Transcript Slide 1

A Study of Early Childhood
Program Environments
Deb Curtis and Margie Carter
© Harvest Resources
www.ecetrainers.com
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Environments reflect who we are
What does an early childhood environment teach those who inhabit it as
an everyday space? In a direct as well as subtle manner, the environment teaches
us about the values and knowledge of those who design and care for it. The
physical space and materials, the routines and interactions all reflect how those in
charge view childhood and the process of teaching, learning, and building
relationships. The environment teaches us about ourselves, as teachers, children
and families. It regulates our feelings and behaviors, and shapes a significant part
of our identity.
•What values do you think the teachers who designed this space have?
•What do they think children, their families and their own work deserve?
•If children were to spend long hours in this space every day, how might they
feel about themselves?
•What might they be prompted to do?
Every environment implies a set of values or beliefs about the people who use
a space and the activities that take place there. For example, having individual desks
rather than group children at tables suggests that the teacher believes children learn best
in isolation from one another, and values individual work over group activities.
Thoughtfully planned or not, each environment also influences the people who use it in
subtle or dramatic ways. An environment may temporarily over-stimulate or bore, calm
or agitate those in it. Spending an extended period of one’s life in an environment
deemed unpleasant will eventually exact a toll. In the twenty first century, children
spend thousands of hours in early childhood programs. What impact will this have on
their identities, their desire to form relationships, investigate materials and ideas, their
right to stay connected to their families?
Identifying Key Elements for the Environment
• What are the elements of physical and social emotional
environments that reflect a respect for childhood and the
people who care for and teach our youngest citizens?
• How can the environment nurture a sense of well-being and
positive identity development for all involved?
• What arrangements and materials will provoke a sense of
wonder, sustain an eagerness to learn, and a delight in
collaborative inquiry?
Cozy and homelike elements
to build relationships
When your environment has a cozy, homelike feel that brings
out strong connections among the people there, they will
experience a sense of belonging and security. Throughout your
building you can create a sense of softness in your selection of
color, furnishings, lighting, and materials. You can add specific
features that represent the interests, families, and cultures of the
children and staff. Indoors and outdoors you can create places for
people to comfortably gather, get to know each other, and find
avenues for further connections.
Providing opportunities for people to build relationships, to
collaborate and demonstrate what they know can guide your
selection of equipment and materials.
Study these photos of early childhood programs and make a list of the
elements that add a cozy home like feel to the environments.
A simple strategy for creating a
welcoming feeling in your
program is to have framed photos
of the children and their families
all around the rooms. Children
can carry them around and use
them throughout the day.
The toddlers in this program find the photos of their family members to
comfort them throughout the day. James is taking this family photo to a friend
who is feeling sad and crying.
These family boards
become a daily part of
the curriculum for the
toddlers. The children
interact with their own
family photos as well as
those of their friends.
To help the children and families learn more about the staff,
this programs gives each staff member her/his own shelf to
display photos and special objects from their lives.
Consider the cozy and
homelike elements of your
own early childhood
environment with
these questions.
•Where in this space can one learn
more about others and build
relationships with them?
•Are there a number of soft
elements in your physical space
through the use of light, color, and
seating options?
•What contributions can you invite
from families that add their interests
and values to your environment?
Flexible space and open-ended materials
Children come to our programs with active bodies as well as
active imaginations. Creating multilevel spaces inside, as well as
on the playground, gives children different ways to explore
spatial relationships with their bodies. Modular furniture that can
be turned and stacked in different ways will provide more
flexibility than furniture that is designed for a single use.
Offering open-ended materials in a variety of areas will
spark children’s imaginations and speak to their desire to
continually rearrange and combine materials for exploration and
inventions.
A platform and a steamer trunk can be moved around and be used for small
and large group gatherings, different leveled surfaces for building and
construction and for extra storage space.
Open shelving in the corner of a room can create a flexible separate space for
small group work.
Bring indoor materials outside to take advantage of natural
light and fresh air, protected against the elements.
