Perceptive educators have always noted the impact of children's surroundings on their development. Friedrich Froebel compared designing an environment for children to planning an organic and ever-changing garden, which can inspire and guide children's imagination and behaviour.
A century later Margaret McMillan, pioneer of the British nursery school, said, 'We are trying to create an environment where education will be almost inevitable.' The Reggio Emilia approach recognises the environment as a 'third teacher' (parents and carers being the first two).
Julia Manning-Morton writes that 'the physical environment in a setting impacts directly on the quality of practice, making environment a critically important component of an under-threes curriculum and one that practitioners need to plan for and review regularly...'
Room organisation
Margaret McMillan wrote, 'Most of the best opportunities for achievement lie in the domain of free play, with access to varied material.' A natural way to provide this is to divide your room into activity areas, from which children can choose. Some suggestions are:
* home corner
* active play area
* small world
* construction/block play
* malleable/sensory exploration
* creative/art station
* book/cosy corner.
When deciding where to place your activity areas, first consider the natural flow of traffic based on location of doors, sinks, and toilets.
Where will parents enter? Where will children have their personal space? Where is the exit to the outdoor play area? Then situate activity areas in a natural way to accommodate this flow.
The mealtime area, easels, and creative/messy play should be located near the sink. This area should have a non-slip, easily cleaned floor surface.
Choose the quietest part of your room for books, constructive/block-play, and small world. These activities tend to take place on the floor, so use carpet (or better, area rugs for flexibility) to provide comfort and muffle sound. Floor cushions can transform an unattractive spot into a cosy nook.
It's important to provide places where children can simply 'be'. They instinctively recognise the most protected corner in a room and find it reassuring to put their backs against something solid. Young children love small cave-like places, so cubbies and comfortable corners with low ceilings are favourites. Even a large cardboard box becomes a cosy house.
As time goes by, if any activity area is infrequently used, you can re-develop your space. Children give us cues if we watch and listen; creating constructive spaces is an ongoing process.
How well is each area defined? Far from being prohibitive, boundaries increase a child's security and focus. They need not be permanent and must not interfere with supervision. Sometimes a carpet or similar visual boundary can define space, but physical dividers should be used as well to establish activity areas and guide movement. They can be made of fabric, lattice or furniture. The use of shelves as barriers is logical, serving the dual purpose of room division and storage. It is helpful if the barriers provide handholds for children who are cruisers and toddlers.
If paths are well defined, children move easily from one activity to another. Take time to envision how paths will evolve. They should lead to destinations clearly visible from a child's viewpoint, detouring round activity areas. Ideally, activity areas are bounded on three sides, since play is disrupted by through-traffic. If activity areas are arranged only along the walls, the large stretch of open floor may become a racetrack.
Avoid this by placing an activity area with firm boundaries in the room's centre.
Keep your space versatile. Choose movable room dividers and avoid built-in features. Flexibility is key to accommodate:
* varying groups of children with different needs
* extending learning patterns
* changing themes
* recapturing children's interest
* new staff with differing preferences
Storage needs to be considered early in the room layout process. Good storage is:
* safe
* located close to point of use
* clear and understandable to children
* aesthetically pleasing.
Make storage accessible to children. They gain a sense of accomplishment from helping pack up after playtime, so shelves or bins need to be within reach and clearly labelled with simple pictures. Most centres also designate some storage space out of the children's reach, for items used with adult direction.
Furniture
Furniture should be child-sized and sturdy enough to withstand years of energetic use. Make sure that edges are rounded to avoid injuries. When choosing furniture, beware of the mindset that you need bright primary colours to 'stimulate' children. While plastic gives an artificial impression, wood is natural and friendly to the touch. Its varieties of pattern and colour offer opportunities for learning - 'Look, this was part of a tree!'
Chairs must be stable and allow children to have their feet on the floor so they feel comfortable and secure. This firm base strengthens control of their upper bodies. It is important that the table height corresponds; a 20cm height difference from seat to tabletop will accommodate most children well. Chairs with sides can give extra security to little people.
Height-adjustable tables are helpful in a setting with varying sizes of children.
Meeting the needs of staff is important. We give higher quality care when we are comfortable. Maximise a caregiver's time and energy by providing:
* furniture arranged to allow supervision without excessive walking
* materials stored conveniently
* furniture easy to rearrange
* equipment designed to avoid excessive lifting,
* seating for adults - gliders, settees and rockers are perfect for bonding with babies. You also need chairs that are low, yet scaled to fit adults, so staff can interact at child level.
Stimulation and mood
Meaningful play flourishes when children are relaxed, so the mood in an early years setting should be home-like. Natural lighting, wood surfaces, wicker baskets, curtains and living plants can create a harmonious feel.
The Reggio Emilia movement has delightfully demonstrated how light and reflection can be brought indoors; make full use of such opportunities.
Nature provides the best example of a soothing environment. Large expanses (sea, sky, plains) are varying shades of calm colours. Exciting colours like red or yellow come in smaller points.
When setting up environments for children, bright colours can be provided in attractive splashes. Reggio research points out that 'a significant chromatic presence is provided by the children themselves... The environment thus should not be saturated with colour but should be slightly "bare" so that the best balance is reached when the space is inhabited.'
(Children, Spaces, Relations, Reggio Children and Municipality of Reggio Emilia Infant-toddler Centres and Pre-schools).
Try to visualise the environment through a child's eyes. Get down on the floor and move around at child level. If you lie on your back and look up (a baby's perspective), you will realise that even ceilings are relevant!
This is an extract from Creating places for birth to three - room layout and equipment
Further information
* Creating places for birth to three - room layout and equipment was written by Community Playthings, with assistance from Jennie Lindon, child psychologist and author, and Ann Langston, early years consultant. The booklet, which contains sample floor plans, can be downloaded from www.communityplaythings.co.uk. To receive a free copy, call 0800 387 457 or write to Community Playthings, Brightling Road, Robertsbridge, East Sussex TN32 5DR.
