Young readers are making themselves comfortable at Northwest Elementary School, as teachers have taken a new approach in helping children develop a love for literature.

Students are no longer confined to just their desks, as many teachers have reconfigured their classrooms to provide alternate settings to read. First-grade teacher Kristee Lovett has designed her classroom to look like a campsite with a tent, camping chairs and log-themed pillows and seat cushions. 

“Ms. Lovett’s Happy Campers” visit the classroom library to select books on their level, and then spread out around the room for independent reading. She visits each of them during this time for individual conferences to assess how each child is growing as a reader. 

Second-grade co-teachers Jennie Smith and Kerrin Faulkner have brought alternative seating into their classroom for reading time. Students can choose an option that is right for them, selecting from gaming chairs, large pillows, beanbag chairs, yoga mats, rubber donuts and scoop rockers. 

Ms. Faulkner said that children need to move in order to focus, and all the seating choices allow them to do so. She added that if students are in a comfortable spot, they are more likely to read for a longer period of time.

“Reading is an experience in which we want students engaged,” she said, “so we encourage them to find a comfy spot, just like they would at home.”

Children are learning math in many different ways at Northwest Elementary School. Teachers Jaclyn Wittschiebe and Mackenzie Sipp, who co-teach a first-grade class, have implemented math rotations.            

Using resources from Go Math, students are divided into groups of no more than six and rotate through various centers. The children review skills with their teachers using manipulatives such as blocks and small white boards. They play math games in pairs, work independently to solve problems in their workbooks, and do activities on Chromebooks to become more familiar with technology. 

The new year at Northwest Elementary School in the Amityville Union Free School District began with a building-wide art project. Under the direction of art teacher Lydia Robinson, students in first through third grades decorated small paper clouds.

Each child was asked to include their name, a self-portrait and drawings that reflect their likes and interests. The approximately 700 colorful paper clouds were hung on the wall outside the art room surrounding the phrase, “Art is like a dream and we are the dreamers.”   

“I wanted to give every student a chance to get their work on the wall at the beginning of the year,” Ms. Robinson said. “They really enjoyed doing this project.”