classroom environment
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Decor Inspiration
Yesterday I promised to share the classroom photos that I’ve been drooling over. I’ve gathered these from all kinds of different places and I’ve tried my best to find the original sources for all of them, so please click the links to check out other amazing, inspiring decor ideas! I love the use of color and the awesome alphabet on that beautiful green wall! KLA Schools North Bay These bare walls feel anything but institutional – and I have that exact teal cart in my home, but that’s not the point… Kids Collective Preschool This room feels so homey and comfortable! Charlestown Nursery School This is 100% my dream classroom,…
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Classroom Decor
I have honestly gone back and forth on whether or not to publish this post, because I know teachers who feel very strongly about both sides of the issue, but I decided to go for it. My thoughts on the classroom decor debate shouldn’t be a surprise to those of you who have followed Preschool Ponderings for a while. It’s no secret that I am a huge advocate for the Reggio Emilia approach, and my own personal opinions about classroom decor are closely aligned with Reggio teachings about the environment. But as you read this please remember that my opinions are just that – my own personal opinions. This is…
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Preschool activity materials at your fingertips
I love to lesson plan (it’s one of those weird teacher obsessions), but for some reason, lesson planning never actually made me feel more organized. Then I realized that just because I had a plan in my head, it didn’t necessarily mean that I was prepared for the activity. The most stressful time of my day was always running around trying to find the supplies and materials that I needed to implement activities. The solution was so easy that I can’t believe it took me so long to figure it out – Every Friday afternoon I would gather all of the materials that I needed for the next week’s activities,…
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Planning your classroom layout
If you’ve spent any amount of time teaching young children there’s a good chance you’ve also spent a little time drooling over a classroom supply catalog. It’s a lot like pouring over the toy ads at Christmas time when you were a little kid. You know there is no way that you’ll get all of the wonderful things that you see on those glossy pages, but that doesn’t mean you can’t dream! I just found a tool from Kaplan that I could spend days playing with. It’s called My Kaplan Floor Planner. You enter the dimensions of your classroom, and then you can create floor plans using items from the…
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Explaining Classroom Centers
As preschool teachers we spend a lot of time defending the importance of play. We know exactly how much learning is taking place in our activity centers during “free play” because we designed them specifically to encourage learning, social interaction, and inquiry. Parents and family members don’t always understand that. I designed these labels to identify the different types of learning that takes place in each center. Display them in a photo frame or attach them right to your shelf and parents can rad the brief description while waiting for their children to finish up their work. I wanted to share them with you, so I designed them in two…
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Evaluating your Environment
Every so often it’s a good idea to take an objective look at your classroom environment. Do you have everything in your room that you should have in your room? Are the children actually able to access the materials? Does the room feel warm and inviting, or is it a bit too cluttered and chaotic? It can be really difficult to be objective about your space, and that’s why I’m a fan of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS-R). These have become a pretty popular tool in my state because programs are required to have a copy for our Quality Rating and Improvement System, but until recently I hadn’t actually…
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Planning the Classroom Environment
There are some many things to consider when you think about setting up a preschool classroom. It can be very overwhelming! I’ve found that it helps to break that job into a number of small(ish) tasks. 1. Think about your activity centers. Some centers need specific furniture – a writing center has to be near a table, and a classroom library needs a place to store books. Other centers work best in specific areas of the classroom – you might want to keep your art center near the tile floor. 2. Arrange the furniture. This is my favorite part, I can look at a piece of furniture and know exactly…
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Creating a dynamic preschool classroom
Do you remember visiting your friends’ homes as a child? Their toys were so much more fun to play with that your own, and their bedrooms/backyards/playrooms were WAY better than yours. You never understood why they wanted to come to your house, but they felt the same way, your stuff was more interesting than what they had. This is because it wasn’t the same old stuff that you played with every single day, your play things were boring because you were used to them, and they were always available. This idea is true in the classroom too. My students don’t want to use the same materials every single day, nor…
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Friday Freebie
Happy Friday! I am so glad that this week is over, it was complete chaos. While my weekend won’t exactly be relaxing, I am looking forward to celebrating a few milestones – My future SIL’s bachelorette party, and my nephew’s first birthday, not to mention my husband’s 27th birthday (which was technically last weekend, but has yet to be fully celebrated). I may actually be looking forward to next week, when things will calm down and get back to normal! I am seriously excited about this week’s freebie. I fully agree with the idea that the classroom environment plays a vital role in the learning process. I also firmly believe…
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Loving the latest from Ikea
I’ve always loved Ikea, the former interior design student in me considers that store absolute heaven. The closest Ikea store is an hour and a half from my house, and I make the drive regularly. Needless to say, receiving the annual catalog is grounds for hours of focused study. I love that Ikea has always offered something for everyone. But now I’m rambling, and I’m sure you’re thinking “what does this have to do with preschool?” I promise I have a point. I am so impressed with Ikea’s newest children’s products, and the ways that the company has chosen to present them. The new Ikea catalog shows that childhood can…
