Different Approaches to Kindergarten Education

Abstract

In this study the impact of play space organization on the creativity of children it is described. Thought out carefully the dovetailing between the building and the education program not only the general atmosphere of a building for children by it spatial and function. So in this article, we will discuss how to develop the kindergarten benefiting the ability of children from 3-5 years old, to develop up their creativity and their social skills through communication with children in the same age rather than with adults by organizing the play space area with their needs. The main purpose of this study to examining the possible impact of the relations between the space organizations and playground on the children’s creativity and motivation. Then by study and analysis literature review and understanding many approaches used in some of the kindergartens in different countries and working with them we can improve the conditions of the physical environment in the play space area in kindergarten.

Introduction

Well-equipped kindergarten offers the perfect physical environment that supports children’s perception and creativity by providing both indoor and outdoor play space areas. In fact, kindergarten environments offering children a rich variety of incentive, using both indoors and outdoors. Especially carefully designed outdoor playing areas have proven to contribute to children’s physical health, mental development and social intelligence (Herrington, 2008).

Background

Kindergarten is an important period in early childhood improvement thus it is the first community before school and most of the children spend their daylight in kindergarten. Children (between three and five years old) learn new skills and improve them such as “experiencing broader social circumstances,” “an increase in language skills” and the “ability to control their behavior” (Brown, Isaacs, Krinke, Lechtenberg & Murtaugh, 2011:267).coordinated with the significance of kindergarten, not only taking on the correct processes for children’s evolution but the interior environment of kindergarten has an important role in supporting the processes (Trancik & Evans, 1995).

From studies in children’s demeanor, they found the impact of the physical environment in kindergarten on their behavior and how it is important for children’s to learn as people surrounding them in their daily life. As Nicholson (2005) points out, children discover the world through their senses. And the importance of interface the successful design for the play area space to give the child the opportunities to discover, develop and learn Dudek (2000). Due to this, designers should be apprehensive of children’s requirements, so they’ll be able to foster the suitable design elements in kindergarten and inspire children development and improve their perception.

The Problem Statement

Psychologists study early childhood and discover their behavior and imagination. While children perceive interior space more with its function rather than its level of the aesthetic by communication with the interior space more than the adults. Children actively are familiar with space, objects, surfaces, and materials (Rubinstein, 1973).Taking place through perception, exploration, meeting children creative and expressive their needs. The physical environment not only affects children’s perception, cognitive, aesthetic and creative but also informs their sense of autonomy and belonging to place (Montessori, 1969). Compatible with discussions above, fit out positive physical environment will increase the space aesthetic for children and improve their development. The problem for this research was defining the “design consideration of the physical environment in the play area in kindergarten to develop children exploration and creativity”.

The Aim of Study

The main aim of this research aims to categorize the main items that should be considered in designing the play space in kindergarten to lead children and increase their sense of space and design quality and examining the impact of the relation between the space organization and playground on their creativity and motivation. Besides the main aim, this study also determines the objectives below:

• Examine the children’s requirements in kindergartens.
• Examine the elements which express identity in playroom area in kindergarten.
• Examine the space organization which affects the identity in the playroom.
• Describe the main requirements which should be considered in the playroom.

Limitation

This study will only consider the Interior Space for 3-5 years old kids specifically in playroom area in kindergartens “Architecture and interior design consist of manipulation of many different interrelated elements including space, form, structure, light, texture, and color (Poore, 1994, p. 17)”. Modern kindergartens “support activities that encourage the children’s development” (Dudek, 1996, p. 17). Undertaking a study for all the approach is not an easy task, therefore choosing an approach is necessary for studying interior space of kindergartens. Due to the positive results of Reggio Emilia approach, this study will only discuss this approach and give some example of existing kindergarten using this approach.

Methodology

The literature related to the organization of kindergarten has been carefully reviewed and books and journal articles related to preschool education has been studied. Starting with understanding the kindergarten environment then the perception of children, Critical review of the social meaning of children’s spaces in kindergarten in order to assert spatial and functional features that support and encourage child’s creativity and develop their social skills. Literature regarding, for instance, child development towards an understanding of children’s perceptions, experiences, and behavior in relation to the built environment. And trying to find the way children understanding spaces or how they see themselves in a specific place or situation, in order to know their understanding of place.

