Dr. Mary Campbell, is a professor and the director of teacher education at Southwestern Assemblies of God University. She has been involved in education over 30 years. As a gifted writer and teacher, she has developed curriculum and traveled internationally to train teachers in ministering effectively to young children. Robin Stephenson and D’Arcy Maher also assisted in writing this article.
"Whoever welcomes a little child welcomes me” Matthew 18:5. The emphasis and importance Christ placed on children during His earthy ministry astounded the adults of His day. Today adults often still act in ways that dismiss the command of Christ to allow the children to come to Him. Each day the early educator has the opportunity to welcome Christ into his or her center in the little ones who cross the threshold. The environment we construct is a powerful welcoming tool that can set the tone for a child to learn of Christ.
The early education center does not exist for the comfort of the adult caregivers. Instead, it exists to facilitate the growth and development of the children who spend multiple hours each week in the embrace of the center. What needs of a child must be considered? What creates a welcoming environment for children? How expensive will it be to change the current environment of your center?
What needs of a child need to be considered? The Spatial Theory
A popular theory of child development helps explain a need that must be considered when evaluating the environment of a center. The spatial or “grounding theory” is a theory reminding us that a child develops with a strong need for contact with the “ground.” This connection provides comfort, balance, and a sense of control. Even as adults, we are most comfortable when we sit in a chair that allows both of our feet to be squarely on the floor. This contact is a need for a young child, not simply a desire.
When a newborn is placed on a changing table, this baby is not able to lift itself from the surface. It is “grounded” to the table. Since babies develop from the top down, they are first able to lift their head. Then they develop enough strength in their arms to push themselves up through the shoulders. Next they begin to get up on their knees and rock back and forth with such motion that they finally learn to crawl. Eventually babies will pull themselves up to a standing position and take small steps as they hold on to the coffee table. Then they finally take that all important first step. During each of these milestones, the child will always have one or both of his or her feet firmly attached to the ground. Watch a three-year-old walk up and down a set of stairs, and you will see this child place one foot and then the other on each step. It will be another year or two before the child will be able to take the stairs one at a time.
Young children made to sit on adult-sized furniture often unconsciously try to “ground” themselves by sliding off the furniture or sitting on their knees. Even if the children’s feet can touch the floor, they may still want to sit on their knees while coloring. This position allows them to ground their body over the paper.
How can we meet the grounding need for children in the early education center? Ask the following questions:
- Are the furnishings appropriate to the size of the children? Remember: Children grow at different rates, and the teacher may need to acquire larger or smaller chairs to accommodate the growth spurts of the children within the class. One chair size may not meet the needs of all the children in the class.
- Do the feet of each child touch the floor when the children sit on chairs or benches in the room? Observing the children carefully shows consideration and honor.
- Are there comfortable spaces on the floor for children to look at books or simply observe the other children?
- Are children punished when kneeling in a chair to color? Ask yourself, Why is this child kneeling?
The Environment and Discipline
At conferences and conventions across the country, thousands of early educators will crowd the seminar rooms that contain discussions about discipline. Many of the seminars will focus on the teacher’s role of setting rules/expectations and consequences, consistently reinforcing these rules, and following through with director intervention or parent conferences. These tasks may help create a successful management plan, but you can avoid many difficulties altogether by carefully evaluating the classroom arrangement.
Perhaps you have asked the children to walk—not run—in the classroom. You may have very good reasons for this rule such as safety and noise level. However, if you have arranged your room with all your furniture against the walls, you are inviting spirited, gross-motor movement. When young children view a large, unobstructed space, they will run, jump, somersault, and encourage everyone to join in! Rearranging the centers within the room can result in a lower level of indoor gross-motor activity and can decrease the overall classroom volume.
Consider the following when arranging your classroom:
- Is there a place for large- and small-group activities?
- Are there places for noisy and quiet activities?
- Is the book center next to the noisy block center?
- Is each center carefully placed so maximum focus on the activity can be achieved?
- Are the needs of the children being met in each area?
What creates a welcoming environment for children? Home Environment vs. Institutional Environment
Ideally, the home should be the most nurturing place in a child’s life. Sadly, this ideal is not always the case. However, the early education center can strive to duplicate some homelike items and arrangements that do nurture a young child.
