Camping Stool for the Classroom... Genius!

Imagine the following scenario:

It's independent reading time. I'm walking around the classroom, clipboard in hand, ready to listen in and confer with students as they read. The classroom is peaceful, students are reading quietly, soft music plays in the background. As I try to quietly grab a chair from the back of the room to sit next to little Johnny at his desk, I somehow manage to bang all four chair legs against the legs of both the desk where the extra chair came from as well as his desk and then continue to hit every stray object in my path with my chair as well.

So much for the peaceful atmosphere.

I then try standing. Of course, today is the day I decided to wear my long chain necklace, so as soon as I lean in to talk with Johnny, my necklace makes direct contact with his face.

So I kneel.

Of course today is also the day I wore shoes with the cute rhinestone flower applique on them. So now, not only are my knees creaking and soaking up who knows what from the carpet, the longer I kneel, the more I feel my cute rhinestone flower loosen itself from its threads. My clipboard is awkwardly filling the small space between Johnny and I and eventually I'm so uncomfortable that I give up and have to walk away, my rhinestone flower flopping along with me.

Enter: The camping stool!

Jennifer Serravalo shared this little tip in her book Teaching Reading in Small Groups and I am happy to report that I am no longer a victim of ruined shoes and clanging chairs!

This little baby lets me sit snugly up to one student or a group of students, even in small spaces, and use my lap to rest my clipboard. It's seriously genius!!! You can see the scale of it in the picture above. It folds up and is super light so I can easily carry it and my clipboard around without a problem. I am absolutely in love!

I ordered this one on Amazon. It might be one of my favorite purchases ever. Best of all, it was only $12! I'm a prime member, but still, $17 for a little peace, quiet, and functionality is worth it.

If you suffer from noisy chair syndrome like me, or enjoy wearing long necklaces, this camping stool might just be exactly what you need!!

Have a great Friday!