From Campus Lounging to Classroom Calm: My Journey Across Disciplines with ENO Hammocks

Written and photographed by Lee Brewer

One of the longest-lasting, most impactful purchases I made in my first few weeks post-high school graduation, with checks from family and friends burning a hole in my pocket, was my ENO DoubleNest Hammock and accompanying Atlas Hammock Straps. In a striking turquoise, yellow, and purple colorway, this hammock became the first thing I'd throw in my backpack before heading out the door going anywhere.

When I started my freshman year of college at Western Washington University, in gorgeous and granola Bellingham, Washington, this hammock acted as a way to socialize, lounge between cedar trees on campus, and even to spend the night in the gathering hub in my on-campus dorm. Slinging up my ENO in the Sehome Arboretum felt like a rite of passage, especially amongst my peers in the Recreation major.

Fast forward a few years after my first round of university, I followed my best friends and moved to the rural unincorporated community of Hunters, Washington-- an agrarian landscape rich in history and home to a small K-12 school. An hour from the nearest town, my evenings after working as a Special Education paraeducator during the day, were consumed by countless hours snuggled up in my hammock down at the nearby Lake Roosevelt National Recreation area, looking over the dammed Columbia River with my sweet pup, Panda, curled up underneath me. I read and read on those nights, consuming inspirational memoirs and nature-focused non-fiction, taking breaks to journal about my most recent adventure: moving to seemingly the middle of nowhere and hard-launching a career in education.

Inspired by the devoted educators I'm proud to call my coworkers, I began my second go-around in college: this time pursuing a degree in Special Education, remotely and online. Studying virtually lent itself to unique opportunities to create my own classroom. I studied on blankets underneath the cherry trees in my yard, often taking much-needed brain breaks swinging in my beloved hammock, pumping and kicking my legs just like my students do on the swings at recess. After a year and a half of coursework, licensure exams, student teaching, and then a round of job interviews, I landed my dream job as Special Education Director/K-12 Teacher in the same school I began my career in as a paraeducator three years earlier.

Once granted my very own classroom, I began the arduous task of furnishing a classroom that would not only foster a loving, safe environment but also an environment that reflects a bit of my own personality, interests, and favorite things. These considerations led me to design a classroom with nature-themed posters, art from small businesses and independent artists, diverse literature, and a sensory corner complete with a rug decorated with bugs, bean bag chairs, and two ENO Parklite Hammock Chair Stands, complete with two DoubleNest Hammocks generously donated by ENO.

How did I come up with the idea to incorporate hammocks into my Special Education classroom? How can I justify it? You may be wondering! Inspired by more traditional sensory swings designed with students with exceptionalities in mind, but lacking the classroom infrastructure to implement such furniture, I pondered where I feel safe, swinging and grounding myself (in air nonetheless)... and the answer was right in front of me (in my backpack): ENO hammocks in my classroom!

The addition of ENO gear to my little corner of our school has been nothing but well-received. Not only my students in need of a break, comfort, and sensory stimulation have enjoyed and benefited from these goodies, but also myself and my coworkers. I cannot emphasize what a treat, a silly little delight, it is to kick my feet up and write IEPs in the comfort of an ENO hammock in my classroom. This is a dream come true on so many levels.

Author Bio

Lee Brewer is a Special Education teacher and director in rural northeastern Washington state. She is passionate not only about creating inclusive classrooms where all students can thrive, but also in finding ways to bring the delights and benefits of the natural world indoors and to all people. When she’s not in the classroom, Lee loves to kayak, hike, and camp with her dog. She is also an avid reader, often found with her feet up, post-hike, devouring books in… you guessed it… her hammock!