around for those much needed movement breaks! Learn more fun first week activities now! 🥳{🔗 on profile}••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo #igconnect4edu #teacherinspiration #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #makelearningfun #primaryteacher #clasroomcommunity #backtoschool #classroommanagement #firstweekofschool ... See MoreSee Less

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Lindsay Sauer

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Lindsay Sauer
Let’s talk about back to school stress for a minute. This is the time of year that is so exciting and of course so stressful. The back to school nightmares began, the to-do list starts to fill up, and of course the work emails start back up. Which of these has you the most stressed right now?It’s A LOT. But don’t worry… I CAN HELP!Drop a comment with something that’s stressing you out the most and I’ll help by sending you some of my favorite tips and tricks for the beginning of the year. ❤️••••#elementaryteacher #teaching #classroom #teachingideas #classroomideas #education #handsonlearning #teachertribe #teacher #teachers#teacherlife #teacherproblems #firstgrade #firstgradeteacher #teachersfollowteachers #teachersofinstagram #teachersofig #iteach #iteachfirst #iteachtoo #igconnect4edu #teacherspayteachers #weareteachers #teacherquotes #backtoschool #firstyearteacher #classroommanagement #classroomcommunity #firstweekofschool #firstyearteachers ... See MoreSee Less

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  • Does your elementary classroom have a centers setup that helps facilitate independent learning with small group learning? This blog post gives you everything you need on how to set up centers in a classroom that will help your 1st graders be successful. See my list on how you can start preparing your classroom for successful centers like anchor charts, practice centers for literacy and math, and more. You can even check out my ideas for center organization and my center rotation display here.
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