Physical Environment

Infant/Toddler

What We Saw: The ages of the children served in this classroom are from birth to 3 years. There are no high chairs in the room. Children sit for meals at a small toddler table on chairs. Their feet touch the floor when they are sitting. The floors are heated. There are many windows at child level allowing the children to look outside and providing natural light. There are no swings in the room. Teachers use rocking chairs and soft pillows for rocking, holding and feeding children. There are plants in the room. Mirrors are placed at child-level in several places. Children's artwork is displayed at their level. A variety of developmentally appropriate materials are arranged neatly on shelves and in bins for all ages enrolled.

What It Means: In a safe and stimulating environment like this, infants and toddlers will thrive in all areas of their development. This classroom does not use infant swings, high chairs, walkers or other devices that hold children. One result is that the teachers spend more time holding children. Another result is that children are allowed to explore an environment that is carefully planned to provide developmentally appropriate experiences.

Research confirms that children with more "floor freedom" (less time in high chairs, cribs, etc.) actually learn more. Research also confirms that children who are held more actually learn more, and cry less than other children. To a parent, this room looks friendly and inviting, but to a scientist (or early childhood teacher) this classroom represents an environment that is well designed to nurture children's growing brains.

Preschool

What We Saw: The teacher sets up a play space by draping a large yellow and orange parachute over the A-frame climber and other furniture. "It's a fort", says one child. The teacher enlarges it over more furniture as the children crawl underneath. "Should we put it over the cots, too?" she asks, and then pulls the stack of cots over to form another wall of the space. She places a collapsible tunnel at one end, and pulls the parachute down to cover the side, creating an entrance. The teacher crawls in another side and sits with the children as they play with 'bucket toys' and talk in their fort.

What It Means: The teacher provides an interesting activity to substitute for outdoor play. She created an interesting space for the children to experience. Homemade tents and forts are attractive to children, perhaps because the space created is low, cozy and child-sized. Children the world over like spaces of this sort, and create them on their own without being taught. The parachute is especially appropriate because of its large size and light weight, and the soft yellow and orange colors let the light in. The enclosed space helped to confine and calm the children's play. When the teacher joins the children in the fort, she helps to support their involvement, sustain their play, and prevent conflicts.

Children With Special Needs

What We Saw: Most of the children were sitting at the table waiting to participate in an art project: painting with a golf ball. One child in the room is physically challenged, and unable to sit upright in a regular chair independently. The teacher placed him in a special chair that supported him, then moved him closer to the table with the others. There was a tray connected to the chair, and she placed the ball on top of the tray. The teacher explained, "This is a golf ball and we are going to paint with it." She bounced the ball on the tray, and that made the child look to it. She moved his hands over the paint-covered ball, saying "You feel that paint, it's soft." After he was done, she helped other children with the project. As the teacher went around the table, she positioned his chair so that he was able to watch his friends paint with the ball.

What It Means: Sometimes a craftsman needs the right tool to do the job right, and the Rifton Chair used in this classroom was just such a tool, allowing a child with special needs to experience the same activities as the rest of the class. The Rifton Chair helps support children because of its sturdy back, seat belt, and side panels underneath the armrests. Children cannot fall from this kind of chair. The chair made it easy for the teacher to incorporate the challenged child into the class art project. Teachers can place objects directly in front of the child because the chair has a tray attached to its front. (Notice how this teacher bounced the ball on the tray to gain the child's attention. She also described to the child in words what he saw and felt.) The wheels on the Rifton enabled the teacher to move it around frequently, allowing the child to stay involved by watching his peers.

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