I posted the following hit on August 24, but it never showed up on my =
computer and I have since had several requests for a hit, so I'm trying =
again. Since Aug. 20, I have been receiving approximately 400 messages =
a day that are infected with the Sobig virus, so my "real" email doesn't =
always get in or out. :) Sigh... Anyway, if you did receive this =
already, I apologize for the duplication.
Doris Black
Sierra Middle School Librarian
Roswell, NM
dblack@roswell.net
I bought mine from Demco. The only issue is that sometimes everyone =
wants to sit on them so I do have a first come first served, no reserve =
beanbag chair policy. If they get up and someone else comes over and =
sits down, so be it. We've had them a couple of years and they are =
holding up well.
=20
The students love them. Mine lasted 1 school year, then the seams were =
going and I threw them out (before the pellets went all over). They were =
ones I bought at Target. I've bought a couple more I'll try once again.
=20
i had bean bag chairs in elementary school! after the kids jumped on =
them a few times i had beans alllllll over the library. what a mess! =
have you thought about 'dog' pillows or something similar? no on =
beanbags.
=20
(middle school) I used to have bean bag chairs. The kids loved them =
until I got 6 rocker type chairs which they adore! The problem is having =
them come in quietly to the chairs rather than race to them. They are in =
the Demco catalog. =20
=20
Just be aware that "horseplay" can cause the bean bags to burst and you =
have a wonderful snowstorm of little white "beans". (Been there and =
done that in another life)
=20
I probably shouldn't respond because my answer to this question is =
usually not popular but...I feel that our libraries are a place where =
students come to do work. That doesn't mean that it shouldn't be =
comfortable, it means that distractors should not be introduced. I find =
that elementary and eary middle school students spend more time fighting =
for the bean bag chairs thatn they do with their assignments and that =
reading becomes secondary to becoming "king of the hill."
=20
I have several beanbag chairs in my middle school library. WE also have =
a number of couches. The beanbag chairs are the first ones to go for =
leisure reading or when I am doing booktalks in that part of the =
library.
I have had fabric and naugahyde. I would go with the =
latter. I have ones in the shapes and colors of sports balls. (Soccer =
ball, basketball, football, etc. Make sure that they have a locking =
double zipper that can not be opened without a special tool (I use a =
straighten heavy duty paper clip.)
=20
Check Target for $16.00 or $19.00 bean bag chairs. I've been thinking =
about them too. You might want to tape the zipper part to keep little =
hands out of there.
=20
We had some when I first got to this school. They were constantly =
fought over and not really in a good way. It got to the point where I =
didn't bother to replace them after a flood and it has been one less =
hassle for me. I think they can be good but they do take a lot of time =
and discipline.
=20
I have them and have a love/hate relationship with them. The kids jump =
on them, fall on Them dramatically, unzip the zippers so the "pearls" =
come out, hit each other with them, Lean them up against the books on =
the shelves, drag them to the check out desk. . . But that's just me and =
just a few of the things they do with them that annoy me. I usually =
Send out an email to teachers to let them "check them out" to their =
classrooms. They also take up a lot of space. But the kids do love them =
and I have taken some really Cute pictures of the kids reading in them. =
You might look at the "Back Jacks" I think Highsmith has them, they =
stack nicely, come in lots of colors, are versatile...
=20
I hated them. The kids would jump on them as they sat, and the tiny =
pellets began to leak out and get everywhere. Also, it was a constant =
battle because everyone wanted to sit on one and there were only a few.
=20
I tried them. They are large, bulky and noisy. Put a bunch of kids in =
them and it sounds like an invasion of crickets. I'd go for something =
else.
=20
I did this years ago. My beanbags lasted less than 3 months. The =
students flung themselves into the bags despite being told over and over =
not to. The better the quality, the longer they last. Good luck. That =
year the only snow we had in South Carolina was in my media center.
