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Helpful Hints: Creating Interest Areas
Setting up interest areas with in the classroom is important for
the making of a classroom that promotes the growth and development for a child.
Here are areas that are typically in an early childhood classroom:
• Blocks (unit blocks, people and transportation)
• Dramatic Play (kitchen set, dress-up clothes & dolls)
• Fine Motor or Manipulative (tables, puzzles, pegs & beads)
• Art (easels, paint, crayons & paper)
• Sand & Water (sand and water table, funnels, measuring cups & sponges)
• Library (book display, books & soft cushions)
• Music and Movement (dance/prop storage, musical instruments/players)
• Storage for Personal Belongings (lockers, storage bins, etc.)
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Many of the behavior problems a teacher experiences in their classroom could be attributed to the layout of the classroom.
An example of this is if you have a child constantly running in the room,
the teacher might need to look at the placement of shelving and tables.
If the shelving is against the walls and there is a wide-open space in the classroom,
the teacher is almost encouraging using the room as a racetrack.
The following are various problems that might arise in the classroom,
ways you can attribute it to the layout of the environment and possible solutions to the problem
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NEGATIVE BEHAVIOR
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POSSIBLE CAUSE
OF THE BEHAVIOR
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CHANGING THE BEHAVIOR
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Constant running
in the classroom.
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Shelving against the wall creates
a large open space in the room
that almost encourages running.
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Pull the shelving from the walls and use them
to set up a traffic flow in the room.
Move the shelving so that the children
have to go around the shelving to get
from one area to another.
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Fighting over toys
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Few duplicated toys;
children asked to share too often
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Provide duplicates of toys;
show children when it will be their turn
(use a timer with a bell, a sand timer
or a list with name of children
waiting for their turn)
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Children are moving the pillows and other
soft materials from the dramatic play area
over to the reading area.
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Children need to feel comfortable
in the reading area and they may no
have any soft materials in the area
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Instead of just using a table & chair
in the reading area, place some soft furnishings,
such as pillows or cushioned chair and/or sofa
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The children are unable to stay on task
or endlessly roaming around the room.
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No, you do not have a classroom
full of children with ADHD.
The room probably has little structure
and needs to be cleared out.
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Re-arrange your environment so that you
have defined interest areas (use shelving).
Also group like items together
and remove any unnecessary clutter.
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"Messy" areas (art and sand & water)
are always messy and are never cleaned-up.
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Location, Location, Location.
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Move the "messy" areas
closer to a source of water,
so that the process to cleaning up
is not hinder by location.
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Children seem to always be confused
and never able to get into
the routine of the classroom.
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You maybe re-arranging TOO MUCH.
Image if every other day you went home
your living room was arranged a different way.
How confused would you be?
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If you constantly changing your classroom,
you are probably confusing the children.
Give a couple of weeks for the children
to get use to the environment.
Then re-arrange (if needed) area by area.
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Helpful Hint of the Month...
Mobile Food Cart
The Mobile Food Cart (WD18200)
is best used in the infant room
so that the teachers have easy access to
all of their food preparation needs.
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Shown above:
WD18200
Mobile Food Cart
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Check us out in this article on the web...
The Ultimate Early Ed Blueprint
Creating an ideal early childhood education space in your school district is a no-brainer,
once you understand how to see and think like a tot.
By Julie Sturgeon, DistrictAdministration.com, May 2004
http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=734
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Teacher Resources: Helpful Hints Archive
Our past Helpful Hints articles, organized & archived
for your convenience in setting-up your own classroom.
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Enhance interest areas by providing enough shelving & storage bins
for the amount of materials provided in the classroom.
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