So much of the architecture in my classroom (and every class I've had) is the domination of boxes, rectangles, and straight lines. In our math class, we don't just learn the names of shapes, but we also talk about the impact of shapes. Though rectangles give order and alignment, they also promote uniformity and a feeling of being boxed in. The desks and tables are rectangles, the windows are rectangles, the books and storage boxes are rectangles, and the floor and ceiling tiles are all rectangles! If you squint really hard, it looks like a Minecraft world.
I try to soften up the room by adding lots of non-linear elements. I hung flowing draperies all over the place, some even on the windows. I put up spherical lamp shades all over the place, some even used for lighting. I have clocks all over the place, and some even tell the right time. But with my limited woodworking skills, a lot of what I built and brought in (the risers, lap desks, storage bins and shelves, etc.) were, sigh, rectangular-shaped.
Now, maybe I am turning a corner by using my new jigsaw! One of the big benefits of finally getting a decent jigsaw is being able to cut curves. Apart from my laptop stand, my first real curvy design is the rocker stool. I used some leftover plywood when I took apart a space-usurping TV armoire (remember those?) from our living room.
I brought the rocker stool to my class and saw how students used it. Some sat so they could rock sideways like in a canoe.
Other students straddled the stool and rocked back and forth like a rocking horse. It was interesting how they decided to use them to go in two different axes: side to side or forward and back. In both cases, they kept both feet on the ground.
Hmmm. I can see this rocking motion allowing movement, balance, and core development in the same way exercise balls and wobble stools do. But the advantages of the rocker stools over inflatable exercise balls are: the rocker stools are more stable and take up much less room. The advantages of the rocker stools over the wobble chairs: the rocker stools are more stable (I've had wobble stools dismantle themselves while kids are on them, or slip out from under students while they put their feet on the base or spun around on them), and I think the natural wood fits in with our classroom's more organic palette than the blue or black plastic wobble stools.
This original prototype was meant for me, so I could rock and watch TV (yeah, we bought a more up to date TV after deconstructing the TV armoire). Because of my sciatica problems, the idea was to rock back and forth instead of lying prone on the couch, and I was going to add some padding to cushion my bony derriere. When my students tested the prototype in class, their feedback was great: this rocker was too high and the edges were too sharp. The next rocker was much lower and I smoothed all of the edges with a sander. They really like Rocker 2. I just finished Rocker 3 today (based on more student feedback, it is in between in size of Rocker 1 and Rocker 2). I'll let you know what they think.
I probably won't get to bring the original rocker stool back home again, but that is okay. I wonder what else I can do to add some curves to my classroom. Curves, literally, add another dimension to the design capacity of my classroom (and my woodworking).