=20
I love bean bag furniture, but I have to admit our experiences with them =
in the school have not been good. The kids seem to love to poke little =
holes in them with pens and pencils, and then watch the little =
polystyrene beads spray around the room. The beads are highly =
electrostatic, and get into everything, and the plastic exterior fabric =
cannot be sewn or effectively repaired. Sewing tears out and tape just =
seems to peel right off again. Our cushions were destroyed in a matter =
of weeks. Perhaps you have better behaved or more responsible students =
that ours, but if you want to make the experiment, I suggest you start =
small and with something not terribly expensive.=20
=20
I had bean bag chairs and someone took off the tags that say they are =
fire resistant and non flamable and I was forced to remove them from my =
library by the fire inspector. If you get the chairs I suggest =
photocoping the tags. Try to keep the tags on, but if not a least you =
will have the back up for proof.
=20
Hmmm...I've been a school librarian of a jr/sr high for 17 years. I've =
tried bean bag chairs twice and both times it was a miserable =
experience. The idea was to create a reading nook in the library but =
there were just a lot of behavior problems. I then offered the chairs =
to teachers for their classrooms and the teachers ended up getting rid =
of them. The problems were:
- kids would race into the library at a run to get a bean bag chair (I =
had between 8-10). So there would be a lot of shoving and shouting. =
Sometimes two kids would squeeze onto one chair (budding couples love =
this aspect)
- the chairs never stayed in the reading area. Students would haul =
them all over the library (usually into blind corners of the library).
- kids would stack two together and lay over them
- I bought high quality bean bag chairs but even when they were =
designed to take a lot of use they showed wear and tear after a year =
(sometimes there were deliberate abuse--kids would mark on them, poke =
holes in them, etc.)
I let a few years go by and tried it again thinking I was wiser and knew =
what it expect plus the library had been remodelled with a separate =
reading area which prevented the kids from hauling the chairs to other =
parts of the library. But they still caused problems. It's such a nice =
idea but I was disappointed with the results.=20
=20
I've had bean bag chairs for about three years now. I bought them from =
Demco. All my kids love them, grades 1-12. I do caution everyone at =
the beginning of the year thet they are not trampolines nor are they =
their bed to be flopped on. They have held up well. I had to put some =
colored plastic tape on one small tear along one of the seams on the =
bottom this summer. I think anything like this helps attract the kids =
to the library. Your idea of a casual seating area is a winner.
=20
I bought vinyl bean bag chairs years ago, and the only thing that really =
went wrong with them is the polyfill flattened out, so we stuffed them =
with the free bags from the grocery store and carried on! I teach =
middle school library, and I testify to the students loving them, but =
I'm a ogre about chair care. Anyone caught flopping, slamming, or =
otherwise endangering the bags loses their priviledge for the rest of =
the quarter (or whatever my mood is that day). I bought them simply at =
the local discount store Ames (which has since gone out of business) for =
$12 each, and even Walmart can't touch that now (so I switched to =
Walmart's floor cushions which were $8). For the hard use they get, I =
can't justify going to someplace like Brodart, The Library Store, or =
even Staples and paying upwards of $25 for each chair. For $8, the =
fabric floor cushions I can get at Walmart now will last for a couple of =
years and if I'm not up to cleaning them, I won't belabor the fact that =
they must be replaced, and for $8, I don't think anyone will argue much =
when the time comes. I hope this helps, and kudos to you for making =
your library a homey place!
=20
We have two in our high school library and they are used every period of =
every day. The students carry them artound to find a sunny spot, or a =
quiet spot or whatever. They are hand-me-downs with denim zip off =
covers. I plan to get some for the middle school library, but haven't =
gotten them yet. I know they'll be well-used.
=20
I had these in an elementary and I suggest that you get them from a =
library company such as Highsmigh or Demco. These are industrial =
strength compared to those from local stores. If they have a zipper =
that when opened allows the pellets to leak out you may wish to lock it =
with a small luggage lock. Also get a dark color such as Navy, or Red. =
Do not get Yellow or Orange as they show grime. The biggest problem is =
deciding who in a class gets to sit in them. They all want to and will =
race each other to pounce on one first. You can assign teams and the =
teams can take turns each week. What I did in my middle school with a =
couch and two chairs was have a laminated paper pass for each to hand =
out as a reward. Only those with a pass could sit on this furniture. =
We had three for the couch and that kept it from being overloaded!
=20
=20
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