Hello and welcome to another episode of Blooming
Curious. This is the fourth episode in our Getting
Started series, so if you're in your first few
years of teaching or you're new to home school
education, or even if you're a seasoned pro looking
for some new inspiration insights, this is for
you. Today we'll be exploring how both classroom
and home -based early childhood educators can
set up an inspiring learning environment indoors,
which will definitely give you some food for
thought as you go about setting up your classroom
or your learning space for this new term. a podcast
that's all about nurturing that natural curiosity
in our earliest kids and students. I'm Edwina,
your host from the Ed's Lessons blog, a passionate
advocate for play and inquiry and on a mission
to keep children curious and questioning. The
days of talk and chalk are over. We're diving
into the world of integrated inquiry and nature
based learning and exploring the strategies that
create lifelong learners. So if you're a classroom
or homeschool educator, or even a curious parent,
then this is the place for you. Early childhood
is a critical time for development, and the environment
plays a vital role in shaping a child's experiences.
In fact, in Reggio Emilia settings, the environment
is known as the third teacher. So creating a
space that sparks curiosity and inquiry is crucial.
As educators, we want to be creating an environment
that not only fosters a love of learning, but
also helps in the cognitive, creative, and physical
development of children. So before you begin
frantically putting up those posters and the
word walls and filling up that space, I urge
you to take a moment and just consider this.
What does curiosity look like? Our classrooms
are not social media opportunities. They are
opportunities to provoke curiosity in our students.
So how do we do that? The first thing I think
that we need to consider is our physical environment.
I mean, have you ever walked into a space that
feels overwhelming? Perhaps there's a multitude
of bright primary colors or it's crammed so full
that anyone using the space will feel so overwhelmed
that they wouldn't even have an idea where to
look or go first. And that's the kind of thing
we as educators need to be cognisant of when
we're creating these learning spaces for our
learners. Let's consider colour, for example.
The psychology of colour is pretty powerful.
Certain colors can make us feel energized, sad,
calm and even hungry. The colors you choose play
a significant role in creating a calm atmosphere
conducive to learning. So soft natural colors
like soft blues and greens and earth tones are
known to promote calmness and focus. Just think
about what nature looks like and those are the
colors that really we want to bring into our
classrooms so that children feel as almost though
they are in nature those are the colors that
are naturally calming to us as humans there's
obviously nothing you can do as a teacher when
you enter a classroom and your boards the notice
boards that are already up are bright purple
and red but usually we teachers go and spend
a fortune and cover these boards with fabric
now Hessian or burlap has always been my go -to
choice as it's a great neutral backdrop for displaying
children's work or for a wonder wall. Believe
it or not, but black notice boards also provide
a great neutral backdrop and really make whatever
you put on them pop. I think it's worth considering
that it's children's work and wanderings that
should be displayed along with some anchor charts
as the weeks and months progress. So don't be
afraid of children walking in on their first
day and finding blank walls. These blank walls
are actually opportunities for getting students
involved in what goes on to those walls, and
we're talking about student agency in just a
little while. But most importantly, as you go
about setting up your space in the next week
or so, just keep things simple. So now once you've
got your colors on your walls sorted, You need
to decide on the different learning zones in
the space. You'll need a cosy reading nook, places
designed for play, and organised spaces. An organised
environment promotes a sense of order and helps
children develop executive function skills such
as organisation and self -regulation. Children
are just learning to organise themselves and
their belongings, so they need a calm and well
organised space to do that. And if you have neurodivergent
students, lots of clutter and bright colors is
really not going to benefit them or their learning.
So really think about and plan for calm, inviting
spaces that are well organized. Students should
know exactly where everything goes and also set
the expectation early for keeping things orderly.
For example, at the end of the day or when they've
completed an activity, you can even have photographs
of what a space should. look like so that children
can reset the space themselves. We need to model
and teach children how to use the equipment and
materials and how to tidy up once they have finished.
