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237 Hannah Hoagland 1

Hannah Hoagland
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Environment Plan Part
This environment is for preschool age children

Part One- Introduction

The Optimal Early Childhood Environment Plan is an opportunity to learn about creating
my own safe and secure play based environment for young children. It is also an opportunity to
put all the knowledge I have learned about a safe and secure environment and the space needed
to properly support development. The purpose of this plan is to practice on creating my own
environment for when I get into my career, Ill be ready to properly support the children whom I
will be working with in their development.
My environment is for preschool ages 3-4 and will be a part-day program from 7:30 AM
to 2PM. The number of children that this program will support is up to twelve children. The
daily schedule is as follows:
7:30 AM 8:30 AM
Arrival, children and parents are expected to follow the routine of hand
washing, and putting away clothes/diapers needed for the day.
Children will participate in self-directed activities such as sensory play
at the sensory table, building blocks, dramatic play in the kitchen or
with dress up, options to read books, and to color or paint.
8:30 AM - 9 AM
Breakfast will be offered at 8:30 to anyone who would like some.
Breakfast will consist of scrambled eggs, toast, and fruit or veggies.
Breakfast will be put away at 9 AM.
9 AM 9:30 AM
Children will get the chance to participate in a quiet, small group
activity such as reading a book or playing a game directed by the
teachers. The class will be divided into two small groups.
9:30 AM 10 AM
Snack will be provided and will consist of fruit and yogurt or cheese,
or veggies and hummus.
10 AM - 12 PM
Outdoor play time. This is when the children have the option to go
outside. There will be many activities such as a sensory table, a large
grass area to run in, tricycles, building blocks, a garden area, and sand
box. The children can stay inside and play as well.
12 PM 12:30 PM
Large group gathering time for story and music activity. There will be
a short story with the whole class and then we will get together and
sing songs and dance to explore our bodies and motor skills. The
children will have the opportunity to learn rhythm with musical
instruments.
12:30PM- 1:30 PM
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Nap/ quiet time. Children will have the chance to take a nap on their
own mat if necessary. Other quiet activities during this time is story
time and time for breathing exercises/ yoga lead by the teacher.
1:30PM 2:00PM
Get ready for goodbyes. Gathering up personal stuff, washing hands,
singing goodbye songs together before we all leave. Parents arrive and
sign their child out from the office.
Interest Area: Dramatic Play

The dramatic play area allows children to explore the real world with little limitations
through symbolic play. The child is free to explore fears, danger, and learn about the world in a
safe and imaginative space where they can be who or whatever they please for a short time
being. When children engage in dramatic play they deepen their understanding of the world and
develop skills that will serve them throughout their lives (Trister Dodge , D., Colker, L. J. &
Heroman, C.,2002, pp. 27-284). The dramatic play area should allow for much movement and
space for the child to explore to their optimal potential. This can be a carpeted area with many
shelves along the walls to store materials such as props. Children need various props to
symbolize what they are trying to imagine and for this reason, this area will include dress-up
clothing, kitchen sets, some play house, stuffed animals, and even old electronics for the children
to pretend with. This way the child has free will to learn about how things work and even what
other people might feel being in their shoes. Research shows that children who engage in
dramatic play tend to demonstrate more empathy toward others because they have tried out being
someone else for a while. They have the skills to cooperate with peers, control impulses, and are
less aggressive than children who do not engage in this type of play (Trister Dodge , D., Colker,
L. J. & Heroman, C., 2002, pp. 27-284). Dramatic play encourages cooperation and negotiation
within children who partake in dramatic play activities. This area will also have a child-size
table with chairs and pictures on the wall of various fantasy and real roles people may take on to
better the flow of play. The more the adult follows the childrens lead, the less likely her
presence will disrupt the flow of play (Prairie, A. P. 2013, pp.68). Teacher participation within
dramatic play is encouraged however without redirection of the play because the whole point of
dramatic play is the imagination of it all. An activity that can be offered here is within the play
house playing as if the children were a family and the different roles that might entail. One goal
for this area is for the children to be able to create and use an increasing variety of props,
costumes and scenery to enhance dramatization of familiar stories and fantasy play with peers
(California Preschool Learning Foundations Volume 2, pp. 17).

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Trister Dodge , D., Colker, L. J. & Heroman, C. (2002). The creative curriculum. (4th ed.).
Dramatic play: how dramatic play promotes development (pp. 27-284). Washington DC:
Teaching Strategies.

