Question

How does the physical environment of an early care and education program influence the behavior of those using it?How can program staff plan to ensure everyone's safety during field trips?

Answer 1

Ans) The physical environment presents an immediate message of either belonging or exclusion.

- It can provide opportunities for success and mastery, or failure and boring repetition. It can
provide an arrangement of space and materials so that children can be independent, or it
can be set up where teachers are the “material brokers.”

- It can provide spaces and activities
for developing community, or be so noisy, crowded, and chaotic that this is impossible.

- The well-designed physical environment can support the Circle of Courage, helping
children to develop a sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity.

- When designed as the “third teacher” the environment is also less stressful for both adults and children, allowing teachers to spend more time in positive interactions with children.
Throughout this book, we will be examining ways to provide a physical environment that
supports the Circle of Courage.
- We can establish a positive social environment that leads to courage rather than discouragement through supporting the Circle of Courage in our classrooms.

- When we makedecisions about individual children, create changes in our environment, or adopt new curriculums, we can ask, “Will this assist the children to develop a sense of belonging, mastery, independence, and generosity?” When we reflect upon our interactions, we can ask, “Am I interacting with children in a way that lets them know they belong, they can achieve, they can make independent choices, and they can have and be a friend?” In establishing a Circle of Courage classroom, these and similar questions become our compass.