You probably need to model and reteach these
procedures several times and children will need
regular reminders. Don't think that just because
you've done it on day one or day two, they're
going to remember this for, you know, day one
term four. So you will need to remind them regularly
about what the space should look like and also
remind us that it's a shared space so teaching
you know that comes with respect it's a shared
space for everyone to use so what does that look
like what does respect look like how should we
keep the place that others can enjoy it too and
just a remark here again when it comes to play
it's obviously going to be and it can be messy
and sometimes if you're a bit of a neat freak
you have to learn to turn a blind eye and live
with it in the construction and block area for
example, sometimes kids want to keep their construction
up and add to it later or the next day. So create
a way for them to do that, perhaps they can put
up a sign like work in progress which will allow
them to return to that project or perhaps let
them take a photo of their construction or whatever
they've made with an iPad and then tidy up and
then perhaps this photo can become a provocation
for a story or a technology project. There's
a great book called Inspiring Play Spaces which
I'll link to in the show notes as well as to
my Pinterest folder where you can browse around
images of inspirational play spaces that really
spark curiosity in children. I've collected these
for my own inspiration for my classrooms in the
past. Now let's get back to executive function
skills. An organized space and a teacher. contributes
significantly to the development of executive
function skills in young children. We as the
adults have to model organisational habits. We've
got to teach children to clean up after themselves
and provide visual cues for routines. Consistent
practice of these habits will help children develop
skills like time management, planning and impulse
control. These habits help children navigate
what is becoming an increasingly busy and sometimes
chaotic life for many of our students. So now
you have your place set up. Let's talk about
the kind of materials you're going to include
in those spaces. We want to promote curiosity
and inquiry for children to be curious and thinking
individuals. So the materials we provide must
foster curiosity and exploration. Things like
trucks and dolls have a place in any play space.
But they are not open -ended, they can only be
dolls and trucks. Open -ended materials, on the
other hand, are only limited by the child's imagination.
Building blocks of all types, that includes Lego
or Duplo. You can even get wood -off cuts or
go to your local building supply store and just
get some wood and chop it up yourself if you
need to. Art supplies, objects from nature like
plain old sticks or even pebbles and pieces of
fabric. all allow for a wide range of possibilities.
We need to keep the environment fresh and interesting
so rotating those materials regularly is key
to sustaining children's curiosity and encouraging
creative thinking and problem solving. So definitely
include some open -ended materials wherever you
can and that includes loose parts. And I'll be
having a chat with a loose parts expert in an
upcoming episode, so be sure to subscribe and
follow so that you are notified of new episodes
and so that you don't miss out on that chat.
Now let's think about provocations for inquiry.
These are intentional setups. I'm going to say
it again. These are intentional setups that encourage
children to explore, question and investigate.
Think of them as invitations to learn. Simple.
yet thought -provoking activities, or displays,
like a nature -inspired table, perhaps with drawing
paper, pencils and books on the topic that supplements
the objects on display, or an art station with
open -ended materials, or even a simple tray
or shelf, with objects beautifully displayed,
inviting children to touch and explore, and of
course always with pictures or books related
to the topic, which encourages reading and finding
out. serve as provocations that encourage independent
inquiry and nurture a love of learning. Now provocations
should of course be intentional, there's that
word again, and a great place to start with is
your humanities and social sciences topic or
science. Think about what you're going to be
teaching this term and then find objects that
link to that topic. So for example, let's say
you're teaching forces. that's push and pull
so you get things on wheels you can stick in
some ramps bubble wrap and sandpaper to place
on those ramps to demonstrate friction for example
what about a yo -yo a ball some pool toys and
so much more I remember teaching this unit in
pre -primary some years ago and children became
interested in the ways fish move through water
and suddenly one of the children remarked that
whales and dolphins push themselves out of the
water and that led to an inquiry project on how
different tail shapes of sea animals allow them
to move in different ways. So although it was
still experimenting with push and pull we had
this whole side inquiry project going on with
children even creating What else are fish? Were
the tails attached with pushpins so that they
could demonstrate the way the creature moved
and how the tail pushed the whales to the surface,
for example? It's these kind of moments that
make learning and teaching interesting. Not only
for teachers, by the way, but especially for
our students. So don't be afraid to embrace those
moments that lead to rich learning experiences.
