Early Childhood Classroom Environment As an early childhood educator it is my job to ensure that my classroom provides a safe and secure environment that is easily supervised with enrichment activities that are rich in play, teaching, people and experiences for all children within the classroom. Things that need to be considered when building an environment for children include space, equipment used, outdoor space needed and a flexible schedule that allows you to move in and out of the areas with smooth transitions. When building a classroom, the indoor learning environment will be influenced by the building and play area that surrounds the building. A classroom needs to have adequate space for children to play, explore and learn. Children need to have continuous access to water, bathrooms and a sink for handwashing. Although each room or center will be different they need to maintain areas that are easily and safely supervised from all areas of the classroom. The space needs to be organized into learning centers with well-defined areas. Areas such as science, art, sensory, bathrooms and eating areas need to be near a water source. Other areas such as block areas, library and housekeeping should be kept in areas with large area rugs or carpet. Equipment and materials used in the classroom are vital tools used for learning inside of the classroom. Materials in a classroom are the smaller items such as books, puzzles, games and toys. These items are moved in and out of the classroom as needed to help children learn, explore and grow. Items are moved in and out of centers purposely by the teacher to allow children an opportunity to learn. An example of this could be the addition of a fire fighter outfit along with fire trucks... ... middle of paper ... ...ave found that if I allow the children to move at their own pace that our day goes smoothly. There are days that we may not get to a planned activity but we are always learning and growing daily. As the facilitator of the group my job is to show students where to look but not what to see (Alexandra K.Trenfor). As an early childhood educator my job is not to simple play with children. I must plan, provide and supervise all while “playing” with my students. The classroom serves as the physical environment for the children for most of their waking hours. These classrooms need to be attractive and function effectively. Concerns for any early childhood educator should always include space, equipment and materials used, outdoor space and the daily schedule to ensure that all students are provided ample opportunities to learn and grow within a safe and secure environment.
A requirement in being an early childhood teacher, is to fulfill the needs, of the children and families I will work for. In chapter one, you have the Lawrence and Ashley Family. In the Lawrence family, they are a married couple, which means more income for the family. Whereas the Ashley family has one income. In addition, to the Ashley family, having one income and dealing with the state can bring heartache and struggles to buy food, clothes, housing, school supplies and other day to day activities. Therefore, I need to comprehend the lives of the families I work for and to be aware of the circumstances of the individual families. To the same degree. I need to respect the boundaries; of the families I work for. Trust is a must. With no trust, there is no communication and things get can get
The Child Development Center of College of San Mateo provides early care and educational programs for children between the ages of 3 to 5 years old. Children are divided into classrooms with a “master” teacher, a “regular” teacher, and two or three “associate” teachers. Klara attended Classroom, “A,” a stimulating and well-resourced classroom. Klara was observed for two hours on Monday from 9 am to 11 am and for two hours on Wednesday from 9 am to 11 am. During these two hours, classroom activities consisted of “free time,” “story time,” and an outside “play time.” A “master” teacher, a “regular” teacher, and two “associate” teachers were present during observations. Additionally, a total of eighteen children were in attendance during the observed days.
It is my strong belief that each child is entitled to a safe, secure, stimulating and caring learning environment. I always believed that each child is a unique individual with much curiosity and many academic, social and emotional needs. Children need our support in order to mature emotionally, intellectually, physically, and socially. As a teacher, one should aim to help students in fulfilling their dreams to become successful and educated individuals. We must provide them with a safe learning environment for their learning to succeed.
The space and area in which a child is learning must be accommodating to all of their needs. A responsive environment is a space of any size that is set up and presented in a manner that promotes social-emotional development, physical development, spiritual development, intellectual/cognitive and language/literacy skills. It is important that the class or room promotes a healthy learning environment which allows the children to be independent while still pushing their skills and abilities. Environments are able to shape and direct a child’s learning experience, “We now know that the environment is a valuable teacher if it is amiable, comfortable, pleasing, organized, clean, inviting and engaging…This is true of floor space, ceiling, and wall space” (Krentz, Emerita, & University of Regina, 2013, p.44).
Overall my time in this preschool classroom met all of my expectations based on best practices. I feel that on a typical day when it is the primary teacher or teachers, the room meets the expectations of best practice, NAEYC, ECERS and state standards. Once meeting the teacher, you are able to tell that she is up to date on her research and theories about children and early childhood education. The teacher truly cares about the children, their education and their future.
