Stand Up Desks for the Primary Classroom

Do you integrate active seating into your classroom setting? As primary teachers, we know how important it is to integrate movement and activity into every part of our day. Sitting for long periods of time is simply not how a child’s’ brain or body was made to learn. Providing the opportunity for students to stand and move during instruction has been shown to increase attention and the ability to focus. It can also decrease fatigue, improve energy and concentration, and promote healthy habits for an active lifestyle.

In our current world of social distancing within the classroom, it can be difficult for teachers to implement the same flexible seating options that they used to. In my own district, individual desks have replaced tables and partner work areas. So how do we offer the opportunity for our students to still feel free to move while they learn and focus? I found some incredible solutions by working with Schools In and Academia Furniture Industries. They helped me discover the Surge Series Sit to Stand Desks! Let me show you how amazing these stand up desks are!

These Surge Sit to Stand Desks not only look sleek, modern, and beautiful in my classroom, but they provide my students with the perfect way to move and stand while they learn! While I’ve always allowed my students the choice to stand as they work, the height of a traditional desk is simply not comfortable to stand by. My students who like to stand are usually hunched over because the desks are too short to stand up at. The Surge Sit to Stand desks are adjustable, so they can fit the needs of a variety of heights in my room. They are also super durable and unlike many other stand up desks, they are child-friendly! Let me show you what I mean!

a child-friendly sit to stand desk

Last spring, I was determined to find a solution to my students having to sit in individual desks for too long. When I was on my mission to add active seating to my classroom, I looked at tons and tons of different stand up desks. While a lot of stand up desks claimed to be easily adjustable, the truth is that many are not easily adjustable for KIDS. Adults can easily adjust the height with a screwdriver or tool, but that just isn’t practical when you teach a large class of five to seven year old children. I wanted to find standing desks that my KIDS could adjust on their own- easily and quickly, so as not to cause any disruptions or interruptions during our work time.

You can see in the photo above, that the Surge Sit to Stand Desk by Academia Furniture Industries has a pneumonic lift mechanism that students can easily use all by themselves! They just lift it and pull the desk up to the height they desire. When Schools In sent this amazing option for a stand up desk to my first grade classroom, I was instantly in love!

Finally…a stand up desk that young children can adjust with ease- all by themselves! The easily adjustable lift mechanism allows my students to switch between the choice of sitting and standing while they work on projects, worksheets, and activities in our room. These desks are a game-changer for any educational setting, but especially for little ones and their ability to be independent within the primary classroom.

stand up whiteboard desk surface

Here’s an even bigger reason to love Academia’s Surge to Sit Stand Up Desk– you can opt to have the desk surface be a dry-erase WHITEBOARD! What?! I was immediately obsessed with this feature. We’ll be able to practice word work, math problems, and phonics lessons directly onto the surface of these desks. They wipe clean and can be cleaned with dry erase spray, too. Talk about an instructional time saver! No more time is wasted by getting our whiteboards in and out of our desks. Simply grab a marker and write directly onto the surface of the desk!

Here’s a little video I took of the whiteboard feature on the Surge Sit to Stand Desks. You can see how smooth the surface is and how perfect it is for dry-erase markers. I can’t wait to leave some fun messages of encouragement on days when I might have a sub, or mornings when I know they will need a little extra boost of encouragement!

Squircle Seats for active seating

Academia Furniture and Schools In also showed me these amazing Squircle Seats. Squircle Seats are a seating option that allows students to move throughout the school day. They provide for sensory input and allow students to release energy while they sit and work. As a teacher, I love that the rubber base is non-slip. I also love that the seats clean easily and nicely with mild soap and water. They come in tons of bright, fun colors, too! You can order these seats right on the Schools In website by clicking HERE. They are a must-have for a classroom with active seating!

As I was setting up my classroom, my five-year-old son saw them and immediately tried one out. He was hooked! He’s pretty active and always on the move! He was able to focus on completing an entire Lego set while he sat attentively on our new lime green Squircle Seats. You can see from that smile how much he LOVED it!

I also love that the Squircle Seats are light enough to be easily moved around the room according our day to day needs. Since all of my students cannot fit on our carpet area for read-alouds (due to social distancing requirements), four of my students will be able to pull a Squircle Seat over to our meeting area and sit on the stools during our lessons. The Squircle Seats also fit perfectly under the Surge Sit to Stand desks! The Squircle Seats that you see in all of my photographs are the 13″ height. They are an ideal size for our K-2 students!

Adding stand up desks to your classroom

Adding seating options and work spaces that provide for movement and activity is not only beneficial to young students’ cognitive development, but it helps their lifestyle habits, too. When students can move freely as they learn, and stand up if they desire to work, they improve their ability to focus, attend to a task, and stay energized.

You can find all of the amazing furniture that Academia Furniture Industries supplies for active seating on their website! Ready to order the Surge to Sit to Stand Desks or some amazing Squircle Seats for your classroom or school? Visit the Schools In shop to get started! Working together with Academia Furniture Industries, Schools In will help you find the perfect active seating options for your classroom and school setting.

Share this with a colleague!

If you’d like to refer back to this post, or share it with your admin or a colleague, feel free to pin the image below to your Pinterest page! Thank you so much for hanging out with me and learning about these amazing stand up desks and how active seating impacts our little learners in the classroom. Don’t forget to make sure you are following me on Instagram @missdecarbo for more weekly tips, ideas, activities, resources, and freebies!