ROOM ARRANGEMENT

ROOM ARRANGEMENT Preschool Layout

Effects of Room Arrangement • Influences how children act and learn • Prompts children to use materials • Easily accessible, inviting • Children will be happy if the room is a welcoming place • Comfortable, pleasing to the eye, safe • Children will act orderly if the room is orderly • Can be the cause of disruptive behavior

This is a Good Place to Be • Furniture is clean, safe, and well maintained. • Wall decorations are largely made up of children’s art displayed attractively at their eye level. • Colorful decorations, plants, pillows are used

You Belong Here • Personal cubby for each child • Furniture is child sized • Pictures, books, & learning materials with different ethnic & economic backgrounds & people with disabilities

This Is a Place You Can Trust • There is a well defined schedule • Materials & toys are available • Materials labeled and easy to find

You Can Do Many Things On Your Own • Materials are stored on low shelves so children can use materials on their own • Materials are logically organized • Shelves are labeled with pictures to show where things belong

You Can Get Away and Be By Yourself When You Need To • Small, quiet areas for one or two children • Large pillow or stuffed chair • Headphones for individual listening

This Is a Safe Place to Explore and Try Out Your Ideas • Protected and defined small areas for small group activities • Smocks for art and water play to avoid fear of getting soiled • Outdoor area is fenced in • Toys are rotated so there frequently is something new to interest children

GUIDELINE • Materials must be “Child Size” • Picture & Bulletin Boards should be at child’s eye level • Organized & uncluttered • Keep learning centers separate from each other • Everything must have a place • Create a sense of arrival and welcome

TRAFFIC FLOW • Do not have large spaces for running • Fill outer edges, center is the pathway • A square center is dead space • Irregular or rectangle easier to use • Children in one center cannot reach children in another unit • No need to walk through units to get to another

APPEARANCE • Clean, neat and cheerful • Neatness enhances learning • Color can provide a cheerful atmosphere

EFFECT OF COLOR • LIGHT BLUE • WHITE • LIGHT GREEN • YELLOW • ORANGE • RED • PURPLE Comfortable, soothing, secure, tender Clean, pure, frank, cool, youthful Peaceful, refreshing, restful Happy, cheerful Welcoming, forceful, energetic Welcoming, energetic, forceful, stimulating Mournful Question: What colors do you think would be best for A day care or preschool?

SAFETY • Teachers must be able to see and supervise all areas of the room • All materials must be safe and in working order • Outside doors need to be visible and locked to the outside and to the children • Storage of hazardous materials must be locked

Planning Outdoor Environments • Enough empty space • Broad, easily visible paths • Children in one unit cannot reach children in another unit • No need to walk through play units to get to another • No dead space • No blind space

Outdoor Play Area Problems • Lack of shade • Northern exposures • Poor drainage • Broken equipment • Too few things and play space

Need for Complexity • Provide opportunity to lengthen attention span and expand on play • Make settings for children to meet each other and socialize • More opportunities for choice

Activity: PRESCHOOL LAYOUT Use the Lakeshore classroom designers and arrange the preschool to include: • Cubbies for children and sign in desk • Eating/Art Area close to a sink (may be separate or combined) should have enough seating for 15 children • Dramatic play area • Library/literacy center • Circle time area with rug • Science/math center • Small Manipulative area with table • Construction center • Sensory table • Music (space for music center may be combined with circle time area as long as it has storage for appropriate materials) • Space to Lay out 15 Nap Mats

ROOM ARRANGEMENT