Prairie, A. P. (2013). Supporting sociodramatic play in ways that enhance academic learning.
Young Children: 68 (2): pp. 62-68.

Interest Area: Block

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The block area allows the children to construct, destruct and build hand-eye coordination
in the process. This play is an example of constructive play. Children gain eye-hand
coordination and visual discrimination skills when they group blocks that are the same size and
shape at clean-up time (Miller Nielsen, 2006, pp. 51-58). With the help of a variety of blocks
and props such as vehicles, figurines, and small signs, children learn how to better group and
categorize objects. This area will be carpeted inside with shelves to store the blocks. There will
be many different shape and sized blocks (however still child-sized) along with block train sets
and people to further this constructive play for the child themselves. This area doesnt require a
lot of space but ample enough space for a child to build and stack the blocks as high as possible.
By stacking and knocking down blocks, [children] get a sense of satisfaction from controlling
their world (Wardle, 2000, pp. 26-30). By dictating how many blocks to stack higher or when to
knock a creation down gives the child a sense of empowerment and control because children
have little control over most of the elements and scenarios they experience daily. The child also
learns how to use the same materials in different ways when engaged in block play which helps
create an environment to match their level of learning (Wardle, 2000, pp. 26-30). By making
these materials more complex and challenging, children have endless possibilities of enhancing
their creations to fit the rest of their development. One goal for the block area is to place an
object on top of or under something with some accuracy (California Preschool Learning
Foundations Volume 2, pp. 54). If this goal is to be met the levels of accuracy will increase as
the child continues to play in this block area.

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Miller Nielsen, D. (2006).Teaching young children, preschool-k: a guide to planning your

curriculum, teaching through learning centers, and just about everything else. The block
center (pp. 51-58). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Wardle, F. (2000). Supporting constructive play in the wild: guidelines for learning
environments. Child Care Information Exchange, n133 p26-30.

Interest Area: Manipulative/Math

This area will consist of sorting blocks, numbers, shapes, patterns, and a clock for the
children to explore math concepts. There will be shelves to hold these materials and a child size
table with chairs to conduct these explorations. This will be a carpeted area with numbers and
math references hung on the wall. There doesnt need to be too much space in this area, just
enough for everything and everyone to fit comfortably as this area doesnt require much
movement. "Some people don't realize that math is a lot more than counting. Children need to
learn about sequence, measurement, patterns, and much more (Alexander, N., 2002). Math
concepts are much more than counting and rather about how children get to that conclusion of
mathematical reasoning. Many times children can count to thirty or more, but they don't
understand the one-to-one relationship (Alexander, N., 2002). With this area in the classroom
and curriculum, children will be able to discover and enhance their learning beginning of
mathematical concepts. Classifying is another important math skill for young children. Many
opportunities to classify materials occur in the daily activities of a classroom (Alexander, N.,
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2002). By understanding math concepts such as classification of items, the child can not only
better navigate through the classroom but through life as well. This type of play can support
games with rules by including dice games or other counting games in the area where children can
make their own games to play with math concepts. With games with rules the children can create
close bonds and friendship through cooperation and negotiation. One goal for this area would be
for the children to understand that adding one or taking one changes the number in a small group
of objects by exactly one (California Preschool Learning Foundations Volume 1, pp. 151).

Alexander, N. (2002). Teaching math every day. Earlychildhood.com. Retrieved

from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleId=2
29.

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Part Two:
Interest Area: Art/Sensory
This area will consist of a sensory table for children to explore different textures such as
sand, water, playdough, etc. every day and there will also be a child-size table and chairs for
children to investigate art and creativity. This space should be on tile for easier clean-up in case
of spills, but should not need to take up too much space due to lack of large motor/movement
activities. There will be paper/art supplies over-head in a cupboard so it can be easily accessible
for the adults and there will be a separate box of paper and supplies for the childrens access as
well. The type of play that can be supported in this area is functional play in that with sensory
and art activities, the child is using the objects to either create another object/work of art or they
are using the objects with a purpose of producing a different outcome. Having bowls and cups
inside a sensory table with small items that can be scooped up is an example of how children can
give a purpose to these items for children. young children learn with all their senses (Gainsley,
S., 2011). Children are at their full learning potential when all their senses are being used to
discover new items in the classroom. An activity that includes all the senses that could be
discovered in this area of the classroom could be using food to describe texture, taste, sound,
sight by using it in many ways such as an apple and using the parts to taste, feel, look at colors,
and paint with. Preschoolers still need to participate in sensory experiences, and to do so with
greater sophistication that is, to use more of the scientific process as they explore (Gainsley,
S., 2011). As children get older these experiences should get more complex to support their
growing fine motor skills and cognitive development so the sensory table will have more
complex items put in it as their development grows and their learning about the world and how it
works grows. young children are oriented toward sensory experiences (Gainsley, S., 2011).
BY including a sensory table or sensory activities in general, you can provide the children with
an environment encouraging exploration and excitement for learning and developing. A goal for
this area is to create art and sometimes name the work (California Preschool Learning
Foundations Volume 2, pp. 10). Art and sensory can work hand in hand by first showing and
exploring and then creating an artistic view of the element.

