The best classroom stools for permanent or temporary seating aren’t always the traditional desk and chair set up in a straight line. Non-traditional flexible seating options allow teachers to use floor space more creatively and productively.
We have spent nearly 2 weeks researching the best flexible seating options for your classroom and kids. We’ve compiled a list of exciting choices, including stackable stools for small classrooms, soft, padded seat cushions for the floor, and active seating that wobble, bounce, and rock for kids who can’t sit still.
Each has pros and cons – not every stool is the best chair for your kid. You’ll find information to help you make an informed choice below.
Best Flexible Seating Options Compared
 | ECRA4Kids Active Core Engagement Wobble Stools | Check price at |
 | Learniture Active Learning Chair | Check price at |
 | SoftSacpe Round Floor Cushions | Check price at |
 | Gaiam Kids Stay-N-Play Children’s Balance Ball Lowest Price | Check price at |
 | American Plastic Toys Children’s Scoop Rocker Chairs | Check price at |
 | KidsErgo Ergonomic Stool | Check price at |
 | Norwood Commercial Furniture Mobile Stacking Stools | Check price at |
 | Norwood Commercial Furniture Stackable Stools | Check price at |
Unique Flexible Seating For Classrooms Reviewed
Best Classroom Chairs For Fidgety Kids: ECRA4Kids ACE Active Core Engagement Wobble Stool For Kids
The ECRA4Kids Active Core Engagement Wobble Stools is the best wobble chair option for kids who can’t sit still. With 360 degrees movement, the flexible seating option offers restless, fidgety, ADD, ADHD, and special needs kids freedom to move while seated, creating a user-friendly learning environment.
Made from durable polypropylene material, the wobble chair allows front-to-back and side-to-side rocking and tilting. A textured seat prevents kids from slipping from their chairs during movement, and a rubber seat shields the floor against damage. The anti-slip base is a rounded, convex shape that prevents tipping or scratching the floor. With less back strain, the need to fidget decreases, increasing concentration and focus in the learning environment.
The lightweight wobble chair measuring 13 x13 x15 inches is easy to carry and features several sizes to accommodate the seat height for kids and adults. The ergonomic design encourages students to position their feet in a balanced position on the floor for a good posture and activates and strengthens core muscles. Available in multiple colors, the flexible seating will brighten any classroom, library, homeschool, or bedroom.
The active learning stool meets or exceeds the ANSI and BIFMA standards for safety, structural accuracy, and durability for business and institutional furniture. The flexible seating is Greenguard Gold rated and CPSIA-compliant protecting your kid’s health.
Recommended Age: 6 to 10 years
Weight Capacity: 165 pounds
Stool Dimensions: 13 x 13 x 15 inches
Best Flexible Seating Options For Active Kids: Learniture Active Learning Chair
The Learniture Active Learning Chair is a popular choice for allowing students a wide range of freedom of movement without disrupting the class. The flexible classroom chair works well for individuals at a school desk or as school furniture for group learning.
A textured, non-slip bottom made from thermoplastic rubber keeps the flexible seating stable during movement. Active children continue to concentrate while rocking on the stool. The backless design improves back and core muscle strength and promotes proper posture as kids rock safely with the rounded base design.
The modern design wiggle stools are available in four sizes: 12-inch seat height with a weight limit of 75 pounds for 3-7 year old; 15-inch seat height with 165 pounds weight limit for elementary school children, 18 inches for tweens, and 20-inch for teens. The sturdy plastic seat cleans easily with a damp cloth, is Greangaurd Gold certified, and comes in five radiant colors.
Recommended Age: 9 years and up
Weight Capacity: 250 pounds (additional seats for younger kids 75 and 165 pounds)
Stool Dimensions: 13 x 13 x 18 inches (also 12, 15, and 20 inch seat height)
Best Flexible Floor Seating For Soft Seating: SoftScape 15 Inch Round Floor Cushions With Handles
The SoftSacpe Round Floor Cushions is an excellent choice for daycare, preschool, school classrooms, or homes where kids love sitting on the floor. The versatile seating option creates a relaxed classroom environment inspiring children to have fun while learning.
A specially designed non-slip base prevents the chair from sliding underneath students. Greanguard Gold Certified for low emissions into indoor air and complying with flammability regulations; the flexible seating is safe to use in the classroom or daycare.
Teachers love these soft cushions for their adaptability to classroom design. The durable plastic material cleans with a soap-and-water solution, making it perfect for small kids. The non-slip features, ease of cleaning, stackable for storing, and little ones sitting comfortably on soft seats are more attentive to the teacher. Students and teachers can effortlessly move the padded seat to different classroom areas.
Recommended Age: 2 years and up
Stool Dimensions: 15 x 15 x 2 inches
Best Flexible Seating Options For Good Posture: Gaiam Kids Stay-N-Play Children’s Balance Ball
The Gaiam Kids Stay-N-Play Children’s Balance Ball is one of the best flexible seating options that promote active kids’ healthy posture. Kids love to sit comfortably on a fun seat, allowing freedom of movement, reducing restlessness, and increasing blood flow to the brain for improved concentration.
Micro movements due to instability keep students’ bodies active, burning excess energy, and reducing fidgeting. Core strength improves from active sitting while studying, reading, or concentrating in classrooms.
Unlike exercise balls or yoga balls, stability balls have five legs stabilizing the balance ball; they stay in place and don’t roll around when not used. When a child sits on the balance ball or uses it as an exercise ball or bouncy ball, the legs flatten against the ball’s surface. The stability balls come in smaller sizes for 5-7-year-olds and larger sizes for 8-11-year-olds.
