The Schoenbaum Family Center Slideshow

A "place to pause" in the classroom is beneficial to children, teachers and families. A soft space with comfortable adult-sized furniture welcomes families into the classroom and invites them to be a part of the community. This space is also a safe place for infants and toddlers to calm their bodies and regulate their emotions. Infants and toddlers spend a large part of their day at school, therefore it is important to provide a quiet place to relax and be alone.

Offering a cubby space labeled with children's pictures and individual baskets to place their personal materials from home in provides children a sense of belonging to the classroom community. It also provides a space in the classroom that is their own individual space that they do not have to share with others in the environment.

Environments with high ceilings can be lowered to create a cozy, soft, homelike feel by adding a sheer fabric above a noisy space like the block area. Incorporating sheer fabric to the ceilings is also a natural way to bring color into the environment.

The environment encompasses various print-rich including books, magazines, sign language, children's writing samples, teacher's writing samples, documentation and more. Children develop early literacy skills in the context of relationships, therefore the environment can support early literacy skills by providing a soft relaxing space for groups of children and teachers to read and enjoy books together Furthermore, providing various books on a book shelf as well as in a basket allows books to be accessible to children of all ages.

Incorporating a gross motor area into the classroom supports infants and toddlers developing motor skills including running, jumping, climbing crawling etc. A gross motor area also gives children an opportunity to explore motion, speed, gravity and balance in the classroom. This space prevents guidance and discipline issues by providing an appropriate area to work on these skills throughout the day. Including a motor space into infant and toddler environments illustrates that we value their gross motor play as important work in the classroom.

Providing a writing area with flexible, open-ended materials supports the development of early literacy skills in infants and toddlers. This space reflects our "image of the child" as capable and competent. Infants and toddlers need authentic experiences with real materials including scissors, pens, pencils, markers, glue etc. Providing these materials to young children for exploration allows children to feel valued and competent in their ability to make a mark on the world.

Materials should be organized, free from clutter, and presented in an appealing way that invites children to use and explore them. The arrangement of objects on shelves encourages choices, problem solving, and discoveries in the process of learning. Each space in the environment should be carefully and purposefully set up so that it communicates what the space is used for. An environment that is beautiful and inviting encourages children to appreciate and respect the materials and space.

During infancy and toddlerhood, young children are learning about the self and others, therefore it is important to incorporate a space that allows young children to imitate and experiment with new roles. The materials in the environment should reflect the children's interests in the classroom. In the picture above, the children were particularly interested in baby play; therefore the design of dramatic play area was consistent with this interest. The materials in this space were limited to objects involved in baby play so that the children could focus on in-depth investigations of babies as they took on the role of the caregiver.

Incorporating nature and natural materials into the classroom environment enhances the beauty of the classroom, brings in life, and provides children with discovery opportunities. Plants provide a homelike atmosphere to the classroom and allow children to take part in the responsibilities of the classroom. Natural artifacts can be collected from the outside environment and brought inside for art opportunities or as a way to display children's art (above).