School Furniture Blog

Paragon Furniture, makers of quality classroom computer furniture and masters of clever advertising, have been "monitoring" the economy. 

Paragon has a comfortable view for any way you wish to see the economy’s condition or better yet, your computer screen.  Summer is a perfect time for schools to upgrade their computer lab and no lab would be complete without Paragon’s computer furniture line which includes Flat Panel Semi-Recessed Workstations, Cluster Workstations and Lab Workstations.  Support your economy and enhance your student’s computer skills by visiting www.worthingtondirect.com today for all of your computer furniture products.

School furniture shopping has never been easier now that Worthington Direct has released the latest version of their website that includes an instant freight calculator, live chat and a PDF version of their catalog.

Worthington Direct (www.worthingtondirect.com), a supplier of school, church and early childhood furniture and equipment for over 11 years has launched a new version of their website that will make online institutional furniture shopping a snap. School purchasers, church committee members and daycare owners will save time, and as always save money, when they purchase their facility furniture online with Worthington Direct.

One major upgrade is real-time freight calculator that offers instant shipping rates for almost every item on the specialty furniture website. Worthington Direct’s technology director, Brian Heiland, says, "Today’s online shoppers are becoming more savvy and are expecting interactive websites with advanced features, like instant freight calculations. School procurement offices can now simply click to view their shipping rates and use that information to complete their requisitions in seconds flat."

Freight can be calculated on each item detail page for individual shipping rates, or multiple items can be added to a shopping cart and then rated for a combined shipping amount. Unlike some of the other school furniture sites, Worthington Direct does not hide any shipping fees inside their product costs. Some companies base their shipping costs on a percentage of the purchase total, but that is not an accurate amount for an item that is small with a high price tag, such as technology products.  This results in having some of the lowest costs in the industry and avoids the customer from paying an inflated shipping amount. Gas prices are steadily rising so every effort is being made to keep shipping rates accurate and to a minimum.

Another great feature found the Worthington Direct website is the ability to participate in live chat sessions with trained school and church furniture experts.  Although anyone that calls during business hours will never encounter an automated recording, some people just like the option to type over dialing. Live chat is a great way to get fast responses for questions that arise while shopping for school furniture. A full version of their printed catalog can also be viewed in PDF form on the web now.  Customers can view and print single pages or a range of pages that can be used in last minute committee meetings or to attach to their purchase requisition.

Some other upgrades to the institutional furniture website are larger images and a faster checkout process. Worthington Direct continues to focus on website improvements and to maintain their quality customer service from its origins as a direct mail catalog company. With all of the new and advanced features found on their online store, customers are still always to welcome to pick up their traditional catalog and call for fast friendly service. 

About Worthington Direct: Worthington Direct has been in operation for 11 years with an employee average of 13 years experience in the school supply, church and equipment industry, and knows what is important – selection, service, price and timing.

Our goal is to make your purchasing job easier. With competitive pricing, knowledgeable sales associates, and "In Stock" products for quick, efficient shipping, Worthington Direct is committed to be your furniture resource. Schools and churches look to Worthington Direct for competitive pricing for school furniture, church furniture, preschool furniture, early childhood furniture, student desks, classroom chairs, folding chairs, folding tables, seminar tables, AV carts, projector carts, science tables, stools, padded stack chairs, library furniture, desks, wholesale furniture, computer furniture, classroom furniture, dry erase boards, markerboards, chalkboards, office furniture, room dividers, partitions, cubbie units, storage cabinets, file cabinets, bookcases, lockers, classroom carpets, booktrucks, easels, display cases, cafeteria tables, activity tables, classroom desks, computer tables, desk chairs, lecterns, literature racks, office desks and risers among its large stock. Worthington Direct Launches New Website Packed with Advanced Features

Worthington Direct (www.worthingtondirect.com), a supplier of school, church and early childhood furniture and equipment for over 10 years has expanded their product line to include all of the quality booktrucks manufactured by Smith System. There are many styles available and every school department can find a use for these bookt rucks that go beyond just carting books.

School’s today are increasingly adding roving teachers that share classrooms and have to carry their supplies all over campus. With the aid of a Smith System booktruck, they can tote their lesson plans, reference books and teaching peripherals across campus in style. Available in 13 fresh colors, they can sport their school colors or choose different colors to easily identify a certain department’s cart. 

National Library Week is April 13th -April 19th, so go visit your local library and see some of these library booktrucks in their natural environment. Their sloped shelves are great for keeping books, DVD’s or other media in their place while in transit. Booktrucks are also available with flat shelves that allow easy reshelving of large picture books or maps. Smith System uses soft-tread, dual wheel casters that won’t shimmy like single wheels so the library will remain a quiet place for reading.

