How to Arrange a Preschool Classroom

Creating an inviting and comfortable space for a preschool classroom is very important. With some planning and preparation, you can easily arrange your classroom that works for you and your children. Creating a center-based preschool classroom is a popular way to organize the classroom. This allows the children to use a variety of materials and to rotate through different areas of the classroom. You can also rotate the materials available in the centers to provide different educational experiences for the children throughout the school year.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Classroom
• Items for centers
• Books
• Cabinets
• Art supplies

1. Set up an area for each child to store their belongings, such as coats, lunches and backpacks. It helps each child feel like they belong in the class if they have their own space. Put this space near the door to allow the children to easily put up their belongs when they arrive.

2. Decorate the walls with interesting posters and educational bulletin boards. Be sure to include numbers, alphabets and color posters on the wall. Plan to rotate the decorations throughout the year based on the seasons and what the class is studying. Leave space to hang up artwork created by the children.

3. Create an area for circle time. This area should be on a carpet surface and should have enough room for the entire class to sit comfortably. Sit upons or carpet squares are often good additions for a circle time area because they help the child stay seated.

4. Set up an arts and crafts area. This area should have a floor that is easy to clean up and have tables to work at. There should also be adequate storage area for supplies and a space for artwork to dry, such as a drying rack or additional table. It is helpful to have a sink in this area for easy cleanup.

5. Make a reading corner. Provide a bookshelf that is low enough for children to access all shelves and stock them with favorite preschool books. Be sure to have pillows or comfy chairs.

6. Set up several centers throughout the room. Provide enough space and materials at each center so two to three children can work at a center. Some common centers are music, dramatic play, science, math/manipulative, building and housekeeping. Music centers can contain headphones and CD's for children to listen to music. Provide dress up clothes and accessories at the dramatic play center. Legos, building blocks, and Kapla blocks are popular choices for a building center. A housekeeping center can include a play kitchen, shopping carts and pretend cleaning supplies. The science center can include magnifying glasses to look at items such as rocks, leaves and other collectibles. Put items to count, number cards, linking cubes and pattern blocks in the math center. Be sure to provide storage containers and hooks so that the children can help clean up the centers.

Tips & Warnings

• Be sure to have a phone in your room or dedicated cell phone to use in case of emergency. Write the preschool address on the phone so that you can quickly provide the information to emergency personnel.
• You can make sit upons for circle time by using placemats purchased from a dollar store.
• Post allergy information in a prominent place in the classroom. If any children have epi-pens in case of allergic reactions, be sure to keep those readily available.

Resources

• Sample layout of preschool classroom

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