WEST CHESTER, Pa. (February 20, 2013)--When students at one suburban Philadelphia elementary school work at their desks, they aren't exactly sitting still because the fifth-graders at Westtown-Thornbury Elementary School are learning while bouncing on brightly colored yoga balls.

Teacher Robbi Giuliano did away with traditional chairs in her West Chester classroom.

Instead, children balance themselves on giant rubber spheres also called stability balls.

Giuliano said the added body movement helps students focus better on daily lessons while toning their muscles.

Experts have linked physical activity with better learning and say the balls are part of a larger movement to modernize schools with equipment including adjustable-height desks and footrests

Such furniture allows children to naturally fidget without disrupting class.