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.
EDEC 237 Hannah Hoagland 5

Gainsley, S. (2011). ,Look, listen, touch, feel, taste: the importance of sensory play. High Scope
Extensions. 25 (5): 1-4. Retrieved from
http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/ExtVol25No5_low.pdf

Interest Area: Indoor Large Motor/Movement Space

This area of the classroom allows for the movement of children using their large motor
skills in a smaller environment than they would in an outdoor space. This area needs to have
sufficient room for children to move around to discover their bodies and new ways they can use
them. There will be a big round carpet with enough space for all the children plus a few adults.
There should also be a variety of hard and soft items such as tumble mats and tile floor or hard
chairs. Hard materials give the message that you better shape up and do what the environment
requires (Prescott, E., 2008, pp. 34). Other materials for this area include things like
trampolines, balance beams, gym balls, and bean bags. This supports functional play in a way
where children can learn new things about their bodies and what they can do in a place where
there is different textures of items and furniture so they can describe or symbolize things in a
greater way when it comes to dramatic play or even describing things daily. An activity that can
be offered in this space can include morning welcome songs and a frequent group meeting area.
One thing Ive observed in cognitively oriented child care centers is that children are sometimes
sitting for long periods of time (Prescott, E., 2008, pp. 34-37). With the incorporation of this
large area and the encouragement for frequent movement, teachers can enhance the childs zone
of proximal development in many aspects including cognitively, social-emotionally and fine and
large motor skills to name a few where as if a child is sitting all day, they will not be able to sit
still and therefore wont be able to focus on the task at hand. The lives of children today are
much more structured and supervised, with few opportunities for free play. Their physical
boundaries have shrunk (Prescott, E., 2008, pp. 34-37). Most teachers in todays society
believe that play isnt helpful for the children and the only way for them to learn is to sit down at
a desk and work on core subjects. A learning goal to keep in mind for using area especially for
group movement activities such as a morning welcome song is to show increasing balance
control while moving in different directions and when transitioning from one movement or
position to another (California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2, pp. 46).

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Prescott, E. (2008) The physical environment: A powerful regulator of experience. Exchange.

100: p. 34-37.
Interest Area: Music
The music area allows for children to explore sounds and musical instruments along with
the cultures they come from. This area will have musical instruments such as drums, guitars,
xylophones, bongos, bells, tambourines and shakers up on the wall for easy access for adults to
get them down for the children but also in sight for the children to see and tell the adults what
they want to play with. This area will be incorporated in the large motor/ movement area up on
the wall so it can be combined in the large motor activities. This area supports functional play in
a way where children can use these instruments to explore their body movements and their world
around them. The music curriculum that you provide should help children acquire musicianship
skills to the degree that is appropriate for their age: singing, playing instruments, composing and
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improvising, listening to and appreciating music, and performing (Feeney, S., Moravcik, E.,
Nolte, S., 2015, pp. 385). The goal for this area is to demonstrate more complex repeating
melody and rhythm patterns (California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 2, pp. 11).
because the goal of music education is to help children to become comfortable with musical
expression, performance is the least important part of the music curriculum for young children
(Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S., 2015, pp. 385). Performance is not the goal here, its for
children to explore and learn through their own movements and sounds. Its also about learning
about other cultures through music. Music can help children better express their emotions in a
constructive way and to also support cooperation and friendship among students,the most
important reasons to provide music to children are that listening to and making music brings
pleasure, it provides a powerful and direct link to emotions, and because sharing music with
others is an important way to be a part of your culture (Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S.,
2015, pp. 385).

