“And then you have to have the time to just sit there and look in front of you,” Astrid Lindgren
Just sitting there is not always so easy. What I discuss with the kids & young people again and again when I come to schools or sports clubs is how our sitting posture changes as we grow up. The more we go up (actually grow), the more we sit crooked, almost as if we were shrinking, at least we do it to our back. The Kids & Teens spend so much time at school sitting.
Among other things, I ask them if they remember how they sat in kindergarten as a toddler, for example. The answer is usually the same: “Yes! I sat down so that my feet touch the ground.”
That’s right! Quite naturally and unconsciously, the toddlers sit at their healthiest: they sit in the first third of the seat, both feet flat on the floor (or the tips of the feet) and with a straight back.
And so during the internships during my Montessori training , I was able to observe how the children sit and what a chair or a stool can offer so that people can continue to sit healthy.
We designed the seat of the CLÉMENT chair and the FÉLIX stool differently from “the norm”. Not a great art in itself, what we did. Instead of the width being smaller than the depth, we turned it around. Because the depth is not so deep, the kids tend to sit longer on the first third of the seat.
And what exactly is healthy sitting? In summary, healthy sitting is when the feet are grounded (flat on the floor), bent legs (about 90°) and a straight back… ok, if I read myself like that, then comes ???? *snoring*.
How do I do it with the Kids & Teens at school? then continue reading ????