JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP -- This week was the start of a new school year for many in Lackawanna County and for a group of students at Jefferson Elementary School, there's something new: instead of sitting on chairs all day, they're bouncing on yoga balls.
Students at Jefferson Elementary in Mount Cobb are back in school, most seated in their chairs, behind their desk, and off to another year of learning.
In Mrs. Stevens' third grade class, the students have their heads back in the books, but this year they're learning while bouncing on yoga balls.
"Two years ago, we were looking for a new math series. We went out to different schools and we went down to a school in Philadelphia. The classroom I got to observe was on yoga balls. I thought it was a great idea," Stevens said.
Stevens says she's already noticed that the bouncing helps students release some energy and focus better.
The students think it's just cool and new.
"The yoga balls are more comfortable than chairs," said one third grader.
"It's fun because you get to bounce a little and it really helps," said third grader Mason Stevens.
Some of the students say sitting on the yoga ball in class has caused quite a buzz with students in other classes, and has made them the envy of most of their peers.
"They said to one of my friends that I was so lucky to sit on them," said third grader Jason Walsh.
Mrs. Stevens' class is the only one with yoga balls instead of chairs, but the principal says if things go well, she will open it up to all classrooms in her school.
"All of our teachers are always looking for great new ideas to bring into the classroom, whether it's academic or something as simple as what they sit on. So they're talking together and excited to know what Jen thinks about it," said Jefferson Elementary Principal Judy Castrogiovanni.
At the end of this first quarter, Mrs. Stevens will give a full report on how her students have responded to sitting on yoga balls instead of chairs, and as soon as December, all of Jefferson Elementary could be bouncing and learning in very new way.