Tips for Using Camp Chairs in the Classroom

Who likes to sit in a hard chair all day? I know I don’t, and my students didn’t either.  Classroom carpets are nice, but there’s never enough room for everyone. Bean bags are fun, but they split and leave the room littered with little white styrofoam pellets!

Camp chairs to the rescue! These collapsible chairs are a great flexible seating option for almost any classroom. They’re perfect for school, both inside and outside the classroom. Camp chairs are great for those times when students want to move away from their desks to find a comfy spot to read alone or work with others.

7 Reasons to Use Camp Chairs in the Classroom

1. Camp chairs are light and portable, easy for kids to grab and move.
2. They fold up small enough that four or five of chairs can be stored in a corner of the room.
3. Students can take them just about anywhere, making great use of all the little nooks and crannies in your classroom.
4. Camp chairs make it easy to circle up for discussion groups and classroom book clubs.
5. When students are reading alone, they can turn their chairs to face an empty wall to remove visual distractions.
6. Students can take camp chairs outside to to get comfy when writing or working out of doors.
7. Teachers can use them when they need to pull up a chair for a private reading conference with one student.

How to Get Camp Chairs for Your Classroom

• Parent Donations – Put them on your school supply wish list for the classroom. They are quite inexpensive, especially at the end of the summer when school starts back, so parents will often donate them if you ask.
• DonorsChoose Grants – Write a DonorsChoose project proposal to obtain creative seating alternatives for your classroom. and include camp chairs as one option.
• Sporting Events and Concerts – If you live near an outdoor venue for sporting events or concerts, check with the management to see if you can have any chairs that are left behind after these events. I’ve been told that people frequently walk off and leave their chairs behind, and those chairs are given to anyone who wants them.
• Yard Sales and Flea Markets – Visit yard sales and flea markets to find bargains on camp chairs.

My Favorite Ways to Use Camp Chairs

Here are some of my favorite ways to use camp chairs in the classroom.