Kindergarten Environment

The children attendance between ages 3 to 5 years old in pre-school program in higher percentage of coverage of early childhood education, the parents generally prefer to send their children to experience the world in fact it is a big change in their life which they can start to move towards independence in a larger world far from their house. Due to that, kindergarten has been the focus in the age category in kindergarten due to the strong tendency to involve in the social context and especially in this age they start to interact with their environment and develop their senses.

Kindergarten children get ready to start their life improvement and learn to interact with other children. They start identifying their action and the effect of their action on others and the environment. In fact, they start figuring out about the world which is much larger than their home. Kids in kindergarten start to create new methods of a letter and compare them with the ones they are familiar with (Schickedanz & Casbergue, 2009). This shows the beginning of estimate and differentiation in the child. Self-stimulating is a popular disposal for children’s in kindergarten. Children’s in 3-5 years old become ready for “knowledgeable” and “physical” motivation (Wana, 2010) and kids requirement an environment that gives them the best opportunities for exploration. Playing with objects is the main feature of kindergarten. Clarifying the effect of physical setting on children’s social life according to (Schickedanz & Casbergue, 2009, p.38) “The preschool years are noticeable for learning and developing”. Kids in kindergarten start recognizing himself (Wana, 2010). Without physical setting, there will not be any social setting for kids. Kids start to recognize the physical environment by recognizing their home as a physical setting, and then they start to come to recognizing and identifying other evocative places. “Children between 2 and 5 years old, build an individual personality through communicating with other people and with the physical environment (Weinstein & David, p.162)”.

The design of the interior space of the kindergarten should be parallel with the learning process in order to be able to support kid’s development, kindergarten education should suggestion high-quality learning methods. The high-quality educational method means “in addition to maintaining standards in basic structural features, are developmentally appropriate, meaning they employ teaching techniques and promote outcomes appropriate to the child’s stage of development and learning (Zigler, Gilliam & Jones, 2006, p. 248)”.

Perception of Children

Our movement, communication, temperature, and what we see (or cannot) are all products of our surrounding environment. Users expect the interior of their surroundings to be properly lit so as to afford them a clear view of it. They expect to be able to both feel and reorganize the interior furniture in such a manner that is interesting and comfortable for them (Lawson, 2001). The ability of a child’s brain to comprehend what her eyes are seeing is referred to as visual perception. The number of alternative innovation, thinking, and learning styles is near infinite, as are the various means of expression, which include: music, drawing, modeling, sculpting, acting, painting, dancing, amongst others. Each of these ‘languages’ of expression, despite their differences, need to be nurtured and developed, particularly in mid-childhood where children are genetically compelled to bond with nature and explore all that the world has to offer (Cobb, 1969). They perceive the world in a suggestive manner whereby only readily observed physical objects inform their logical reasoning. Consequently, they develop their understanding of the natural world primarily through play (Moore and Young, 1978), which stimulates their cognition, as well as their senses – olfactory, audio, sight, taste, and touch alike. Children’s tactile, literal, or direct contact with their surrounding environment affects them emotionally. Their cognitive ability allows them to play an active part in their development of understanding, causing them to discover particular realities about environmental concepts and objects (Greig and Taylor, 1999). As such, children are able to think logically and reach conclusions on the basis of information provided to them as a result of their active engagement with the environment (McDevitt and Ormrod, 2002). They are able to explore various elements of the environment through direct contact with it (Olds, 1989; Keller, 2002). This experience comprises the “process of developing and refining fundamental movement skills in a wide variety of stability, locomotors and manipulative movements” (Gallahue, 1993 pp. 39-40). Children are incentivized to bond with any built environment that makes them mentally responsive to external stimulation through social action and movement (Chawla, 1992; Khan, 2002).