The environment of the children is another important aspect to look for in a program. The area that the children will be spending most of their time in should not be too overwhelming. This means that the area should be a calming and enjoyable place for the child. An infant and toddler program should have adequate space for a toddler to be able to explore around his or her surroundings. With a safe, child accessible environment the child should be allowed t...
How one plans to tackle all of the challenges will help them when making decisions in the future. To many people, early childhood education is unnecessary. I realize that going into this teaching field, I will most likely have to interact with adults who will argue that it is useless. There are a lot of thorny issues surrounding the professionalization of early childhood education (“The Challenges of Professionalizing ECE Workforce”). I am prepared to talk to adults about my beliefs and the importance of the program. As I go into this career with the knowledge of this, I will be more prepared on how to handle those who have a different opinion than I
Additionally, a high quality early childhood program highlights on developmentally appropriate curriculum. I believe an early childhood classroom should be flexible, stimulating, clean, safe and organized. It should be a place where students can be engaged in learning through interacting with things around them.
Q.4. Which practices do you believe are within the control of early childhood educator? Make a list.
As an effective early childhood educator, creating strong partnerships with children and their parents, as explained by Shonkoff et al. (2000; as cited in Wood 2008) has shown that to provide a productive learning environment a teacher must have a positive relationship with children and their families.
Early Childhood Education teachers know that our children deserve to learn the important lessons from us and to acquire important habits with our help. Teachers and future teachers want our children to grow up to be responsible adults. Also, teachers are trying to find the perfect way to deal with children with different type of behavior. Teachers have to deal with parents, giving them a satisfactory result of their child developmental progress and security. My philosophy of guiding young children behavior is to use the combination of collaboration, positive attitude, and patience.
As early childhood educators, we have many responsibilities to countless people and institutions. The most important responsibility that has been reinforced to me over the years is the responsibility for the well-being of children. Not simply the ones in my care, but all children everywhere. This can be accomplished in many ways such as advocacy. Organizations such as NAEYC, of which I am a member, engage in collective public policy advocacy which involves speaking out for and participating in activities that support and protect vulnerable populations such as children (Freeman, Decker & Decker, 2013). By volunteering at the Judy Center and after-school enrichment programs such as Bridges, I have had to opportunity and privilege to meet and collaborate with many wonderful social workers, advocates, and others who toil so diligently to improve the lives of children. “Helping young children become what they are capable of becoming is what the field of early childhood is all about,” (Colmer, Waniganayake, & Field, 2014, 103). In order to accomplish this, early childhood professionals need to continue to grow and develop as professionals. And so, the professional development of every early childhood professional needs to be seen as a lifelong task (Livingston, 2014). Research shows that teachers with more preparation for teaching are more confident and successful with students than
Early childhood education plays a key role in a child’s academic development because he or she learns soft skills, job skills, and develop positive traits. Preschool is not like kindergarten, but instead a stepping-stone that prepares young students for the years of schooling they will have later in life. As more schools began to open families wanted to be able to verify that programs would benefit and protect their children. In response, the National Association for the Education of Young Children was made to help families find the best care for their children, by providing the early childhood educators with training and ensuring the quality of children’s daily experiences. (“NAEYC”5).
For teachers to be effective their classrooms should be open, encouraging and safe environments, where a strong student-teacher relationship can be achieved (Marsh, 2008). Students should be treated with respect in order to meet their need for belonging (Eggen&Kauchak, 2010). The layout of the room and resources need to be well considered allowing different areas for different activities (Bennett &Smilanich, P. 1994) keeping in mind space for easy movement and creative work. Seating arrangements, noise level and room temperature all need to be taken into account when planning the classroom to maximise productive lea...
During the first day of school, a variety of different students enter the classroom. These students are excited and nervous, they have their parents by their sides who are observing the classroom walls and arrangement. From the minute the students enter the classroom, students are observing the classroom environment and notice the everything. Everything in the classroom needs to have a purpose, but provide a pleasant environment. When preparing and organizing the classrooms, teachers need to consider the different variables that impact the classroom. Classrooms can be disorganized if the walls are cluttered and have no meaning The organizations of the desks, the wall decorations, and the seating arrangements significantly impact the physical environments. Students are like sponges, they soak up everything that surrounds them. In the article A comparison of actual and preferred classroom environments as perceived by middle school students in the Journal of School Health stated “studies have shown that classroom environments are closely related to a number of aspects of student