Sunday School classroom: tv tables and chairs? Cushions on floor? Desk storage solutions?

[MercyA]

The only way I can have my kids at all distanced in my Sunday School classroom is to use fold-out wood tv tables and chairs as individual desks. I was given these tables by the previous teacher, and while I am grateful to have them, they are driving me bonkers. The kids rock them and knock them over, for one thing, but they are also too small. We like to do crafts and by the time they have their little personal craft supply caddy and their craft supplies for that day's project and their snack on them they are very crowded. (Some of my kids don't have breakfast before church, so the snacks are staying.)

There are no other desks available in the church. The rest of the classes group their kids around large tables. I can't afford to buy 8 new, stable, roomier desks. There isn't enough room to have enough big tables to properly space the kids. 

So, I have to make these little tv tables work. What can I attach to them to hold their craft caddies and/or their snacks? The tables look roughly like this and their craft caddies look like this. For their snack they have a little bag of cookies, crackers, or fruit snacks and a little cup of water. 

Any ideas? I am *not* handy with tools. 

Thank you! 

ETA: What do you all think of floor seating instead?

Edited January 31, 2022 by MercyA

[MercyA]

[removed pic]

 

 

Edited January 31, 2022 by MercyA

[Frances]

This isn’t directly what you asked for, but what about separating craft and snack time? Maybe snack time first with a story followed by craft time? To me that would seem better in terms of clean hands, too. But maybe your time is too limited?

[HomeAgain]

I would buy 2 cheap baking sheets for each kid.  One to hold craft supplies, one to hold snack.  The snack one goes under the seat while crafts are being done, and then the craft trays can be set on the tables or the table can be folded up and the kid can sit on the floor cross-legged with the tray still (and have snack on it if needed to have both at once).

[Clarita]

In my no experience what-so-ever opinion I'd seriously consider putting the kids on the floor. Place a rug (Amazon.com: Elite Montessori Accessories Rug Children Playing Mat Classroom Working Rug - Small : Home & Kitchen) for the kids to work on. 

[Dmmetler]

Dollar tree and teachers stores have back of chair caddies for classroom use. You'd have to measure and see if they'd fit folding chairs, but they could hold craft supplies, etc. 

[Lucy the Valiant]

Could you un-screw the legs from the table tops, and put Kid + Table Top directly on the floor? (Un-screwing is easy, and if Former Teacher objects, it's temporary - they can always be screwed back on later.)

[MercyA]

1 hour ago, Frances said:

This isn’t directly what you asked for, but what about separating craft and snack time? Maybe snack time first with a story followed by craft time? To me that would seem better in terms of clean hands, too. But maybe your time is too limited?

Yes! This is exactly what I do. We pass out snacks and they eat them while I read them a story. However, some of the kids are slow eaters and some are still hungry and want more food, so there are usually some snacks still being eaten when we start the craft. 

[kbutton]

This is for a different style of tray, but if you are handy with sewing, you could probably make something like this that fastens with velcro instead: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/1132303531284411120/

 

[MercyA]

1 hour ago, Clarita said:

In my no experience what-so-ever opinion I'd seriously consider putting the kids on the floor. Place a rug (Amazon.com: Elite Montessori Accessories Rug Children Playing Mat Classroom Working Rug - Small : Home & Kitchen) for the kids to work on. 

I have been thinking about switching to floor seating. More room to spread out and some of them seem to prefer to sit on the floor anyway. 🙂 Maybe floor cushions? I already have clipboards from when we were meeting outside. Too cold now! 

I do have at least one child who prefers to sit on a chair even when we are outside, though. Maybe I could keep it an option. Also, I have little girls in dresses who aren't really yet aware that they should sit a certain way to avoid showing their undergarments, but that could be quietly dealt with; not a big deal.

[MercyA]

What do you all think about switching to floor seating? How could I make it comfortable? Class is approximately 45 minutes long.

[MercyA]

49 minutes ago, Lucy the Valiant said:

Could you un-screw the legs from the table tops, and put Kid + Table Top directly on the floor? (Un-screwing is easy, and if Former Teacher objects, it's temporary - they can always be screwed back on later.)

Teacher is retired and happy for me to do whatever I want with the tables, including getting rid of them if need be.

[athena1277]

When we were doing spaced out seating in Bible classes, my 5yo’s class was on the floor.  Each child had one of those big foam mats (the kind that can be put together like a puzzle, a kid sized chair with a cloth caddy of supplies (crayons, Bible, etc.) on the back and a clipboard for writing on.  They had to stay in their space, but could choose to sit on the chair or floor.  Another class had the mats and those plastic lap trays with space on each side for their things.  It worked ok and the kids didn’t mind.  The teachers, however, were very grateful when they were finally allowed to have tables again.

[ktgrok]

2 hours ago, MercyA said:

I have been thinking about switching to floor seating. More room to spread out and some of them seem to prefer to sit on the floor anyway. 🙂 Maybe floor cushions? I already have clipboards from when we were meeting outside. Too cold now! 

I do have at least one child who prefers to sit on a chair even when we are outside, though. Maybe I could keep it an option. Also, I have little girls in dresses who aren't really yet aware that they should sit a certain way to avoid showing their undergarments, but that could be quietly dealt with; not a big deal.

Pillows are less comfortable, I think. The library uses carpet samples - each kid sits on a carpet sample, that sort of defines their designated space. Put them out where you want the kids to sit, and they can use clipboards or lap desks. 

 

[ktgrok]

These are also an idea https://www.walmart.com/ip/Everything-Mary-Large-Lap-Desk-Tray-Blue/319315756?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wl13=4365&&adid=22222222227337055481&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=418859734053&wl4=aud-1307710396740:pla-876337374865&wl5=9011810&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=local&wl12=319315756&veh=sem&gclid=Cj0KCQiAi9mPBhCJARIsAHchl1yZynNR4NNdy8PEUHj6MLWVuRfWy6j57o3tDc85pCLrJoG9r_g9hb4aAv7JEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

[ktgrok]

The dollar store currently has small, thin door mats for sale (Dollar Tree). Those would work although not very soft. The foam interlocking squares someone mentioned are a great idea, and easy to wipe down. Definitely would be comfy enough. 

[katilac]

Only 8 kids? I would put the word out, at church and on social media, that I was looking for 8 additional tv tables. Supply caddy and anything else on the extra table, work on the main table. Stools and end tables would also work well, but are harder to store if you can't leave everything set up. Lots of people have stuff like an extra tv table floating around that they just haven't bothered to get rid of. 

TV tables aren't very sturdy, so I'd probably skip attaching their caddies to them. 

I would also simplify life by telling them that everyone gets the same type and amount of snack, and everyone has the same ten or fifteen minutes to eat it.