A stability ball is a great choice for classrooms with young students; it is one of the most fun flexible seating options to help students concentrate while getting rid of excess energy and support a good posture. The multiple color options and fun images will inspire any child to sit at their desk on one of these balance balls. For easy storage during holiday seasons and to save space, a teacher can deflate the balls.
Recommended Ages: Small size for 5-7 years, larger size for 8-11 years
Stool Dimensions: 17.717 inches (45 cm), 20.472 inches (52 cm) fully inflated
Best Classroom Stool For Versatility: ECR4Kids ELR-15331 Sit Or Step Stool For Kids
The ECRA4Kids Sit Or Step Stool, another great option for flexible seating, is a reversible wooden stool a pre-K student can use as a chair or step ladder. Children absolutely love the versatility of the adjustable stools that offer a comfortable seat, storage space for their stuff, and a step ladder to reach heights they normally can’t.
Different styles provide the seat mode with an indented sitting area and side supports for safety and comfort. Turn the top down, and the stool transforms into a step stool to help children reach a book on a bookshelf and other items out of their reach. The stool features a storage area beneath the seat for children to store their books, toys, snacks, and school supplies in the sitting mode.
Made from durable materials, the lightweight design features two cut-out handles for easy transport and is Greenguard Gold certified.
Recommended Age: 2 years and up
Stool Dimensions: 15 x 15.3 x 13.2 inches
Best Classroom Chairs For Reading: American Plastic Toys APT-13150 Children’s Scoop Rocker Chairs
The colorful American Plastic Toys Children’s Scoop Rocker Chairs are the best stools for the reading area in Kindergarten classrooms or a reading center in Elementary school. The nesting stools are a great addition to any school and an excellent alternative to cushions for students who love sitting on the floor.
With six rockers in a pack and colors varying from red, blue, green, pink, and purple, teachers will soon have a vibrant, colorful sitting area for little ones. The non-toxic plastic seat sits comfortably for gaming, reading, or children listening to their favorite stories.
Children can easily pick up the lightweight chairs with the carry handle, and the design allows for stacking, minimizing the required storage space. The plastic stools offer everything a good stool does with the convenience of floor seating and is easily stored.
Recommended Age: 3 years and up
Weight Capacity: 150 pounds
Stool Dimensions: 17.75 x 15.62 x 14.25 inches
Best Classroom Chairs For Growing Students: KidsErgo Ergonomic Stool For Active Sitting
The award-winning KidsErgo Ergonomic Stool For Active Sitting is another great choice for active students; the chairs are made for movement. The contemporary design in vibrant colors brightens any classroom, bedroom, playroom, or library.
Based on the principles of an exercise ball but sturdier, safer, and with more stability, the ergonomic stools balance easier. The KidsErgo chairs encourage students to sit with a good posture while strengthening core and back muscles. Movement keeps hyperactive students alert and focused while their bodies relax and releases energy. The flat base ensures stability for a safe experience.
The KidsErgo wobble seats won the Good Design Award, MInd Spring Academic Award, Edison Award, and Parents Picks Award. Constructed for durability, the flexible seating is made in the USA from recycled technopolymer and features a two-year warranty. The heavy-duty chairs also come in bigger sizes for nine-year-old students to adults.
Recommended Age: 4 to 9 years
Weight Capacity: 170 pounds
Stool Dimensions: 15 x 18 x 15 inches
Best Classroom Stool For Movability: Norwood Commercial Furniture Colorful Mobile Stacking Stools With Wheels
The stackable design of the Norwood Commercial Furniture Mobile Stacking Stools is the ideal solution for easy mobility in a flexible learning space. The modern heavy-duty stools with wheels can function as art stools, learning chairs, and seating in the reading area in limited classroom space.
The plastic seat rests on the sturdy steel frame and metal legs with high-strength weld points. The hole in the seat makes it easy to pick up and provides airflow for comfort. With four rolling casters and a light-weight design, students can effortlessly move the plastic chair.
The portable seating cleans easily, making it ideal for your little one, art class, or messy holiday projects at home. The plastic chairs come in a set of four bright colors, can stack up to 10 chairs high, an excellent addition to a modern home or classrooms with limited floor space.
Stool Dimensions: 11.75 x 11.75 x 17.75 inches
Best Flexible Seating For Portability: Norwood Commercial Furniture NOR-XNG801AC-SO Stack Stools
The Norwood Commercial Furniture Stackable Stools are excellent flexible seating options for classrooms that enjoy indoor and outdoor classes. The stackable stool is great for a kid’s room, playhouse, patio, or camping.
Highly portable, the lightweight stools with stackable design don’t take up much space for storage and transports easily from one place to another. When stacked, the lightweight stools pick up and are carried easily with the hole in the center of the plastic seat.
The pack of four stools includes one purple stool, one blue stool, one red stool, and one green stool. These colorful chairs fit under most tables, the seat height supports toddlers to tweens, and the portable seating doesn’t take up much storage space when stacked, making the stack stools ideal for small classrooms or rooms with limited floor space.
Weight Capacity: 220 pounds
Stool Dimensions: 12.5 x 12.5 x 16.5 inches
Which flexible seating options are the best classroom stools for your classroom and students? Have you tried the wobble stools or balance balls for energetic students, and how did you find your students concentrate better with the release of nervous energy?
What Makes A Stool Great For Your Classroom
When selecting the best flexible seating for your classroom, the chairs should be sturdy, safe, inspire a good posture in growing children, and motivate learning. Teachers don’t want kids to fidget because they are sitting uncomfortable. The classroom size and purpose also influence the type of classroom stool. Consider these features to identify the best classroom chair selection for your classroom.