Creating the physical environment where the children will study can be a challenging and inspiring task. There are instructed aspects that should be considered, such as visibility, movement, and minimization of distractions. No less important, the teacher should assume that objects like chalkboards, whiteboards, and computers will not be moved after the classroom plan is approved. At the same time, the places that will be crowded, like the teacher’s desk, or the sink, should have more free space around them. Therefore, the classroom plan should be creative but practical to meet the children’s needs.
The requirement for visibility will be applied in my classroom plan by arranging the desks in a semi-circle against the teacher’s desk. Although I work with 4-year-old VPK students, they need some order when we do our everyday learning practices, so I chose the desks (Ma et al., 2021). The semi-circle location of the desks will increase their aspirations for quality communication, they will ask more questions, but the teacher’s visibility will discipline them (Hidayati et al., 2018). This decision came naturally to me since my teaching style is rather conservative, but I think children need to communicate to develop their speaking and thinking.
I will try to decrease the possible distractions to calm down my students and help them focus. I will use thick curtains for windows and doors, and the carpet to cover the whole floor and decrease the noise (Decat et al., 2019). I will use white, gray, and yellow colors since these hues are associated with learning. No less important, white and yellow reflect more light, which is required due to the thick curtains. I will place shelves with books, encyclopedias, textbooks, and notebooks along the walls. I will also put two creativity desks at the end of the classroom where the children will independently use the materials to design the new objects of art.
References
Hidayati, A., Amsal, M. F., & Amilia, W. (2018, April). Development of classroom design model into character education in elementary. In International Conferences on Educational, Social Sciences and Technology (pp. 945-948). Fakultas Ilmu Pendidikan UNP.
Ma, X., Shen, J., Brandi, K., Lu, X., & Baron, M. (2021). Effects of classroom practices and funding streams on early childhood learning outcomes. Early Education and Development, 32(2), 323-342.
Decat, E., Damjanovic, V., Branson, S., Blank, J., & Berson, I. R. (2019). Using touch technology to foster storytelling in the preschool classroom. Journal of Inquiry and Action in Education, 10(2), 1.