Which one provides clear dividing lines between activity areas?

Which one provides clear dividing lines between activity areas?

Floor Plans
These two spaces represent contrasting approaches to design, one which encourages running indoors (Room A) and the other (Room B) with distinct pathways to direct children’s movements.

Figure: Two floor plans. Room A, on the left, is a very open space with tables, shelves and easels lined up against walls to create a large open space in the middle of the room. Room B, on the right, uses shelves to define distinct spaces and limit the amount of open space to confined areas.

Sensitivity to Physical Features

Teachers should be aware of the major permanent features of the physical space and use common sense to arrange furniture and equipment accordingly. These features include the location of electrical outlets, doors, natural and artificial light and windows, access to water, and built-in storage spaces.

Potentially messy activity areas such as art, science, and sand/water stations should be located as close to the water source as possible and on a floor surface that can be mopped or cleaned easily. If there is no access to water in the classroom, then those areas should be close to the nearest exit to where water is located. Activities that require electrical power, such as a listening center with a plug-in tape recording/headphone station, should be adjacent to an outlet, limiting the need for extension cords.

Furniture or learning center placement should complement usage, such as storage cubbies for childrens personal belongings/outerwear adjacent to the classroom entrance, open shelving for blocks, and individual containers or small trays for implements such as crayons, glue sticks, or scissors.

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