Fidgety students at Dishman-McGinnis Elementary School will soon use balance balls to burn off extra energy and improve their focus in class. 

The Bowling Green Independent School District’s Board of Education accepted a grant of $1,811 from DonorsChoice.org during its meeting Monday night. The money will be used to buy balance balls that students can sit on while working in class. 

For Superintendent Gary Fields, it’s a way to accommodate the different ways kids learn. 

“People have different ways, different comfort zones,” he said. 

In the same vein, the board also accepted a donation of more than $2,000 to purchase bicycle desks for students at Potter Gray Elementary School. As the name suggests, students will be able to pedal at a desk. 

The board also approved a Snapdragon Library Grant for Parker-Bennett-Curry Elementary School.

The grant is through the Snapdragon Book Foundation. It’s an organization that, according to its website, provides money to improve school libraries and put books in the hands of disadvantaged kids. Grants have ranged from $800 to $20,000, and all money must be spent on books within nine months. 

The board also filled out the last paperwork for improvements on McNeill, something Fields said “closes the chapter” on renovation and addition of the school’s kitchen and cafeteria. The project totaled $2,563,050.42. 

The next regular meeting of the board is at 6:30 p.m. May 9 at Bowling Green Junior High School. 

— Follow education reporter Aaron Mudd on Twitter @aaron_muddbgdn or visit bgdailynews.com.