Overview

Imagine you are visiting a preschool classroom at a child care center that serves children birth through five years. You arrive at 8:30 am, and someone in the office tells you to go down the hall to the classroom labeled “Rainbows.” As you walk down the corridor, you notice there is nothing on the walls and you hear adult voices, some of which sound stressed or in a hurry.

At the preschool classroom, you see some children sitting on a large rug, some playing with toys, and three children who are with adults dropping them off at the center. One teacher is sitting with the children on the rug and looking around the room, periodically calling children’s names to put the toys down and join their friends on the rug. Another teacher is at a table and appears to be setting up a painting activity. No one seems to notice you are there. The children who are being dropped off find a place to hang up their coats and put their belongings, however one is crying and saying “Mommy, don’t go. I don’t want you to leave.” You hear the teacher setting up the activity say: “The art project is set up. Let’s skip circle time.” The teacher on the rug looks confused and comments: “But I have a story picked out.”

As you are standing in the entrance trying to figure out what to do, you look around. There is a bulletin board labeled “Parent Information” with outdated flyers. You also see a poster labeled “Daily Schedule” with “Center Time” listed from 8:30-9:00.

In the room you see bulletin boards with what appears to be sun-faded cartoon-type of pictures, each with a border that does not match the items on the board. You see two paintings that appear to be done by children, both of which have corners bent and are hung crookedly under the bulletin boards. The furniture is child-sized and with shelves lining the walls. Some have material over the shelf so you cannot see what is on the shelf.

The air is stuffy and smells stale. Some children leave the rug and go to the art project. Two of the children in the entryway finished putting away their belongings, said goodbye to the adult dropping them off, and are looking into the classroom. The other is still crying. The mother says, “I am sorry, I need to go to work now. I will be back this afternoon and we can go to the park.” As the mother walks out the door, the child cries a little louder, but no one seems to notice.

How would you feel in this environment? How do you think the children feel? Think about the teachers—what are their feelings and thoughts about their working environment and supporting young children’s development? In Chapter 8 you will read about how the ECE classroom is designed to support children’s learning and is welcoming for all of those who use it.

Attributions

1. Chapter opening image: USACE, K-Town community celebrate opening of child care facility by U.S. Army Corp of Engineers Europe District is released under CC BY 2.0