Children’s experience in preschool determines their learning course for the rest of their lives. As Maria Montessori said, “the goal of early childhood education should be to activate the child’s own natural desire to learn.”
So what does it take to design a nurturing environment in a pre-school?
Physical Factors
Your pre- school classroom’s physical environment includes the layout and structure of the classroom. The way you arrange the furniture and resources in the classrooms maximizes the learning outcomes of the children.
Accessibility is the key, which includes placing books on the shelves that the children can reach, and creating a sufficient moving place for the children among others. Always keep visuals at the eye level of the children.
Organize educational aids to boost motor and cognitive skills. Ensure the classrooms are always well–lit. The corridors and the playground must be designed keeping in mind that the children are extremely curious and full of energy.
Social Factors
The class environment in early childhood education should support social interactions. It should establish positive peer relationships and healthy interactions between adults and children. To enable this, children should be made to interact in different group sizes.
There should be a teacher and children-initiated activities in the pre-school classrooms. Activities and games that require two or more children to participate lead to social development.
Creativity & Tech Factors
Encouraging creativity in pre-school environment motivates the children to take control over their learning and enhances curiosity in them.
Role-plays, art and craft, music can go a long way in promoting confidence among them.
Use of technology assists teachers in identifying the learning needs of the children easily and improves their teaching skills as well. Interactive whiteboards, tablets, etc. fosters a stronger relationship of the children with the subjects being discussed.
Click here to join hands with Caprics Learning Lab to design an innovative next-gen pre-school program and classrooms that children and their parents will swear by.