One teacher of four-year-olds reports the following: I always found it easier to create a room environment by decorating around a theme. One year, however, I was greatly challenged. A church sponsored our school, and the room I was assigned doubled as a nursery for two- and three-year-olds on Sundays and Wednesday nights. One wall of the room had a significant curve, which followed the rounded shape of the church sanctuary and created a seemingly useless wall. The two sidewalls flared out (like a piece of pie) with a door on each one. The coat hooks were secured to the wall above my head, convenient for the nursery workers to hang up diaper bags, but not conducive to allowing four-year-olds the independence of hanging up coats and backpacks. I was overwhelmed.
To begin addressing the problems, the maintenance crew assisted in moving the coat hooks and lowering the bulletin board, placing it at the eye level of the children. I decorated around a sunflower theme, adding lots of denim pillows in the book area and hanging colorful sunflower swags above each door. How would I work with the curved wall? Taking several feet of sisal rope, I gently nailed lengths to the wall and added clothespins. Voila! Instantly the wall became the art gallery for all the masterpieces the children created! To make containers for crayons and other art necessities, I decorated inexpensive flowerpots with a wide swath of ribbon and covered the ends of the ribbon by hot gluing large sunflowers.
Lighting in the room was not sufficient. Because of the odd shape and the space, fluorescent ceiling lights could be placed only in the center of the room. Thus there were shadows in the corners. By placing a three-shelf cabinet at an angle in one corner of the room, I created a small triangular space just large enough for a halogen floor lamp. This indirect lighting softened the harsh fluorescents and brightened the corners. Since the room did not have a window, the dimmer switch on the halogen lamp created a cozy effect for nap time. The previous teacher left glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling of the room. They became barely illuminated in the dim light of nap time, so I could imagine the children trying to count the stars as they fell asleep. The table lamp on the corner of my small desk also added a warm glow to the room.
It was not enough for the room to look cute. I took some time to go in and out of the room, through the different doors, and with the different lights turned on and off. I wanted to identify the first place my eye rested in the room. Some areas had the appearance of clutter; I had to discover creative ways to store toys and center items to make a more peaceful environment. By adding a low, two-shelf unit, I had a place to store color-coordinated tubs that the children could easily access.
I realized the goal had been achieved when several parents commented, “This is the most cozy classroom I’ve seen. I’d like to come to school here.” Without a word, I communicated to the parents that I cared about their children.
Some questions to consider when creating a home-like environment:
- Can the children easily access materials?
- Is the classroom full of clutter?
- Is the classroom a riot of color with no soothing place for the eye to rest?
- Is there a balance between natural and artificial lighting?
- Are student “masterpieces” a part of the décor?
A Child’s View of the Classroom
The perspective of a child and the perspective of an adult are very different. A child will always feel incompetent next to an adult, so the young child’s environment must allow the child to feel competent and successful. One component of creating an environment where a child will feel competent is viewing the room from a child’s perspective. Sit on the floor in various places of the classroom. Make a list of what you see. Most will see items or places that need to be cleaned or repaired, posters that need to be lowered, and items that need to be straightened. What do you see? What will you do about your observations?
Appropriate Decorations
Early educators have various opinions about decorating for young children. Specific colors, especially primary colors, stimulate thinking and creativity, and yet the spaces for young children also need to be soothing. It is important to find a balance of theories that work. Most agree that off-white walls are the best classroom backdrop. Brightly colored posters can stimulate the imaginations of children who are playing in the dramatic-play center, art center, and home-living center. The block center is a wonderful place to display pictures of various buildings. Children will slowly begin to create these pictured buildings that you silently add to the block area. Be creative with your choice of structures; bridges and aqueducts will be studied and duplicated. Frank Lloyd Wright attributes his architectural genius to the kindergarten block center—will one of your children do the same?
Conclusion
The environment of a classroom is important. Just listen to children as they show their parents around their classroom on parents’ night. You will hear things such as, “Come see my room,” “Look at my picture on the board,” “Come play with my blocks,” and “Read me a story from my library.” As teachers, we have the responsibility to develop classrooms that welcome children and help them succeed.
Environment: The Most Powerful Message 2.4