Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/a-calm-brain-is-a-thinking-brain-brain-set-learning-environments-for-young-children/5026142/
*Additional photos and tables can be found in the pdf version of this article.
Built environments surround us. They are everywhere: homes, offices and government buildings, gas stations, shopping malls, movie theaters, factories, apartment buildings, tree houses, igloos, and skyscrapers. There are even more built environments to consider when you include any human-made structure, such as boats, cars, trains, air balloons, and airplanes. According to the University of Windsor, the term of built environment is used “when referring to those surroundings created for humans, by humans, and to be used for human activity.” So, the list of built environments extends to bridges, parks, roads, paths and walkways, city squares, transportation systems, and even sidewalks.
Because built environments are everywhere, they have a powerful influence on our everyday lives. One of the most important and influential built environments is the early childhood classroom.
Importance of Early Childhood Built Environments
Humans spend an enormous amount of time in built environments. In 2001, the National Human Activity Pattern Survey (Klepeis et al., 2001) revealed that humans spend an average of 86.9 percent of their time indoors. More recent studies show that people spend 90 percent of their day inside; no wonder we are labeled the “indoor generation” (Velux, 2018; ...