The design of your kindergarten classroom can greatly impact the children. Besides home, kindergarten is where children spend most of their time picking up skills for the future. The kindergarten classroom should be comfy and where the children should feel safe.
When it is comfy and creates a safe learning environment for the children, they will be urged to go to school and learn fast. More kindergarten is breaking away from traditional classroom layouts and finding ways to create a more conducive learning environment where collaboration and personalization are becoming the norm.
People may believe they will need a ton of money to upgrade their kindergarten classroom and a big and modern space to work with. But it isn’t necessary that you need these to upgrade your classroom into a learning-friendly environment. There are plenty of ways for you to upgrade your kindergarten classroom without using lots of money. Here are a few amazing ways to create a better learning space for the children.
How Does A Kindergarten Classroom Design Affect Student Learning?
Studies show the impact a classroom design can have on students. Many teachers have been convinced of the relationship between learning and classroom design for years.
Most of the time, parents and teachers use the children’s grades and academic achievements as a pointer for their success, but they tend to overlook the motivation, attitudes to learning, and social skills of the children, which is harder to measure.
A successful kindergarten classroom design must balance the teaching methods and learning styles to create a better learning environment that facilitates both the student and the teacher. It can create a more fulfilling learning experience.
But many kindergarten classrooms have underutilized the space, or the space feels cramped. To create an effective classroom design, you should consider the flexibility of the classroom. A flexible classroom design allows children to make choices, experiment with techniques, and discover the environment. To create a flexible classroom, you can incorporate a variety of seating options, discussion areas, and a flexible space where you can specialize in many activities. It helps to address the children’s needs.
Upgrade Your Kindergarten Classroom #1 – Mix Up Your Seating Options
Image Credit: Carla Butorac
Upgrading your kindergarten classroom doesn’t mean you need to spend much money. You can still update your classroom with your current furniture. Using your existing furniture, you can create different seating options for the children.
Your furniture won’t go anywhere unless you need to throw them away. Consider arranging one row of six or two clusters of six. Consider arranging the seating so that children can face each other, and give the children a choice to choose their seats. By letting them choose, it means you trust them.
When getting tables and chairs for your classroom, consider the age of the children that you have in your kindergarten. You will want to get age-appropriate furniture so they can be comfortable using it and concentrate on what they are doing instead of struggling to reach things on the table.
Upgrade Your Kindergarten Classroom #2 – Reduce Your Teacher Footprint
You would want the children to have more space in the classroom to learn, and one way to free up more space for the children is to minimize or eliminate your teacher’s workspace. Many kindergartens are trying to do it, and they are trying to stop putting desks for teachers in the classroom.
If putting a desk for the teacher in the classroom is inevitable, consider pushing the desk up against the wall. By doing this, children will have extra square footage in the room. You may have more space to organize some activities in the classroom too. Things can start to transform in your classroom.
Upgrade Your Kindergarten Classroom #3 – Create Spaces For Collaboration
Image Credit: Susan Jones Teaching
In this 21st century, the demand for education can differ from before and maybe even more. Arranging desks in rows is fine, as you will need to feed information to the children. But you can have flexible seating options, pushing the desk up to the wall and having space for collaboration. Or maybe arrange some space at the back of the desk for collaboration if you have any.
Children nowadays need more than just facts from the textbook. They will need to communicate well with each other and work together to solve problems. You will need that space for them to work out. So when you are updating your kindergarten classroom, you will want to rethink the design and find ways to create more collaborative spaces.
Upgrade Your Kindergarten Classroom #4 – Create Spaces For Creation
Children’s imagination has no limit, and you should update your kindergarten classroom, so they have space for sketching, building, making, and prototyping. You would need a clear surface and centers where children can access different types of materials, not just the typical school supplies.
Don’t just provide markers, glue, and scissors, as it may limit the creation of children. You can add some cardboard or lo-fi prototype to allow the children to create things using their imagination.
One thing you need to bear in mind is that you may need some space to store work that is in progress. Children may be unable to finish things in 30 minutes when creating one. So you will need a place to store them or put them aside till the next section.
Upgrade Your Kindergarten Classroom #5 – Create Spaces For Quiet
Everyone can be stressed out, even children. They can be stressed out with their family life or can’t cope with school and may need quiet moments. You want to create a learning environment that can be safe, caring, and trauma-informed.
When upgrading your kindergarten classroom, you want to care for the children and take care of their needs so that they can focus on their learning. You can create a space where children can reframe and rethink. The space should be able to validate introverts, reflection, and decompression. If you can’t meet the children’s needs, they will find their way to get a quiet space.
Setting aside a quiet space in a crowded classroom can be challenging. Pulling a portable whiteboard and pulling over into the space that blocks someone off, or getting a comfortable bean bag and placing it behind a bookcase. It doesn’t need to be a huge space but leaving them alone to let them quiet down.
Children will learn more if they are comfortable in a space, or it will affect their learning status. Upgrading your kindergarten design doesn’t need a huge budget, and you can make do with your current furniture and rearrange it. Or you get furniture that isn’t expensive.
Speak with The Experts
Planning to get started at your kindergarten but have no idea about it?
Childcare Center Renovation Singapore is a reliable company for renovation and interior design. They have about ten years of experience in this field and have a good reputation among customers.
Call us now to get your desired kindergarten design ideas now!
