How inspirational is your room?
The way a room is set up can have a huge impact on how children learn. This week we take a look at how to assess your room, and provide tips on how best to make it an incredible learning environment. We interviewed Megan who has 20 years of experience in the industry and is a Director (as well as a trainer) here at ECT:
What’s the best time to asses the room?
It’s great to walk into the room when it’s empty. Does it feel cluttered? Is there enough room for the children to move freely? Are there spaces where they can play quietly?
We also need to be mindful of not providing too many options and over stimulate the room as this can cause problems for some children.
What questions should you ask yourself and your team when preparing the room?
Ask yourself:
How does it look?
How does it feel?
Is it a place you’d like to play in?
Have you taken the children’s individual needs and interests into account?
Does it feel cluttered or is it open?
How often would you suggest mixing things up?
Evidence suggests that leaving the same room setup for long periods of time is a great way for children to build their sense of agency. They become confident in how the day is going to look and start to teach each other about how the day will unfold
However children can get bored, but that could be because they haven’t discovered everything available in the room. If you find areas that aren’t being used, go and sit with the children and see if you can create some new excitement.
How do you give the children a voice in the room layout?
Children’s ideas should be brought to life in these rooms. They should feel like they really contributed. Have a planning meeting to talk about where they would like things to be.
Room setup is so important. It creates an environment that is ready for some enthusiastic play. Include children in the process, they will love playing in a world that they helped create.