Cognitive experiences concern activities that involve though and problem-solving; affective experiences refer to the emergence of emotion and feeling; and evaluative experiences concern the development of perspectives, beliefs, and values concerning the environment (Kellert, 2002). The most important activity for a preschool child is playing. The very act itself helps children understanding life as it stimulates their imagination and causes them to develop social skills, intelligence, their imagination, as well as physically. Children tend to act outside of their daily routing when playing and this tends to motivate their development (Oktay, 2001; Poyraz and dere, 2001; Singer and Singer, 1998). The aforementioned notions have been confirmed by a case study as, in answer to the question of where in school they preferred to play the most, 17% of the female respondents indicated the garden and the cellar each, and while the majority (66%) said they preferred the classroom. In contrast, the classroom was the preferred location for only 17% of the male respondents who tended to favor the cellar (50%). 25% of the male respondent claimed to prefer the garden and only 8% chose the gymnasium. These results lead to the conclusion that static games (e.g. family game) are preferred by girls, hence the classroom preference, while boys preferred surroundings more conducive to dynamic activity and movement.

Reggio Emilia Approach

Interpretation of Reggio Emilia Approach

The “Reggio Emilia approach” addresses the issue of buttressing the provision of highquality education for children the world over. The approach is grounded in a philosophy that emphasizes the role of the environment as “a valuable teacher if it is amiable, comfortable, pleasing, organized, clean, inviting and engaging” (Cadwell, 1997, p. 92). Arguably the most widely accepted aspect of the approach is the notion that children understand, and express their creativity and ideas in a variety of ways. A well-known name in the field of preschool education, the Reggio Emilio preschool was established in Italy in May, 1945; Loris Malaguzzi was instrumental for the school’s development. The women working at the schools, in an effort to defend the rights of children, based the school on the provision of child-care for working mothers, a novel idea at the time (Fraser and Gestwicki, 201). In his 1997 book “Bringing Reggio Emilia home”, Luise Boyd Cadwe outlines his efforts to understand the concepts underpinning the Emilia school during a visit to Italy. He shed light on the benefits of the school and found the excellence of its words, teachers, and materials to be its most outstanding characteristics. A wide range of materials, stored in shelves and open bins for ease of access, are provided to the children in a central and number of mini ateliers.

Following staff consultations with the architect-parents of two pupils, it was decided in 1993 that the school space be transferred to one better suited to its teaching methods. The transference was guided in part by the recommendations and needs identified by various teachers writing about the program (Cadwe, 1997). Various principles were central to shaping the Emilia pre-school concept: “the image of the child (full of ideas and rights), environment as a teacher, relationships (physically, socially, and intellectually), collaborations (teachers and children and parents), documentation (verbal and visual), flexibility (in plan and activities), creating transparency with using transparent materials and special lighting” (Fraser & Gestwicki, 2001, p.11). Lighting in particular, is key for the teaching methods used in the Emilia preschool.

Kindergarten in Guastalla Using Reggio Emilia Approach

Learning and play are not separated. The Reggio Emilia Approach emphasizes hands-on discovery learning that allows the child to use all their senses and all their languages to learn. MCA project is an idea to inspire children’s communication with the surrounding space according to a vision of “education”. Starting with the educational areas to choosing materials of the building, up to the incorporation between indoor and outside space. kindergarten by MCA including the shape of the interior, their organization, the choice of materials, all the sensory perceptions related to the light, the colors, the sounds, the tactile recommendations – are designed taking into account of the pedagogical and educational related to the growth of the child. The construction is made of natural materials with low environmental impact. So kids are ambitious to discover places that are complex and at the same time familiar, where they can develop abilities through special features of each and by that they are able to grow their creativity throw communicate with these features.

There’s no question as to the importance of playtime for children. The main goal when designing a play area is to inspire the children’s fantasy and imagination by making the space more attractive to them. To say the least playtime contributes to improving the way children learn about the world but most importantly about themselves, affecting both their independence and creativity. Play space has a crucial influence in this process. So what is it exactly that children friendly space should take into consideration? To begin with someone who is designing an environment for kids should never underestimate the power of surroundings to shape a human being, especially the young. Bearing this in mind, he/she ought to know that kids, unlike grownups, look at the whole first before they start paying attention to details. Taking this into consideration, the architect should emphasize the power of first impressions. Having established that, the designer should start considering the details relating to choice of color, texture, lighting, and furniture to say the least. All those details affect the level of simulation a child may exhibit. Both too much and too little stimulation may lead to undesirable results. The former for example, decreases concentration while the latter produces boredom.