I have been thinking a lot about the learning environment in my preschool program and if it’s time (as we come to the end of the year) to really re-examine it and alter it to see if it can better meet the needs of the children. In taking to a teacher recently, she had some feedback about the space and her instincts were similar to our initial instincts in how to set up the space – of course over time we actually modified our plan as we felt it wasn’t working. Now, perhaps our modifications aren’t working as well as we would like. I am thinking about this more and more because it would be good to take some time in between the end of the preschool year and summer camp to think it through more and see where the environment might actually be working against instead of for us.

This comes at the time when I am looking for a third site for the program and examining different options to figure out how to make it work while also considering taking on a larger commercial space in the future. While the prospect is exciting, it’s also overwhelming. It’s an opportunity to really start from scratch and design something from the beginning in the way that is aligned with best practice. On the other hand, if the last 3 years has taught me anything, it has taught be that what is written in books about the learning environment doesn’t always jive with what we experience in the classroom with our specific group. Additionally, what works perfectly in one setting may not work perfectly with us…