Know

How Do Environments Affect You?

When you choose to visit a favorite restaurant, a local park, a sporting arena, or a good friend’s home, you likely feel good about these experiences because you enjoy them. What is it about those places that make you feel welcome or secure? Thinking about these places might ignite certain positive feelings related to the experience (things you see, feel, hear, smell). Now consider places you do not like to go. Environments like the dentist’s office, the airport, or a noisy restaurant. What makes these environments less pleasant for you? In some settings, we feel relaxed and comfortable, and in other places, we might feel tense, overwhelmed, and confused. Environments affect us in many ways. They can influence how we feel, what we do, and the ways we respond in certain situations. Some of us dislike places where we feel we cannot control or predict our experiences. In some spaces, we may also feel we do not belong or are not appreciated.

As with adults, preschool-age children are affected by their environments, even if they cannot yet express these feelings in sophisticated ways. It is our job to ensure that classrooms and other learning spaces for children make them feel welcome, secure, and ready to learn.

Designing Your Space to Meet Preschool Children’s Needs

Creating a supportive learning environment requires time, reflection, and planning. Whether children spend three or twelve hours a day in your program, the environment plays a major role in helping children develop and learn. Research suggests that a high-quality classroom environment can help close the achievement gap (Mashburn, 2008). That is, children who enter school less ready to learn are those that benefit the most from supportive classroom environments. The supportive classroom you provide can also be an important source of consistency for military children (a group that may experience a great deal of change in their daily lives). A supportive environment is well-organized, dependable, and flexible.

Supportive environments send children a variety of positive messages about their learning (Dodge et al., 2010), such as:

• This is a good place to be.
• You belong here.
• You can trust this place.
• There are places where you can be by yourself when you want to be.
• You can do many things on your own here.
• This is a safe place to explore and try out your ideas.

Watch the video to see examples of ways these messages appear in classrooms.

Environments affect how we feel and send messages about how to act, and they can influence what we learn. The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education recognizes the tremendous impact of the environment by referring to it as the “third teacher” (with parents and teachers as children’s first and second teachers, respectively). The Reggio Emilia approach was developed by Loris Malaguzzi and named after an area in Italy. This approach demonstrates that children are powerful learners, and that their interests should guide adults’ decisions surrounding learning, including how the environment is arranged and what materials are provided. The Reggio Emilia approach believes the learning environment plays a critical role, and that intentionality (thoughtful planning and action) on behalf of teachers in the design of spaces and the selection and arrangement of materials, significantly influences children’s level of engagement and learning (Edwards, 2002). We will revisit this approach to early childhood education in future lessons in this course.

Places for Play and Learning: Interest Areas

When you walk into a retail or grocery store, how do you find what you need? If you are looking for grapes, you probably feel confident you can find them with other fresh fruits. If you want a new pair of socks, you probably have a good idea about where to look in a retail store. Many retail establishments use simple design principles: objects with similar uses are stored near each other, and there are signs to guide you.

Now think about a child in your classroom. How does the child know where to find toys and materials or use the environment to make decisions? There are many differences between retail establishments and classrooms, but organizing materials by their purpose makes sense in both environments. In stores, we might call these groups of similar items “departments.” In environments for young children, we use the terms “interest areas” or “learning centers” to describe spaces designed for certain purposes or that hold materials with similar uses.

When a child enters a well-designed interest area, the space should convey:

• The materials that can be found there.
• The type of play (loud, quiet, social, solitary) that might happen there.
• The expectations for how to behave there.
• How to explore, learn, and have fun there.

As a preschool teacher, you design learning opportunities for children every day, and your classroom or outdoor environment sets the stage for most of these opportunities. Interest areas are key tools for learning in preschool  environments. You can use children’s needs, interests, and abilities to design your interest areas.

There are 10 common interest areas recommended for preschoolers (Dodge et al., 2010). These include:

1. Blocks: Well-developed block areas contain a variety of materials to spark curiosity and exploration. Children use the block area to explore how things work; they build, tear down, fill, dump, stretch, reach, balance, and create. Block areas should be large enough for several children to play at once. You might have a variety of large and small blocks (wooden, cardboard, foam, or interlocking). You can also make blocks yourself from cardboard boxes or sturdy fabric. Many block areas include natural or recycled materials children can include in their structures. It is important to include accessories like toy figures, cars, and construction equipment. The accessories you offer should change periodically and be based on children’s current interests and learning goals.
2. Dramatic Play: The dramatic play area allows children to take on roles and try out new ideas. Children use their imaginations as they cooperate with one another and practice their self-care skills as they try on dress-up clothes. A great dramatic play area offers children a chance to act out their own home and family themes with props like a kitchen, table, clothes, food, and dolls. Children may use props to create a bakery, doctor’s office, flower shop, or nearly any other scenario. It is important to offer additional props or dress-up items according to children’s current interests, or ideas you are currently exploring (e.g., community helpers such as firefighters or police officers).
3. Toys and Games: Toys and games allow children to develop important thinking skills, social skills, and fine motor skills (the ability to use hands and fingers well). Your toy and game area can include a range of puzzles, board games, and small objects. This area can provide a good opportunity for children to identify and match colors, shapes, sizes, and textures. It also offers them a chance to practice turn-taking and negotiation skills.
4. Art: The art area provides opportunities for children to express themselves and develop fine motor skills. Visual art can include painting, drawing, and sculpturing. This is a space for inspiration and creativity. Well-developed art areas include a variety of materials for children to use and explore, such as sponges, rollers, glitter, tape, paint, stamps, and recycled materials of all types. They also include commonplace or unique items that can be used in new ways (e.g., “block printing” with paint and different plastic blocks). Many art areas also include displays of famous artwork, books, and children’s creations. Keep in mind that you do not have to always have every material or art tool imaginable accessible; you should change out some materials, tools, and displays based upon the interests of the children that day or week.
5. Library: The library is a quiet space where children can relax and enjoy reading. A great library includes a variety of books: fiction, nonfiction, alphabet books, number books, nursery rhymes, magazines, and resource books. It typically includes soft furniture or pillows. Books can be displayed on shelves or in baskets for easy access. The library can also include a listening station, felt board, literacy activities, or other materials that introduce children to language and print. Although the library is a great place for supporting children’s literacy development, remember that it is important to include print materials (such as books, maps, or magazines) and writing materials in every interest area (see the Communication & Language Development course for more information). Some classrooms may also choose to have a dedicated writing center, perhaps near the library or art space, with a variety of writing utensils, clipboards, and types of paper available (e.g., lined and unlined paper, post-it notes, etc.).
6. Discovery: The discovery area is children’s gateway to scientific exploration. It contains materials meant for open-ended exploration. A wide variety of natural materials are often displayed for children to explore (rocks, pinecones, shells, etc.). Other materials appropriate for the discovery area include PVC pipe, magnets, weights, etc. Tools for exploration are also provided, such as microscopes, magnifying glasses, balances, ramps, and measuring tools. Children can also participate in experiments or care for a class pet here.
7. Sand and water: Sand and water areas provide opportunities for measuring, pouring, comparing, and creating. Although the space is called “sand and water,” you are not limited to providing just sand and water. Many teachers consider this a sensory area. Your sand and water area can offer a variety of materials to explore, such as leaves, snow, packing peanuts, shredded paper, etc. Many children find the sand and water area soothing.
8. Music and movement: A space for children to engage in large movements allows them to make their own music and respond to the music of others. It is important to provide a variety of materials here, such as streamers, ribbons, shakers, musical instruments, and recorded music. The music and movement area can provide an opportunity for dance and rhythm.
9. Cooking: The cooking area lets children practice real-life skills and is a great way to introduce a variety of cultures to the classroom. By preparing simple recipes with an adult, children learn important math, literacy, and self-care skills. The interest area for cooking need not be dedicated to cooking experiences alone, but rather cooking experiences could take place in a more flexible part of the room, perhaps at the table children typically use to eat morning or afternoon snack, or the tables available to use in the toys and games area.
10. Computers: Many preschool classrooms provide computers for children to use. The use of computers, or other technology and media (e.g., tablets), can provide developmentally appropriate learning opportunities to children of a variety of ages. Computers and the internet can expose children to people, animals, activities, and places that they cannot experience in person. For example, if children are interested in construction, they could use the internet to observe how different trucks operate. Children can also use computers and media to document and share their own experiences. Using interactive ebooks and playing games that facilitate learning of letters, letter sounds, and numbers are additional ways children can use computers to meet learning goals.

See

Let’s look at a few classrooms. As you watch, notice the arrangement of the interest areas and the materials in them. How do these arrangements and materials help children learn?

Do

There are many schools of thought on how to arrange preschool classrooms. Some important elements found in every effective room design include:

• Clear Boundaries: Use shelves, furniture, or other barriers to help children focus and understand the intended use of a space. Large, open areas encourage running and roughhousing. Arrange your furniture and interest areas to break up large, open spaces.
• Clear Ways to Enter and Exit: Help children know how and where to come into an interest area. If you use a center management system—a system of tags, pictures, or symbols to limit the number of children who play in an interest area—make sure children know how to use it and are able to meet their needs and interests throughout the day.
• Sufficient Materials: Have duplicates of favorite toys. Also, make sure there are enough materials so that several children can play in social areas, like dramatic play and blocks. Children are more likely to have meaningful play interactions if there are enough materials to use together.
• Engaging Materials that Spark Children’s Interests: Consider what children in your class enjoy. Add materials or rotate materials regularly so children have new experiences. Think about the pictures, displays, print, or writing materials that support children’s learning and engagement in each area.
• Separate Loud/Active and Quiet/Calm Spaces: Examples of quiet interest areas are the library, listening center, and writing center. Loud, active centers might include the block area, dramatic play area, and the sand or water (sensory) area.
• Access to Needed Materials: Sand and water, discovery, and art spaces should have easy access to sinks. Music and movement, technology, and cooking areas might need access to electrical outlets. Soft carpeting in the library and block area can make it easier for children to sit and comfortably interact with materials on the floor.
• Learning Objectives: Align materials and interest areas to learning objectives.
• Keep Safety in Mind: Make sure you can always see and supervise all children.

Completing this Course

For more information on what to expect in this course, the Learning Environments Competency Reflection, and a list of the accompanying Learn, Explore and Apply resources and activities offered throughout the lessons, visit the Preschool Healthy Environments Course Guide. 

Please note the References & Resources section at the end of each lesson. It outlines reference sources and resources to find additional information on the topics covered. As you complete lessons, you are not expected to review all the online references available. However, you are welcome to explore the resources further if you have interest, or at the request of your trainer, coach, or administrator.