For some creative ideas and provocations there's
a book by Margaret Longstaff. Also remember that
just a simple walk in nature or browsing around
a secondhand shop are great options for finding
interesting and affordable objects that provoke
curiosity and inquiry. I'll post a link to the
book in the show notes. We will be discussing
provocations in future episodes, so again make
sure you subscribe so you don't miss out on that.
And if you're in your first few years of teaching,
or you're new to home education, or perhaps you're
a seasoned teacher who wants some guidance in
how to integrate inquiry into everyday lessons
using provocations, then I have a great little
e -guide especially for you. Go to resources
.edslesons .com forward slash inquiry101 and
get it there. for easy step -by -step instructions
for integrating inquiry into your curriculum
lessons. Now finally, let's discuss how we promote
children's agency in the learning environment.
We all want to be seen and heard, don't we? Every
person on the planet smiles when their talents
and strengths are appreciated and noticed. As
educators, we must allow children to make choices
about the space and materials, create areas where
they can display their work, or contribute to
the design of the learning environment. I mentioned
earlier about not worrying about filling up your
walls for the first day. Well, your first day
could be a great opportunity to share with students
that blank wall and that it is for their wanderings
and ideas, for example. Take a picture of each
child and then place a thought bubble over their
head and that's where their thoughts go that
you can spend the next few weeks exploring. And
of course later on during the term and during
the year you could exchange those thought bubbles
for their new thoughts and ideas. So by giving
them a sense of agency we empower children to
take an active role in their own learning journey.
As educators, we need to get away from displaying
those 25 identical yellow duck crafts. We need
to start thinking about how we give children
agency over their work. Perhaps children can
decide on their own water bird. Or perhaps they
can all create ducks but we give them the option
of different materials. If you were creating
ducks because you're exploring the letter D,
for example, can't they come up with their own
something or other that starts with the letter
D? And some may want to use water paints, some
may want to do pencil drawings, and some may
want to create a collage. And so if we allow
children that even if you want them all to paint
ducks but they use a different material, for
example, we're now seeing true individualisation
and agency. And isn't that more interesting for
everyone, including the environment? Isn't this
type of display going to act as a provocation
in itself? One where we can have discussions
around art materials and inspiration and the
choices they made. You know, I want to alert
you to this little story written by Helen Buckley
and it's called The Little Boy. It's just two
pages long, but it's all about the effect. that
a lack of agency has on a young child's creativity.
I really urge you to read it. It'll really make
you think and it'll make you truly consider the
way you ask children to tackle tasks. I'll place
a link in the show notes for you, so make sure
you look at that. I think you'll find it to be
a really special eye -opener. Now, as we wrap
up, here are a few practical things for creating
an inspiring indoor learning environment that
I want to leave you with. Number one, involve
children in the setup process and promote their
agency to foster a sense of ownership. Number
two, observe and adapt your environment based
on their interests and your has and science topic.
Number three, remember that the learning environment
is dynamic. So don't leave up the same display
for a whole term or a whole year. It changes
with your topics and it changes with children's
interests. And last, keep things calm and simple.
Don't overdo things. Don't fill the space with
all your beloved belongings. Remember, this is
a space for the children. So that includes today's
episode of Blooming Curious. I hope you found
these insights helpful as you work towards creating
inspiring indoor space for your youngest learners.
I want to conclude by quoting Jess Vance, a thought
leader in the field of inquiry learning for you
as you prepare your learning space. Set an intention
to be rooted in curiosity. I'm going to repeat
that. Set an intention to be rooted in curiosity.
So remember that your space is intentional. So
if you like this type of content could I ask
you to subscribe and leave a review? This is
the only way this podcast will grow and get in
front of other educators. So if you tap on those
three dots on the episode and then tap on go
to show scroll all the way down and you'll see
where it says write a review that's where you
go to do just that. I thank you in advance and
I really appreciate you showing up and being
here. So until next week, stay blooming curious.