Lesson 4 – Physical Environment

Loris Malaguzzi

 The visionary and guiding light of the early education programs in Reggio Emilia, in
Northern Italy regarded the environment as a teacher.

Maria Montessori

 First woman physician In Italy who started a movement with a preschool in Rome called
children's House in 1907.

When setting up the physical environment, program planners must envision the type of
atmosphere they want to create. Whether the child care setting feels like a warm and cozy home,
an impersonal institution, or a place of chaos depends on a number of factors.

Learning Environment

 Is a diverse platform where children engage and interact to learn new skills.

Home-like Environment

 Is more suited for young children.

Physical Environment

 Refers to the overall design and layout of a given classroom and its learning centers.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

 Stresses that the environment and its materials in it should be accessible to everyone.

Once teachers have selected child-sized, age-appropriate furnishings, teachers should then
think about each of the following:

1. Arrangement of Furnishings and Floor Coverings

When teachers arrange furnishings, they should:

 Make sure that all children are visible to adults and that adults are visible to children, to
ensure proper supervision.
 Design areas with spaces for children to work and play independently or in small groups,
and to gather as a community.
 Establish clear boundaries to indicate where the center space begins and ends.
 Consider the location of centers. Centers with high activity levels (e.g., block centers,
dramatic play areas, music centers) should not be located close to centers with quieter
activities (e.g., listening centers, computer areas).
 Consider the number and size of centers. Make sure there is enough room that children
can be engaged without being crowded.
 Create cozy, private spaces. Create safe spaces where children can retreat to rest, observe,
and recharge emotionally throughout the day.

2. Selection and Placement of Materials

3. Design and Display of Visual Materials

Other considerations include:

 Displaying children’s work so that they can take pride in it and can feel a sense of
ownership of the room. Doing this also offers opportunities for language development:
When childrentalk about their work or comment on other children’s work, teachers can
use these opportunities to build their language skills.
 Posting visuals at the eye-level of children so that they can see them.
 Using visuals to indicate when a center is closed (e.g., visual prompts such as sheets or
blankets, circles with a slash through them).
 Displaying materials that are representative of the environment’s diversity (e.g., culture,
disability, language, family structures).
 Labeling centers and frequently used materials in languages that represent the home
languages of the children in the classroom.
  Having children bring in pictures of their families for display in the classroom so that
they feel comfortable and at home in their environment.

4. Lighting and Sound

Teachers can also keep in mind:

 Natural lighting, or light from windows, is best when available.

 Lighting can be used to create moods (e.g., small lamps in home living areas to resemble
a home environment).
 Using flooring materials that muffles sound can reduce noise from active centers. Chairs
with rubber leg bottoms or chairs with tennis balls over metal bottoms can also help to
reduce sound, as can wall hangings, drapes, and soft furnishings.
 Because some children are sensitive to loud sounds and bright lights, teachers might need
to find ways to minimize noise and to create a dimly lit space for them.

Examples of a High-Quality and a Less-Supportive Environment

High Quality:

 The bookshelves, easels, and other furniture are used to break the room into small
centers.
 A variety of materials are available and accessible to children.
 Visuals are placed at eye-level to support children in understanding the day’s schedules
and routines.
 Window shades are fully open to take advantage of natural light. A lamp and string of
lights help to further offset the fluorescent light in the room.

Less Supportive

 The wide-open space* and uniform carpet color are not supportive in helping children to
know what to do.
 The areas are not separated.
 The cubbies are poorly organized.
 The visuals are placed well above the children’s eye-level.
Environments

 Not only affect how we feel and send messages about how to act, they can influence what
we learn.

Reggio Emilia

 Approach to early childhood education recognizes the tremendous impact of the

environment by referring to it as the “third teacher”.
 States children are powerful learners, and their interests should guide adults’ decisions
surrounding learning, including how the environment is arranged and materials provided.

5. Places for Play and Learning: Interest Areas

“Interest Areas” or “Learning Centers”

 Describe spaces designed for certain purposes or that hold materials with similar uses.
 Are key tools for learning in preschool learning environments.

When a child enters a well-designed interest area, they know:

 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.

10 Common Interest Areas

1. Blocks
 Children use the block area to explore how things work; they build, tear down, fill,
dump, stretch, reach, balance and create.
2. Dramatic Play
 The dramatic play area allows children to take on roles and try out new ideas.
3. Toys and Games
 Allow children to develop important thinking skills, social skills, and fine motor
skills.
 4. Art
 The art area provides opportunities for children to express themselves and develop
fine motor skills. A space for inspiration and creativity. Visual art can include
painting, drawing and sculpturing.
5. Library
 Where children can relax and enjoy reading.
6. Discovery
 Children’s gateway to scientific exploration
7. Sand and water (Also considered as Sensory Area)
 Provide opportunities for measuring, pouring, comparing and creating.
8. Music and movement
 Children to engage in large movements allows them to make their own music and
respond to the music of others.
9. Cooking
 Let children practice real-life skills and is a great way to introduce a variety of
cultures to the classroom.
10. Computers
 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.

6. Designing Spaces for Play

Important elements are found in every effective room design:

 Clear Boundaries
 Clear Ways to Enter and Exit
 Sufficient Materials
 Engaging Materials that Spark Children’s Interests
 Separate Loud, Active and Quiet, Calm Spaces
 Access to Needed Materials
 Learning Objectives
 Keep Safety in Mind
Key Terms:

Achievement Gap

 The observed difference between groups of students on educational measures and tests.
The groups are usually defined by gender, race or socioeconomic status

Boundaries

 The physical separations between interest areas. You can use shelves, furniture or other
dividers as boundaries

Developmentally Appropriate Environment

 Fits the stage of development the children are in but is still flexible enough to allow for
differences between children in skills, interests and characteristics

Interest Areas

 Defined classroom spaces used for certain purposes or types of play.

Natural Materials

 Materials that are not man-made. Examples might include tree logs, stumps or branches

Quiet Interest Area

 Spaces in the room designed for quiet learning and play.

Reggio Emilia

 An educational approach named after an area in Italy. It is an approach that believes that
children are powerful learners and adults should take their lead from the children’s
interests. The learning environment plays a critical role and is seen as the third teacher