Are your kids On the Ball in the Classroom? Many are – figuratively and literally – thanks to a program called On The Ball. My kids have benefited from this program…without me even realizing. You know those tennis balls at the feet of the chairs in the classroom?! That’s On The Ball!
How Many Tennis Balls Does It Take To Be On The Ball?
Let me do the math.
20 students = 20 chairs
20 chairs x 4 legs/chair = 80 chair legs
80 chair legs = 80 tennis balls to make chair slippers.
Throughout elementary school, my kids have had tennis balls at the bottoms of their chairs in their classrooms. I always knew it reduced noise (and floor scuff marks). But I didn’t realize the epic recycling that contributed to my kids being on the ball in the classroom.
What dos 80+ tennis balls look like?
Think of it: a tennis ball can last as little as 3 rallies for professional and semi-professional players. And tennis balls would take 2,500 years to biodegrade in a landfill. When used as chair slippers in schools, each ball has a lifespan of 3 years. The On The Ball program is an ingenuous way to recycle and upcycle tennis balls in a classroom setting – which can inspire and motivate educators as well as students.
Need some tennis balls for your school?
Launched in 2006, National Bank’s On The Ball program recovers used tennis balls from tennis clubs and tournaments; donating them to schools and school boards in Ontario and Quebec, to be used as chair slippers to create noise-free learning environments. This noise-reduction (tennis balls used as chair slippers reduce classroom noise by 32%!) makes it easier for children to concentrate. Now in its 11th year, the program has collected more than 1,600,000 tennis balls, helping to change the day to day learning experience of over 375,000 students in Ontario and Quebec!
I, personally, think this is a fantastic program for classrooms. Having volunteered one (or ten) times in the classroom, I know how noisy it is. One chair being moved is noisy. Multiply that by 20+ other chairs. I have seen tennis ball chair slippers put to use; reducing the sounds of chair scrapes, drags, and pushes and they are effective at reducing noise.
Want to be On the Ball?
You can donate your own tennis balls to classrooms via collection bins at participating tennis clubs and major tennis tournaments.
For more information on the program, please visit www.nbc.ca/ontheball
Disclosure: This post is in partnership with National Bank. Sentiments are my own.
This is an interesting idea. I don’t think any of my kids have ever done anything like this, but I’d love to see it in the classroom.
That is so smart! I had no idea that tennis balls just sort of hung around like that in the environment. I think this is a fantastic way to help the environment and the classroom!
How neat! I didn’t know this even existed, but it’s pretty cool. We sure didn’t have this when I was in school. My sister is a teacher – I’m going to show her your post!
My kiddos classroom does not have this per se but they do have a wheelchair. A lot of the kids use it and it really does help them concentrate.
This is such a good concept. Noisy chairs can be a huge distraction to most kids and this seems like it would be very beneficial.
My kids haven’t sat in chairs with tennis balls but I love the concept. I don’t think they did this much when my kids were younger.
I have seen tennis balls on the bottom of chairs at my Son’s school. It is a great way to recycle tennis balls.
hat is a ton of tennis balls to cover the feet of all the chairs in a school. It is such a great way to reduce the noise and damage to the floors.
This is a great idea! It also prevents that awful squeeking sound!
I do remember my kids’ schools using tennis balls to keep those chairs quiet! This is definitely a good way to make use of those old tennis balls!
This was so interesting! I knew my kids had tennis balls on their chairs but no idea why!
I thought that these balls were just to make sure that the floors didn’t get marked up. How incredible that they are actually meant for noise reduction in the classroom!
This is so intriguing! I would be interested to see it implemented in a classroom for sure!
What a clever idea. I can’t believe it isn’t more popular.
This sounds like a great program. I forgot how noisy moving chairs could be in a classroom.
What a wonderful class project this is. Great way to recycle tennis balls, too.
This is a great idea to recycle tennis balls and is very beneficial for classrooms and kids. Thanks for sharing this. Such a great way to know there’s a way we can donate. 🙂
I’m pretty sure my kids class doesn’t do anything like this. I love the idea and would be a great idea for all classrooms all over the US.
That is such a smart idea – I had no idea tennis balls could make such a difference.
This is so great. I had no idea!! This would be great for all classrooms.
I’ve never heard of this before, but it sounds like a great idea! I hate the noises that the chairs make when they screech across the floor.
Wow, that is a very creative idea to reduce noise and help those who have a hard time ocncentrating.
That is such a great idea to reduce noise in the classroom, I know my daughter and I are easily distarcted when trying to concentrate.
I have never heard about this. What an amazing idea!
That’s cool. Anything we can do to recycle. Have you ever been to the dump? It’s and eye opener and is so sad how much we consume and gets thrown away.
Quite the statistic, Very nice program to collect tennis ball.mr.muffincat@Hotmail
This was such a great idea and there will be much less disturbances and noise in the classroom which the teachers will appreciate
Great class idea for exercise and to encourage reduction of noise.
I’ve seen classrooms with tennis ball “booties” on the chairs, and I’ve even seen school supply lists asking each child to bring 4 tennis balls to school for his/her chair. But this tennis ball recycling program is wonderful – reusing gently used balls instead of buying new ones.
All that classroom chair noise can really agitate some kids, have them lose focus, & create anxiety. The quieter the learning environment is, the better for everyone.