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S. (2015). Who Am I in the Live of Children? Pearson; 10
edition.
Interest Area: Literacy
Reading & Writing
The type of play that this area will support is functional play. This area will include a
book case, lots of pillows, a desk, labels, audio books, felt boards, and adequate lighting to
support a fun and relaxing reading/writing environment that is inviting and warm. Children will
get a chance to explore language and literary skills that they already possess from a very young
age. However, the toddlers language and cognitive development remain highly significant
(Schickedanz, J. A., 1999, pp. 30). Comprehension skills will also be explored in this area as
encouraging deep levels of word understanding with a rich language and content knowledge
curriculum benefits childrens comprehension (Schickedanz, J. A., 1999, pp. 15). By having
labels up and encouraging reading this will help with print recognition and give meaning to new
words the child will hear daily. A variety of different kinds of books will be offered to choose
from in this area. Adults should offer selections of high-quality books from which a toddler can
choose Schickedanz, J. A., 1999, pp. 32). An activity in this area could include group or
individual readings, puppet shows, and use of the felt board to tell stories. A goal for this area is
to demonstrate, with increasing independence, enjoyment of literacy and literacy-related
activities. (California Preschool Learning Foundations, Volume 1, pp. 69).

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Schickedanz, J. A. (1999). Much more than the ABCs: The early stages of reading and writing.
Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Interest Area: Science
This area will pose to help with functional play and perhaps dramatic play when children
start to imagine themselves as things like scientists when they grow up. This area supports
inquisitive thinking and experimental thinking. This area will take place outside where science
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and nature go hand in hand. Here, the children will learn how to explore the world around them
using science concepts that involve action and observation of everyday things that are
experienced in play and daily life (Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S., 2015, pp. 401). There
will be opportunities to explore plant life, the elements of weather, water, dirt, insects and animal
life all outdoors. The materials needed for this area will be plants, a place for a garden, shovels,
magnifying glasses, bug boxes, insect guides and watering buckets. This space will encourage
children to explore and discover all aspects of their senses: hearing, smelling, seeing, touching,
moving and tasting (Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S., 2015, pp. 400) and also promote
sensory development with different textures of the environment themselves. Because basic
concepts of earth science are explored by young children in the course of daily activity (Feeney,
S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S., 2015, pp. 401), having a science based outdoor area will further
encourage the growth of understanding concepts of earth science hands on. One activity could
involve a garden with specimens of different insects available for children to look and then find
alive in the garden. A goal that supports this activity is to demonstrate curiosity and an increased
ability to raise questions about objects and events in their environment (California Preschool
Learning Foundations, Volume 3, pp. 61). By reaching this goal, students can challenge
themselves and the world around them in more complex ways by simply being aware of the
science concepts that surround us daily.

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Feeney, S., Moravcik, E., Nolte, S. (2015). Who Am I in the Live of Children? Pearson; 10
edition.
Interest Area: Outdoor Environment
The outdoor environment will be the largest part of this environment plan. The outdoor
environment will support dramatic play, in that children will be able to use a wider area and
different materials to expand their imaginations and functional play, in that children will use the
different materials outside and the wider space to explore more of what their bodies can do and
better large and fine motor skills in the process. It will include a play structure, swing, sandbox,
bicycles and a bike track and a garden to explore in. The goal of designing children's outdoor
environments is to use the landscape and vegetation as the play setting and nature as much as
possible as the play materials (White, 1998, p. 3) Outdoor exploration provides the child the
opportunity to explore the world around them at their own free will. In the classroom, where
there are cues and ideas for children already provided however being outdoors provides the
children to freely explore symbolic play and games with rules to their own discretion to create
more open ended experiences. whereas the classroom ecology tends to provide children with
explicit cues for activities and play scripts, the outdoor ecology provides more flexible cues, as
well as invitations to invent more open ended themes and roles (Thompson, J. E. & Thompson,
R. A., 2007,pp. 46-49). By adding a science area and a play structure area gives children the
chance to experiment and adventure throughout nature that also provides support for fine and
large motor skills. By having an open outdoor space children will also can run and get their
movement in before a quiet sit down activity, which can help them focus better. Loose parts and
a lack of predetermined functions for the elements of a natural outdoor play space invite
extended experimentation and adventurous exploration of ones own skills and dispositions, as
well as those of ones playmates (Thompson, J. E. & Thompson, R. A., 2007, pp. 46-49). A
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goal for this area is to engage in increasing amounts of active play activities that enhance leg and
arm strength, muscular endurance, and flexibility (California Preschool Learning Foundations,
Volume 2, pp. 57) with the use of climbing structures, swings and bicycles.

