A great preschool is centered around dedicated teachers and administrators who create a healthy, holistic and nurturing environment where learning happens naturally and spontaneously. Creating that environment requires furniture that can support the constantly evolving concepts in preschool education, while also encouraging instinctual learning. Children spend a significant amount of time in a classroom setting, so it’s important that the classroom environment encourage comfort as well as academic growth. With this in mind, UniversityFC is proud to partner with Gryphon House publishing to provide teachers with resources that assist them with their classroom design.

Rethinking the Classroom Landscape: Creating environments that connect young children, families, and communities, by Sandra Duncan, EdD, Jody Martin, and Rebecca Kreth, focuses on developing classroom environments into reflective and meaningful areas that reinforce children’s sense of belonging in the classroom.

“We invite you to begin. Use this book as a starting point and a springboard to weave an environment vividly connecting children, adults, and their communities… let this book challenge you, make you question, and inspire you to refresh and rewind how you think about early childhood environments.” –an excerpt from Rethinking the Classroom Landscape

Inspiring Spaces for Young Children, by Jessica Deviney, Sandra Duncan, Sara Harris, Mary Ann Rody, and Lois Rosenberry, was compiled by a group of educators at the Children’s Discovery Center. Comparing the renovation of a classroom to nurturing a garden or natural environment, Inspiring Spaces for Young Children introduces seven principles of design to aid in the development and creation of thoughtful, innovative centers of learning.

“Creating an aesthetically pleasing environment requires thoughtful planning and the support of your learning community. You cannot achieve this type of environment by adding extra decorations and commercial displays to your classroom. Beautiful classrooms encompass so much more than simply including “beautiful things” in the room. Rather, you must consider the function and adaptability of the space and dynamic needs and interests of those who inhabit the space.”- an excerpt from Inspiring Spaces for Young Children