Platforms, pulleys, fabric and lights add layers of complexity to
entice builders.
Even in small rooms, space can be flexible and children can continue their
work over time.
Open-ended materials allow children to
be creators, rather than consumers of
their learning. Careful and attractive
displays help them to see the possibilities
for the materials.
Open-ended materials in the drama area offer more possibilities
for dramatic play beyond the typical housekeeping roles.
Consider the flexible space and
open-ended elements of your own
early childhood environment
with these questions.
•What message does this environment give
children about how they should use their
bodies?
•Are the indoor and outdoor areas flexible
so they can be transformed for a variety of
uses?
•Where are there opportunities for
individual children to get away from it all
and relax?
•How can we create more opportunities for
undertakings among a pair or small group of
children?
•Do we have a useful balance of open-ended
materials and single purpose ones indoors
and outdoors?
Natural elements that engage our senses
When you contrast something as simple as a shelf of
plastic baskets with a shelf containing natural fiber baskets,
the different sensory experience is immediately apparent.
There are many ways to incorporate plants, water,
natural light, herbs, and fresh air into your building.
Landscaping should get as much attention on your
playground as the equipment and toys you place there.
Consider the natural
elements of your own
early childhood
environment
with these questions.
•What natural materials are
found in your community, yet
missing in your program?
•What natural materials
uncommon to your area could
you include?
•What seasonal traditions or
rituals could help children
become more closely connected
to Mother Nature and the life
cycle?
Objects to provoke wonder, curiosity,
and intellectual engagement
Children are intensely fascinated with the physical world and
how it works. You can simultaneously honor childhood and
promote a love of learning by adding different kinds of engaging
discoveries to your environment. This is especially effective when
you include things that provide a sense of mystery and wonder so
that children become curious about how they work, where they
come from, and what can be learned by manipulating them.
Examples include things that play with light and its
relationship to color, or things that reflect, sparkle, spin, make
sounds, and move. You can use natural light, air, projectors, and
other simple technology to build these features into your
environment. Create nooks where you can place intriguing objects
to keep those brain pathways growing and expanding.
Study this photo and the ones that follow to make a list of the elements that
provoke a feeling of wonder, curiosity and intellectual engagement for the
children using these spaces. Choose one to add to your environment next week.
Objects to provoke wonder, curiosity,
and intellectual engagement
•Where does air naturally move in our room, and what could we place nearby to capture
elements of sound and motion to peak the interest of those around?
•Are there ways we could make better use of light to explore shadows, reflections, and
color refractions?
•How can we use nooks and crannies, windowsills, or countertops to display treasures
to capture someone’s imagination?
Symbolic representation, literacy, and visual arts
Beyond the limited notions of reading and writing
materials, consider a wide range of other materials including
magazines, newspapers, charts, diagrams, reference and
instruction books. Include materials that support children
growing up in a multicultural, multilingual world.
Literacy involves unlocking a system of symbols and
codes and this should include a variety of materials related to the
visual arts. Provide opportunities and materials for children to
represent their ideas using a different media.
Provide writing props throughout the environment
Provide journals and books
featuring the children and
their activities
Provide mail boxes for each child and family
Offer reference books
with materials
Offer tools for working with
visual arts
Engage children in book making
Help children connect writing with
their other representations
Exposure children to artists and their work
Consider the elements of symbolic representation,
literacy, and visual arts
•How will children know that you value image making and the visual arts?
•Are there examples of different symbols and representations of the same idea or
object?
•Where are there tools in your room for symbolic representation and image making?
•What in your environment tells children that we see them as readers, writers, decoders,
and visual artists?
Consider the Key Elements You Have Studied Here
•What could you do differently on Monday morning?
•What might you add to your classroom?
•What might be good to remove?
•What changes do you want to make by the start of the next school year?
For permission to use these slides,
please contact
Harvest Resources
www.ecetrainers.com
206-325-0592
[email protected]