All About That Space

Monday was the first day of school. I woke up at 5:30 in the morning both anxious and excited. As I was driving to work, I was reflecting on what last year brought about and wondering about what this year might bring. For three years, I started the school year with a lot of the same children (being multi-aged means that children stay in my classroom for more than a year). Last school year was the last year with this particular group that I had been with for three years. The last day of school was hard for me. I had become very connected to this group and was terribly sad to see them "grow up" right before my eyes. It was a bittersweet moment for me as I walked into the classroom Monday morning knowing that I would not see that particular group.
Year after year, children come and go. They grow up, move on to Kindergarten and quite possibly forget all about me. And that's okay. I don't worry that they forget me, because I won't forget them. Each child and family has made an impact on my life and I have learned from them as much if not more than I have taught them. I am confident that through my relationships with children and families that I have been able to give them tools that will serve them long after they forget about Ms. Rachael.  See, early childhood education is not just about the day to day custodial care of children. It is in fact, a foundation that children will build upon for the rest of their lives. No pressure right?
When I walked into the classroom, I breathed a sigh of relief. As I looked around the room at the space my co-teacher and I have created, I felt as if I had walked into my home. The space is inviting, creative and feels comfortable. It is a space that I can "live in" for eight hours a day, I feel children can thrive in and a space where families and lab students can feel welcome. I thought I would share a few pictures of this space with you all. These are a few of my favorite spaces in the environment. Children work freely in these spaces and learn a variety of skills in all of them. My greatest desire within this space is that children feel accepted, safe, and free to explore. It is in the exploration that learning at its purest form occurs.

 Books 

 Safe Place (Stay tuned for more information about my FAVORITE area of the classroom!) 

 Manipulatives/Loose Parts 

 Alone 

 Art 

Blocks

It really is "All about that Space"! The environment in an early childhood classroom is the third teacher. In this space children learn not only academic skills such as math, science, writing and more, but they learn how to care for the materials in the space, how to care for one another, how to problem solve and think creatively. See, every material, every book, every provocation set out for children to explore is done with intent and thought. Some may see jewels and containers and think, "oh that's fun" and yes it is fun, but that is only the surface of the activity. A child sorting different colored jewels is not only learning the important skill of sorting by size or color, but has the chance to learn to count using one-to-one correspondence and master fine motor skills and pincer grasp that will aide them in writing and cutting and self-help skills. That child has been given the powerful opportunity to learn to enter into play with other children, learn conversation skills and problem solve when their friend has "all the blue ones and blue is my favorite!".  The environment and the things that are placed in that environment provide so many amazing experiences for children. The space is where the magic happens, or doesn't happen and it all depends on how deeply an educator believes that it is all about that space!