Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/seeing-children-respond-to--changes-in-the-environment/5022026/
VIGNETTE:The children entered the block room with eager anticipation after weeks of conversations and decision making about the changes and additions they would find there. They responded with “ooh” and “ah,” and “wow” as they dove in to explore the intriguing new space and materials.
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I am a member of the Design Collaborative for the Preschool for All and First Five programs in San Francisco. I have the wonderful task of working with teachers and family child care providers to study areas of their environments to make changes based on observations of children in the space, and the goals and values we have for providing engaging, complex experiences for children’s learning.
Selina Chen has a group of very active four- and five-year-old boys enrolled in her family child care program. She was concerned about the boys’ big body, rough-and-tumble play and lack of focus in the small playroom where they spent a lot of time. To begin the change process I offered the following questions to focus our attention as we observed the environment and the boys’ activities.
• Where in the area do the children work calmly, with focus for long periods of time?
• Where do the children seem to ...