California Child Development Division (2009). California preschool learning foundations.

Sacramento, CA: California Department of Education.

Thompson, J. E. & Thompson, R. A. (2007). Natural connections: children, nature, and social-
emotional development. Exchange.178: 46-49.

Part Three- Design and Drawing:

Part Four- Reflection

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1. From creating my own environment, Ive learned that using the space provided wisely

can be a difficult task but a rewarding task in that carefully deciding how large an area

might be and what to put in that area is critical to the students overall development.

Children need a safe and secure environment that is accessible to all types of students and

their families. Children will learn about themselves in many new ways in this

environment because of the open space provided and the real-life experiences that the

child can explore through dramatic, sensory, functional, and manipulative play areas

inside and outside of the classroom. The children will also have the chance to enhance

their motor skills outside through physical activities such as swinging, a bike track and

playing in the sand box.

2. All aspects of my environment plan have been based off my observations this semester in

the Dandelion (preschool) classroom at the Childrens School at SSU. I observed that

outside play and the tricycles were always a favorite go-to activity for most the children

when it was outside time so I made sure to make the track big enough for all children in

the classroom but also made sure it was the main focus/activity outside. I added swings

because I noticed the outside area in my observation classroom had a belly swing but for

only one child so I thought about putting a swing set for multiple children at once to play

on. Inside, I made sure to make the movement area in the classroom bigger than in the

Childrens School because I noticed children needing extra space to just move around

inside and discover their bodies better.

3. Considering a 3-4-year old, I learned that children need a safe and secure space, a warm

environment, and ample supplies to foster growth in their development. The space must

be safe and secure for a child to be ready to learn. If the child feels unsafe in their
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environment and isnt ready to learn they wont be able to develop properly physically,

cognitively or socially because the child will be too afraid to make any progress. This

also means that the space should be sanitary and clean. The environment must be warm

and welcoming for all families and students. This includes the attitudes of the teachers

and assistants and regular communication both from the teachers and families to ensure

the best learning outcome for their child. The space must have ample supplies to support

a play based environment. There should be cubbies for each child to place their things

and storage for toys, cleaning supplies, and clothing (both for play and extra practical

clothing).

4. The ERS assessment really helped in my environment planning because as I was

assessing the preschool classroom that I observed in, I was thinking about ways to make

this classroom even better which I incorporated in my plans. The note section helped with

placement of certain areas such as the dramatic play area and the items that should be in

that area. I learned from the CLASS assessment, more about creating that warm

environment. Assessing things such as positive and negative climate of the class is a huge

part of a learning environment. By assessing this we can determine the level of student

comfort and maybe add in ways to enhance that such as more room for participation

activities and increased opportunity to make ones own decisions.

5. Children with varying abilities are supported in this environment with the addition of

ramps to the outside area, ample room inside the classroom for mobility and various

activities with multiple difficulty levels for challenging children of all walks of life. My

environment will have pictures of the children all over the walls to demonstrate cultural

differences within one anothers self and families and a music instrument storage area
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that will house all types of instruments such as bongos, guitars and tambourines to name

a few. The environment is free from stereotypes in that there are dolls of many ethnicities

along with appropriate books that are both culturally/ethnic accepting and accepting of

different family structures.

6. My environment encourages connections between home and school with the opportunity

during drop off time, for the parents to stay and get their child situated for their day of

school by reading or playing with them in the mornings. Also, by posting pictures on the

walls of the children engaged in their daily activities can give the parent an idea of how

their child is learning and how to better foster that at home in similar ways. By creating a

relationship with the parents through a warm environment, the teachers will be able to

bridge the gap between home and school with daily conversations and check-ins with

each parent.

7. This assignment has added to my knowledge about early education in that it has given me

more of a reason to incorporate play in all aspects of the classroom. It has given me the

knowledge that play encourages empathy, acknowledgement of boundaries, and the

ability to explore and recreate scenarios in life in a safe and positive environment. The

child can form relationships through play and their environment that they would not be

able to get anywhere else. It has also given me a new perspective on how important each

aspect of the classroom environment is and that if one aspect is left out, then the children

will miss an opportunity for further development.