When I first started teaching (I won’t say how long ago it was), I had my classroom EXTREMELY organized because I liked it organized. Having order and logic seemed to make my days run more smoothly. The teachers I worked with would often tease me (in good fun) about being so “picky” about my classroom. But, even so, I knew that I liked my environment organized and dedicated much of my time and energy to the idea.
It was not until I became more educated and experienced, that I learned that an organized environment is actually crucial for CHILDREN. I now will stand by the fact that the children LEARN more when the room is organized (it is no longer about me):
• First, the way you arrange your classroom sends children messages. If you have centers that are organized and inviting, children will want to engage in that area. One example is a home living area. If you have all the food and dishes thrown into a bin and all the dolls pilled into the cradle, the children MAY choose to play there and dig for what they need. HOWEVER, if you have the dishes organized with labels and the food separated in bins, and the babies are in the high chair, the cradle (neatly with a blanket), and buckled in the stroller, the children will be more likely to look to that area and think, I want to play there.
• Additionally, if you have areas organized you can GUIDE children to try something new, to take risks, and scaffold their learning through the way you arrange the environment. For example, if you have a sorting tray in the math area and things to sort that are always on the shelf and covered, children may never think to try sorting. However if you set the tray out on the table and sort a few items while setting the open bin next to the sorting tray, it may spark children's interest in sorting.
• An organized environment creates many opportunities for social and emotional development. For example, having organized areas that clearly layout expectations, provides children with opportunities to learn respect (supplies, materials, environment). Also, having areas that invite a few children to work together helps children develop their social skills.
• Another part of an organized classroom that promotes children's learning is the CLEAN UP process. Having children participate in cleaning up the classroom is a wonderful way to promote competence and self-confidence. Additionally, if the room is organized and shelves are labeled (with both pictures and words), children are learning matching and visual discrimination skills during clean up (important beginning math and literacy skills).
• Accessible, organized materials promote independence. Children will learn to make choices on their own if we ensure that materials are available to them. When children make choices, they become more engaged in learning that is individually meaningful.
• Children's behavior can also be positively impacted by an organized environment. An example, of this is when I created a "no build zone" in my block area. I noticed that the children in the block area were sitting down right next to the shelf of blocks and building their structure. When another child would come along to also build, he would have to reach over the top of the other child's structure, consequently often knocking over part of the structure. As you can imagine this was creating conflict in the block area. After observing, I decided to institute a "no build zone" in the block area. I simply took tape and taped off a couple feet in front of the block area (neatly, of course) to create an area where the children would not build their structures. This was a great way to organize the environment to positively impact children's behavior. I firmly believe that if there is mistaken behavior in a classroom, the teacher should FIRST look to the environment.
Thus, as you can see, there are many ways that an organized environment supports CHILDREN’S learning. I would love to hear your thoughts and examples---how do your ideas for an organized environment support children’s learning?