Setting up a Learning Environment.
Setting Up Learning Environments Setting up a Learning Environment Infants and toddlers learn through exploring and coming to know and understand their environment. The physical environment in a group setting strongly affects children, caregivers, and their interactions. In infant/toddler classrooms without a plan specifically directed at supporting children's development, young children waste a great deal of their time either aimlessly wandering about the room or engaged in teacher-directed activities. In inadequately planned classrooms, children's engagement in self-directed exploration and focused play is impaired. When children are not appropriately engaged, aggressive behavior rises. In such an environment, she or he needs to pretend to be a police officer and guardian, managing behavior instead of facilitating individual and group needs. Exploring their physical environment contains a great deal of the "curriculum" for mobile infants and toddlers. We must, think about the impact of the environment on children and caregivers, and learn to plan spaces that contribute appropriately to children's development. Many classrooms are not designed to meet the developmental needs of infants and toddlers in-group care, nor do they provide teachers, in their position, as facilitators of children's knowledge and self-directed play. By contrast, a well-designed environment can have huge positive influence on the well being of both children and teachers. A well-designed environment is, of course, safe for infants and toddlers but, more than that, it supports their emotional well being, encourages their senses, and tests their motor skills. An excellence of design aims to generate a classroom that is extremely functional, aesthetically appealing, age-appropriate, child-directed, and teacher-supported. A well-designed group care environment encourages children's individual and social development. The setting, arrangement, and equipment give infants many opportunities to challenge themselves through seeing, touching, feeling, and moving. In surroundings that are safe to explore freely, infants discover how to chart their environment cognitively, to manipulate it, and to master it. Crawlers and Walkers and Toddlers and Twos Square Footage – Should be 500-600 square feet usable.Space for Movement - Movement is vital to a
child's physical and emotional development. Once an infant can crawl and pull herself up, moving becomes a huge center of her day. Even if there is not anything safe in the classroom to climb on, she will find a way to climb-onto tables and shelves, rocking chairs and high chairs. Because these activities are unsafe, the teacher can redirect the child off the piece of equipment. The message the child receives is that what she or he is doing is not okay. Self-initiated exploration, a primary focus for healthy development, is prevented instead of promoted. Creating a classroom that supports ...
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child's physical and emotional development. Once an infant can crawl and pull herself up, moving becomes a huge center of her day. Even if there is not anything safe in the classroom to climb on, she will find a way to climb-onto tables and shelves, rocking chairs and high chairs. Because these activities are unsafe, the teacher can redirect the child off the piece of equipment. The message the child receives is that what she or he is doing is not okay. Self-initiated exploration, a primary focus for healthy development, is prevented instead of promoted. Creating a classroom that supports appropriate movement is a fundamental component in designing a developmentally appropriate environment. Motor competence and emotional competence are closely linked in infants and toddlers. Feeding themselves, crawling to a preferred toy and picking it up, climbing to the topmost of a loft, and going down a slide are all activities that help the infant develop a sense of self, a feeling that he is competent, that he can accomplish, that he can master. The internal environment has to support a child's need to crawl, climb, run, and jump. Most four-year-olds can acknowledge a teacher's telling them, "We're going outside in 20 minutes and then you can run. Until then, you can play at the water table, paint, build with blocks, or read a book." A 16-month-old cannot understand these types of restrictions. He or she needs to crawl now, he or she needs to climb now; he or she needs to move about now. His or her surroundings need to support and promote this vital need. Appropriate equipment is fundamental in order to meet the developmental requirements of infants and toddlers in-group care. Equipment that is best for individual development may cause disagreements in a group care setting. Rather than restraining and redirecting, the caregiver uses her time facilitating children's comprehensive pro-social play, and supporting a child-directed learning experience.Group Size - The number of children cared for in one classroom affects infants' health and well being, as does the adult: child ratio. Large group size means that children get sick more often, and general noise and activity levels increase. Infants should be cared for in groups of no more than six to eight children; toddlers, in groups of no more than eight to twelve children.Private Spaces - Private spaces can also be achieved by incorporating into the classroom a tunnel; a carpeted, built-in cabinet with the doors detached; a comfortable loft space; or a few risers surrounding a diminutive corner of the room. Instead of experiencing the pressure of being in a large group all day, the infants can leave to a private space to rest, view, and emotionally renew themselves. With right to use to these small-group activity areas, two toddlers who are just starting to build a relationship can go off together.Indoor/Outdoor – A well-designed classroom that provides direct access to the playground.Cribs – Porta-crib; these cribs are recommended over full size cribs. Cribs should be combined in one part of the classroom (1' - 3' apart), instead of divided throughout the classroom. This plan will offer a more functional play area. Use low wall dividers or toy shelves, risers, and closed storage to divide off areas. Diapering/Toilet Area - The diapering area and child’s