The document discusses how to arrange early learning environments. It recommends minimizing clutter, ensuring safety, providing consistent routines, and setting up areas for different activities like sleeping, learning, and discovery. Transitions between activities should be planned to ease pressure on children. The environment should promote independence, learning, and both teacher-led and child-led activities. Safety, visibility, age-appropriate materials, and allowing freedom of movement are also important considerations in planning early learning environments.

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Chapter 13
Arranging the Learning Environment

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The Inclusive Environment
• Arrange environments so that all children
can be successful.
– Loud and distracting noises can be difficult for
children.
– Ensure safety with floors and areas of
movement.
– Minimize clutter and confusion.
– Provide a consistent and structured routine
with clear expectations.

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Preventive Discipline
• Ensure environment and schedule sets
children up for success.
• Have clear and well communicated
expectations.
• Support positive behaviors.

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Arrangements for Learning
• Set up the environment for learning to take
place.
• Arrangements, materials and activities
should be sensitive to developmental
sequences.

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Arrangements for Learning (continued)
• Types of learning
– Self-help or independence skills
• Emphasize activities that promote independence
and self-help skills.
• Child learns to dress, eat, and ask for help.

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Arrangements for Learning (continued)
– Toilet facilities
• Allowing space to maneuver.
• A handrail to allow independence in sitting and
standing.
• A footstool for feet to resist fear of falling in.

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Arrangements for Learning (continued)
– Cubby areas
• A place for each child to place personal
belongings.
• Kept close to the exit and toilet areas.
• Allow for independence of saving materials or
getting items for nap time.

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Arrangements for Learning (continued)
– Sleeping area
• Put in a quiet area away from distractions.
• Close blinds, play soft music.
• Cots should be stored where children can help with
setup and cleanup.

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Arrangements for Learning (continued)
– Teacher-structured activities
• Have a space where a teacher can work with a
small group, large group, or one-on-one.
• Lessons are taught related to skills the children
need to work on.
• After the lesson, the goal is for the children to
continue practice on their own.

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Arrangements for Learning (continued)
– Discovery learning
• Children discover while engaging with materials.
• Play is a form of learning through a child-initiated
activities.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
• Safety
– Order and organization
• Arrange equipment so that everything has its
place.
• Order the environment and reset it so that each
child has the opportunity to play with it new.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
– Safe outdoor environments
• Supervision
• Age appropriate
• Safe fall zones
• Equipment and surface maintenance

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
• Visibility
– Children will hide to try new things and for the
pleasure of it.
– Teachers need to see all areas of the room
and outdoors at all times.
– Find a place to stand to allow 100 percent
visibility.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
• Matching children and equipment
– Check toys for safety.
– Include all parts of the toy.
– Check for choking hazards.
– Toys need to be appropriate for the youngest
learner and yet not bore the more advanced.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
• Ease of movement
– The class needs to be set up so that the
children can move freely through the room.
– The children should not have so much
freedom that they begin to run and cause
safety issues.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
• Promoting independence
– In arranging the environment, all materials
that children are allowed to have should be
where the children can reach them.
– Children should know how to put the toys
back.
– Shelves should be labeled for ease.
– Simple directions should be used for
transitions.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
• Teachers’ availability
– If the classroom is organized effectively,
teachers can teach.
– Zone teaching is one way.
– Teachers work in a zone or area and enhance
learning while the children are in that play
area.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
• Offering choice
– Giving children options for play or snack.
– Allowing children to assert their
independence.
– More options to learn the same material.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
• Novelty versus familiarity
– Children like the familiarity of their class.
– It provides comfort.
– Novelty, though, keeps the excitement going.

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Planning Early Learning Environments
(continued)
• Structured flexibility
– Well-structured environments allow flexibility
in use and design.
– The rules are consistent, but the discovery
with the materials is flexible and adaptable to
meet each child’s needs.

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Scheduling
• Principles related to scheduling
– Accommodating individual differences,
lessons relate to each individual’s needs.
– Varying activity levels—vary high-movement
activities with quiet activities to allow children
to regain their energy.
– Ensuring orderly sequences—the schedule
should flow, not be choppy without
connections. Build in transitions.

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Scheduling (continued)
– Giving advance notice—let children know that
one activity is ending and a new one is about
to begin.

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Scheduling (continued)
• Application of scheduling principles
– Every center needs to do what works for
them.
– Staff numbers and children’s ages and ability
levels need to be considered.
• Sample daily schedule in text

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Scheduling (continued)
• Learning goals schedule and embedded
learning opportunities
– Goals are what is taught.
– They come from the IEP or the curriculum for
that age group.
– They are taught throughout the day in a
variety of settings using a variety of materials.

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Scheduling (continued)
• Teacher schedules
– Specifies the location and activities
throughout the day.
– Teacher-structured activities such as
planning, preparing, etc. to be scheduled.
– Planned staff meetings to discuss classroom
and children's’ needs.

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Transitions
• Planning for transitions will ease the
pressure of one activity ending and
another starting.
• Transitions should be planned.
• It is a great time to do one-on-one
activities or reinforce a new skill.

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Transitions (continued)
• Procedures
– Establishing a routine for all procedures will
enable children to be independent.
– A piece of music can be used as a cue.
– Determine procedures to be taught.
– How to teach them.
– Practice them.
– Reinforce them and review.

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Transitions (continued)
• Considerations for infants and toddlers
– Use the environment to teach, everything
from the flooring to the lighting.
– Set up the environment so that the teacher
can enjoy the children exploring without
constant worry about safety.
– Aim for continuity of care, where a caregiver
stays with a child for years instead of months.

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Transitions (continued)
• Consideration for early elementary years
– Children should be encouraged to be
independent and responsible for own
behavior and learning.
– Children are expected to improve their literacy
skills.
– A balance of high physical activity with quiet
activity is necessary.
– Provide for differentiation through varieties of
activities and materials.