Yoga balls helping Hill Field elementary students

CLEARFIELD — A second-grade teacher at Hill Field Elementary School in Clearfield has found a way to get the wiggles out in the classroom and help her students perform better — she uses yoga balls.

Lisa Brown said research shows the small blue yoga balls help kids sit upright better, breathe better, and get more oxygen to their brains. And it helps students with ADHD get the wiggles out and be able to concentrate better on their work.

"When I went to a teacher training, this is what really helped get me going," she said. "We sat on a chair for eight hours. When I got up … my back hurt and I was so tired. I thought, my poor kids sit in those chairs all day and they are uncomfortable, they are miserable."

Jackson Smith, one of Brown's students, said it is harder to sit up straight in the regular chair, but easier to sit on the ball.

"We've had them two days and they (students) are still really excited about them," Brown said. "Just from yesterday to today they are calming down."

Getting 28 balls for her class cost $1,000, which was covered with donations from the community via Wells Fargo Bank's program, www.donorschoose.org. Brown hopes to use the balls to help her class exercise as well.

— Mary Richards