How I 'prepare the environment' as the 'third teacher'

Imagine you are a small child. Your parents have been talking a lot about this thing called ‘school’ and now you are in your car seat on your way. You have a new bag that you wear on your back and new shoes on your feet. You have stumbled a couple times wearing these shoes because they are a bit clunky but, you love them!

Now you are at the door of your new classroom. Your parents introduce you to someone called a teacher. She seems really happy to see you. She tries to shake your hand but you are not sure about that and you turn away. She appears really nice, but you don't know her. She keeps smiling and in a soft voice, invites you to come in and play.

Your mommy takes her picture out of your backpack for you to hold onto and she gives you a big kiss and hugs you tight. She says she will be back later, but how LONG is later?? Now you have a lump in your throat and your tummy feels uncomfortable. You feel more scared now than you do about the monster who you KNOW lives under your bed.

What if you have to go potty? What if you get hungry? What if you get a booboo??!!?? This teacher seems nice, but she is not your mommy!

You turn and walk slowly while clutching your mommy’s picture into the classroom.Your eyes immediately settle on what looks like a tiny kitchen, but it is not a kitchen for mommies and daddies, it's a kitchen that is your size! On your way over you stop by a flower in some water on a table, your size, and you reach out to touch it and feel that the petals are soft in your fingers. Then you hear chiming and look over at children playing with bells and shakers. This makes you giggle.

You look around and see the teacher. The teacher kneels down and gives you a smile, you feel all this is for you, everything is ok, and you are safe.

Now the teacher looks around at her new students and takes a deep breath. She smiles to herself remembering that just the day before she got down very low in the doorway, surveyed the environment at a child’s level, pretending to see it through their eyes.

“I can see everything available to me and I can reach it. I can move from one space to another easily without obstruction. I see that things are easy to put away and everything has its place. This room feels good and I feel calm.”

Obviously, not every student will start their first day this way. Every child is different. All of them, regardless of how they enter, will have their own apprehension. How can we create a space that will help them feel safe to learn? How can we use the classroom to help guide and comfort?

‘To assist a child we must provide him with an environment which will enable him to develop freely.” – Maria Montessori

I totally LOVE setting up my classroom. I love getting to design little corners for investigation, spaces to sit with a friend, areas to get on the floor and work on a big project, and cozy nooks to settle in with a book.

When I begin designing my classroom, I consider the physical, mental, and the emotional aspects of the environment. This carefully ‘prepared environment’ will be a place where children are invited to explore, make friends, problem solve, make decisions, collaborate, practice their independence, and express themselves. This space will also be where I guide, observe, inspire, and comfort. This is a very sacred space!

Physical space:

To encourage a peaceful atmosphere with a calming sense, it is important to engage the senses but not overwhelm, this will help to set the child up for success. Organization is key in helping the child navigate in this new place.

"A place for everything and everything in its place."

- Benjamin Franklin

When I set up my class, I like to keep the shelves open in a way that multiple children can be there without being in each other’s way. When a child takes an activity from the shelf, an empty space is left, making it visually clear that is where it is to be returned when they are finished (I also have a picture of the activity taped on the shelf for them to ‘read’). By allowing the children to practice their independence in this way helps to foster a peaceful environment.

"The first aim of the prepared environment is, as far as it is possible, to render the growing child independent of the adult."

- Maria Montessori

Providing room for them to move is also important. We have all been there when a ‘traffic jam’ occurs in the classroom. As you know many problems can be avoided if children are given enough space to move. If children are in a ‘tight’ space; maybe a chair is blocking a shelf or the block area is too close to the library, they will get in each other’s way, i.e. unnecessary frustration.

Think about the different workspaces and places to sit. Not every child will want to sit in a chair at a table all day, I know I don’t. Consider low tables to use on the floor, rocking chairs, clipboards to use while sitting on a cushion, space on the floor to spread out large pieces of paper for creating masterpieces.

• Here is a great link to the benefits of flexible seating.

I also like to have space for a yoga mat. I cut yoga mats in half; more manageable for smaller bodies and easier to fit in smaller spaces.

When I was a student teacher, my mentor teacher taught me to get low and look around the classroom. To see it from a child's perspective. I do this every year! (Thank you Nancy!)

The physical environment will guide them from one place to the next.

When you kneel low and look at your space, notice where your eyes fall first. Most likely that is where the child’s attention will gravitate. Now walk around your space. How does it feel?

Mental environment:

By carefully arranging your classroom you can also use it to not only engage but, inform your students. In the Reggio Emilia approach, this is called the ‘third teacher.’

“We value space, to create a handsome environment and its potential to inspire social, affective and cognitive learning. The space is an aquarium that mirrors the ideas and values of the people who live in it" - Loris Malaguzzi

All early childhood teachers understand that children, i.e. people, learn through their senses. When designing your classroom be sure to make it a multi-sensorial space. Include different textures, real plants and flowers for investigation, safe places to jump and stretch, real-life images, artwork, material from the natural world.

When I put out an activity, I think about how it will provoke the child to interact with it . Do I have activities that meet the different developmental needs of the children? Do I have places for them to investigate and problem solve with each other?

Think about natural lighting. Where is natural light the best? Where can you include lamp light to add warmth to a corner?

• Here is a wonderful article on how to incorporate important values in your classroom with a worksheet for teachers to use as they look at their classroom.

Emotional environment

I always strive to be a responsive teacher and to create a space that is responsive to the needs of the children in it. The classroom must be a flexible space and reflect the current students. When I look around my classroom I ask myself, do I have a quiet place for those who like to begin their day slowly and quietly? Do I have a place for the child who needs to jump the sillies out before she starts her day?

As we know, when the children come in they come in with all kinds of feelings and energies and I, (the teacher) and the environment can let the children know that this space can hold all of those! This is a place where you can feel anything while still respecting the work and feelings of the others around.

Make a special place for conflict resolution. Include a peace table or peace basket. Give the child a concrete place for them to solve social problems.

Here is a helpful link on how to set up a peace table.

We want to focus their attention on the work and provocations on the shelves, not on brightly colored designs on the walls. Remember to leave space on the walls and on the shelves for their creations, for their voice. As children begin to get to know this ‘third teacher’ they begin to take ownership and make it their own.

When I set up my classroom I always think of one of my favorite quotes:

Education, for most people, means trying to lead the child to resemble the typical adult of his society...But for me, education means making creators...you have to make inventors, innovators, not conformists. - Jean Piaget

So have fun creating your space and making it work with you. Have fun changing it and molding it to fit your class. Lucky you to always be in a state of creating!

If you have any questions or have ways you create your classroom, please share with me, I would love to know what inspires you!

#classroomdesign #thepreparedenvironment