bathroom should be situated in the classroom, separated through half-walls or cutout window openings. This decreases the caregivers need to leave the classroom several times a day, while giving full visual supervision of all children in classroom.Pods - A pod design is where one large room is divided into two classrooms through a combination of half and full walls. The middle area is a shared area, usually teacher support space for diapering, food prep, washer/dryer, teacher workspace, and storage. A pod design is less expensive than two separate classrooms, which necessitate extra plumbing and square footage. It also allocates for informal visiting of children and staff between rooms and trouble-free transitions for infants moving into a toddler classroom.Sinks - Hand washing is vital to decrease the spread of illness among children. Separate sinks should be supplied for food preparation and diapering. Toddlers should have their own child size sinks in the classroom. Each classroom should have access to a sink nearby to the food prep area, a sink nearby to the diapering area, and a child size sink in the classroom for older infants and toddlers Windows - Natural light improves the superiority of the classroom. While some windows (or doors) may be close to ground level, it is recommended that most windows in the classroom be at 26"h. This height lets infants who are able to pull to standing, and older children to see outside, but it also provides the ability to create an activity area against the wall. Most infant/toddler play equipment (toy shelves, housekeeping equipment, etc.) is approximately 24" - 26" high. Windows of this height provide the option of a raised area for reading or blocks and offer enough wall area for back support of children and adults. Window Sills, Protruding Walls and Cabinets - To prevent bumps and cuts, all counters, shelves, sills, corners, lips, ledges and edges of built-ins and equipment that are at child height must have rounded corners.Doors - When probable, doors should move backward and forward away from the children’s play area (i.e.; swing into hallway instead of classroom). This will enlarge the quantity of functional space and avoid accidents from doors opening into someone. It is also useful to have windows in doors, at adult and child height. This will add to the amount of light that comes into the classroom, advise adults going into the classroom of children on the other side, and, provide an additional space for children to observe comings and goings.Flooring - infants and toddlers spend a great deal of time on the floor. For safety and comfort, the greater part of the classroom should be carpeted, with the exclusion of the entrance, diapering and bathroom areas, and eating and messy play areas. Use low-pile, neutral-colored, anti-microbial carpeting (to prevent the growth of fungus and mold).Creating a Landscape - Through the use of raised areas, lofts, recessed areas, low walls and canopies placed along the outside edge of the classroom, it is probable to mold your room to design a variety of age-appropriate activity areas. The walls frame the activity areas whereas the middle of the classroom remains somewhat open, to allow for circulation of children and adults as well as to provide flexible space that can change depending on the teacher’s observations of the children’s interest.Storage - Developmentally designed environment depends on sufficient, easy to get to storage situated in the classroom. Wall storage nearby to every activity area lets caregivers switch play materials without leaving the classroom. Color - The choice of classroom colors plays is important in creating a rich and comfortable environment. Bright primary color schemes can create an environment, which feels over-stimulating to the children as well as to adults. A neutral colored background, such as ivory/eggshell-colored walls, and furniture made out of natural wood will provide a calming ambiance in the classroom. Colorful toys, materials, and pictures on the wall stand out on a warm, neutral background, helping children to focus and visually to discriminate the object from the background.Ventilation. - A well-designed child care facility provides appropriate ventilation, such as windows that open, ceiling fans to circulate the air, operable skylights, and central air that uses mostly fresh, rather than re-circulated, air. Ease of Supervision - A well-designed environment permits teachers to watch children from anywhere in the classroom. Place activity areas along the walls, leaving the center of the room open, with diapering and food-prep areas separated from the classroom by half-height walls. Separate rooms, for napping, can incorporate low windows to allow teachers easy visual access.Risers - Carpeted risers are essential pieces of equipment. They can be used to create "safe spaces" for young infants while older infants are crawling and moving about. They can also be used to define activity and circulation areas, or as a toy shelf, a safe balance beam, or a jumping platform. A 12"-high riser provides a comfortable seating area for caregivers, allowing them to observe and interrelate at eye level with the children, without having to spend their entire day sitting on the floor.Other Equipment - Additional equipment and materials can include pillows (attractive and washable), hanging plants, fish, natural wood toy shelves, photographs of children and family members (covered with clear contact paper, laminated, or Plexiglas framed), wide full-length Plexiglas mirrors, and hammocks for rocking infants. (Hammocks have a preference to rocking chairs because they permit the caregiver to rock more than one infant at a time. Rocking chairs can really hurt an infant who crawls behind one in use; they also take up floor space, while hammocks can be taken off their hooks and stored when not in use.) Conclusion A developmentally designed environment supports children's individual and social development. It supports exploration, focused play, and cooperation. It offers variety for children and supports self-directed learning. A developmentally planned environment also supports the caregiver-child relationship. It reduces management and custodial activities, allowing caregivers more time for interaction, observation, and facilitation of children's development.