Worthington Direct is offering discount flat shipping rates for all of their Smith System booktrucks. Whether you need a new booktruck for the library with sloped or flat shelves, an Everything cart for the teacher who shares a classroom or the Gorilla Cart that hauls it all, buy from Worthington Direct and save! Order 1 or 2 book trucks and the shipping is $85, order 3 or 4 and the shipping cost is only $99! With gas prices on the rise, these flat-shipping rates can really add up the savings. 

Booktrucks by Smith System are all Greenguard Certified, which means that you can breathe a bit easier knowing that your students have proper indoor air quality. These helpful carts are all welded, fully assembled and are sure to be a teacher’s best friend for years to come.

Other great library furniture carried by Worthington Direct includes library tables, library chairs, library bookcases and library study carrels. Perhaps instead of outfitting an entire library, you want to create a reading area inside a classroom, well Worthington Direct can help there too. Browse their website at www.worthingtondirect.com for early childhood furniture that includes big book display cases, media book towers and the always-fun reading train station. 

About Worthington Direct: Worthington Direct has been in operation for 11 years with an employee average of 13 years experience in the school supply, church and equipment industry, and knows what is important – selection, service, price and timing. www.worthingtondirect.com Our goal is to make your purchasing job easier.

With competitive pricing, knowledgeable sales associates, and "In Stock" products for quick, efficient shipping, Worthington Direct is committed to be your furniture resource. Schools and churches look to Worthington Direct for competitive pricing for school furniture, church furniture, preschool furniture, early childhood furniture, student desks, classroom chairs, folding chairs, folding tables, seminar tables, AV carts, projector carts, science tables, stools, padded stack chairs, library furniture, desks, wholesale furniture, computer furniture, classroom furniture, dry erase boards, markerboards, chalkboards, office furniture, room dividers, partitions, cubbie units, storage cabinets, file cabinets, bookcases, lockers, classroom carpets, booktrucks, easels, display cases, cafeteria tables, activity tables, classroom desks, computer tables, desk chairs, lecterns, literature racks, office desks and risers among its large stock. Continue Reading

Worthington Direct specializes in school furniture that can be used for a broad range of school facilities.  Whether a public, private or Montessori school, Worthington Direct will have the student desks, classroom chairs, computer furniture and early childhood furniture that is best for any given curriculum.  Visit www.worthingtondirect.com today for great deals on top brand school, church and early childhood furniture. 

You may have driven past one in your area, or heard the name when looking for a school for your child, and wondered, "What is Montessori?"  Take some time to read about what a Montessori school is and how it differs from most traditional schools.  You might find that it offers the type of education you wish to find for your child.

In 1907, the first woman to become a physician in Italy developed a revolutionary method of teaching children.  Dr. Maria Montessori developed the Montessori Method which today is used in thousands of schools all over the world.  Through her research in psychiatry and education and work with different types of children, Montessori concluded that children are capable of teaching themselves if given the proper environment.

The Montessori Method differs in many ways from the structure of mainstream schools.  Rather than a teacher whose role is to bestow knowledge upon the children, the teacher serves as the facilitator between the environment and the developing child.  The teacher helps the child maintain his concentration and the environment so that each pupil is able to explore and create.

The method operates under the assumption that children learn differently from adults and even differently from each other.  A sense of individuality is encouraged in the way that the children are allowed to learn.  A child is able to learn at his own pace and continue engaging in an activity for as long as he desires. 

Subject areas such as cooking, cleaning and gardening are just a few of the many practical areas that are studied at a Montessori school.   According to the International Montessori Index, a child is not interested in pretend cooking when he can do the real thing.   At any point during the day the traditional subjects, Math, Science, Language, History, Science, Music etc. are studied as well.  

 The method aims to cultivate individuals who are well adjusted, have a strong sense of themselves, and a well developed character rather than children that are simply full of facts and figures.  Along with linguistic or logical-mathematical styles of learning, the Montessori Method recognizes that spatial, interpersonal and intuitive forms of learning are just a few modes that are just as essential.

The experience of learning and developing is paramount to the end goal of having a traditionally educated child.  Rather than passive activities such as listening to a lecture or just reading, Montessori students are taught to use all of their five senses in their learning environment.  A child is encouraged to appreciate the world around him and explore the unique potential and abilities that he alone possesses.

Montessori schools are primarily focused on younger children.  Different aged children are in the same classroom and are broken up into age ranges:  3-6, 6-12.  Children learn from each other and through individual lessons with the teacher as well as on their own.  The method supports the idea that at different developmental stages children are more equipped to learn different things.  The very youngest children are encouraged to develop their language skills and use their senses.  In contrast to middle-school aged children, who are taught to use their imagination, learn to make informed choices, develop sustained concentration. 

There are special teacher training programs for Montessori teachers as well as Montessori designed materials and even classroom furniture.  There are not tests or grades; the Montessori materials tend to be self-correcting.   Teachers observe children’s development in order to be cognizant of areas that the child may be struggling with.    

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