Every Early Childhood classroom has a teacher who is seen yet not heard. No matter how many teachers there are in the room, this teacher is always a welcome, appreciated, highly influential, yet silent extra. The teacher to whom I am referring is the walls, space, design, centers & preschool furniture found in an Early Childhood classroom. Each of the aforementioned act as learning tools for the young children in our care and each must be given a great deal of attention when setting up an Early Childhood classroom that values creativity, independent thinking and physical and emotional safety.
Imagine that you are a five-year-old child sitting at a work table. Your feet are firmly planted on the ground and you have plenty of room for your body, your paper and your writing materials. You are sharing the table with a few friends but you all have enough personal space to carry through with your given task. You begin enthusiastically, sometimes chatting with your peers, all the while paying close attention to what is unfolding in front of you. You love the colors you are using, you are proud of your work, and you are enchanted, if not a little surprised, at the skills you are displaying. Such a moment is repeated, day after day, in the lives of the young children that we are teaching and who are are learning new skills on a daily basis.
Classroom Furniture Provides the Room With Much Needed Structure
The furniture in a classroom provides the fundamental, underlying structure in the room. Just envision the above scenario where the table is too crowded, the chair is too small (or big) and the table wobbles. The child is in the middle of drawing a rainbow or a robot and the legs of the table shake. Picture the frustration a child, who is just learning how to draw a vertical line, would feel, if his or her hand gets pushed or the leg of the table moves and the line is no longer straight. An awareness and understanding of the details involved when ordering classroom furniture ensures that the children will be able to play, explore and grow in a thoughtfully furnished room.
