Designing  Learning  Spaces   Early  Years  Classroom  Design:  

Early Years Outdoor Design:

Written-­‐  Justification  of  Learning  Spaces    

Upon  planning,  researching  and  exploring  for  the  design  of  my  Early  Years  

Classroom,  I  grew  in  my  ambition  to  create  an  indoor  and  outdoor  space  for  

children  that  would  thoughtfully  and  creatively  endorse  an  enriched  learning  

environment.  The  Early  Years  Learning  Framework  for  Australia  (2009)  

describes  such  an  environment  as  flexible  and  welcoming,  with  aims  to  enrich  

the  lives  of  children  through  vibrant  and  supportive  learning  spaces.  It  also  aims  

to  be  responsive  to  the  needs  and  interests  of  children,  inviting  for  children  as  

well  as  families  to  raise  questions,  contribute  ideas  and  embrace  interests.    

 

In  particular,  I  have  been  inspired  and  informed  by  the  Cai  Guo-­‐Qiang  Exhibition  

for  kids  at  the  Gallery  of  Modern  Art  (GOMA),  and  the  innovative  approaches  to  

learning  GOMA  has  implemented  to  create  enriched  learning  spaces  for  children.  

While  my  design  is  not  a  replica  of  the  Cai  Guo-­‐Qiang  Exhibition  for  kids,  it  has  

been  inspired  by  the  exhibition,  as  well  as  relevant  literature  and  the  Reggio  

Emilia  approach  to  classrooms  for  a  Kindergarten.    

 

At  the  entrance  of  the  Kindergarten,  parents  and  children  are  lead  to  the  ‘Display  

Corner’.  Similar  to  the  Cai  Guo-­‐Qiang  Exhibition  for  kids,  the  ‘Display  Corner’  is  

an  area  where  children  have  their  work  displayed  upon  easels,  tables  and  walls.  

In  accordance  with  the  ‘Narration’  dimension,  this  includes  finished  or  

unfinished  work,  conversations,  ideas,  inquiry  questions,  thinking  processes,  and  

a  film  of  the  children  playing,  exploring  and  creating.  Bronwyn  (2011)  notes  that  

by  displaying  unfinished  work,  there  remains  a  commitment,  liveliness,  an  

invitation  for  a  child  or  parent  to  pause,  contemplate,  imagine  and  observe  the  

not  yet  known  and  thought  in  progress.  Regarding  the  space,  Ceppi  and  Zini  

(1998)  suggest  that  the  displayed  materials  create  the  presence  of  the  children  

despite  their  absence.    

 

To  the  left  of  the  ‘Display  Corner’,  I  have  created  the  ‘Listening  Mat’.  In  

accordance  with  the  Reggio  Emilia  philosophy,  research  suggests  that  listening  

holds  incredible  value  for  early  childhood  learning,  to  create  empathy,  bonding,  

respect,  to  abandon  self  in  order  to  gain  knowledge  and  create  internal  processes  

(Ceppi  &  Zini  1998;  Dahlbeg  &  Moss,  2005;  Davies,  2000;  Rinaldi,  2006).    Further  

to  the  left  I  have  created  the  ‘Living  Corner’,  demonstrating  ‘Osmosis’  a  dimension  

which  relates  the  school  to  the  outside  world  (Ceppi  &  Zini  1998).  The  ‘Living  

Corner’  includes  items  that  are  real  such  as  plates,  vases,  sofas,  flowers  and  

clothes.  Tarr  (2001)  notes  that  aspects  of  the  home  are  in  schools  to  provide  

contexts  of  meaning  and  visual  entities.      

 

Furthermore,  inspired  by  the  Cai-­‐Guo-­‐Qiang  Exhibition  which  had  long  desks  set  

in  the  middle  of  the  room  with  ipads  and  art  activities  for  children  to  choose  to  

engage  in,  I  have  created  a  space  where  children  can  engage  in  multimodal  

learning  experiences  as  well  as  a  communal  artistic  space.  The  ‘Multimodal  

Space’  offers  a  flexible  space  providing  the  ability  for  children  to  self-­‐learn  and  

choose  what  they  wish  to  engage  in,  which  caters  to  their  diverse  needs,  

interests  and  abilities  (Ceppi  &  Zini  1998;  Gandini,  2012).  The  ‘Creative  Space’  

offers  a  space  where  children  gather  to  create  with  recycled,  natural  and  

aesthetically  rich  materials  such  as  flowers,  wood,  stones,  feathers,  sticks,  shells,  

sand  to  promote  children’s  imagination,  a  sense  of  interest,  and  exploration  of  

the  open  ended  materials  (Gandini,  2012).  This  is  similar  to  the  ‘Construct  

Space’,  where  children  use  natural  materials  such  as  wood,  bricks,  cardboard,  to  

construct  and  build  large  entities  such  as  boats,  bridges  or  buildings.  Topal  and  

Gandini  (1999)  suggest  that  materials  are  often  used  as  expressions  of  the  child’s  

momentary  feelings,  and  through  restructuring  and  experimenting,  children  

modify,  transform,  adopt  and  observe  ideas  and  explorations  of  others,  which  

creates  meaningful  and  imaginative  learning  experiences  of  exploration.    

 

The  ‘Peaceful  Corner’  and  the  ‘Soft  Corner’  have  been  intentionally  created  in  

accordance  with  the  dimension  of  ‘Overall  Softness’  and  ‘Peace  and  Harmony’,  

which  provides  spaces  of  privacy,  peacefulness  and  pause,  while  retreating  to  a  

world  that  breaks  the  rules  and  ridged  routines  of  society  (Ceppi  &  Zini  1998).    

Similar  to  the  Cai  Guo-­‐Qiang  Exhibition  which  embraced  an  atmosphere  of  low  

ceilings,  soft  lighting,  community  and  peacefulness,  The  ‘Peaceful  Corner’  is  

made  up  of  cushions  a  fish  tank,  plants,  a  small  aquarium  and  Japanese  features  

such  as  a  door,  windows  and  lights.  The  ‘Soft  Corner’  has  abstract  elements  such  

as  white  hexagonal  cushions,  limited  windows,  curtains,  soft  blue  rugs,  giant  

books,  torches  to  read  and  a  light  table,  for  children  to  explore  the  concept  of  

lights  and  shadows.  This  multisensory  experience  provides  welcoming  and  

accepting  notions  of  discovery  and  identity  (Cadwell,  2003).    

 

 The  outdoor  Kindergarten  space  was  also  an  environment  in  which  I  took  much  

joy  in  creating.  Although  the  Cai  Guo-­‐Qiang  Exhibition  for  kids  did  not  display  

outdoor  learning  areas,  it  did  emphasise  the  activities  on  outdoor  elements  and  

materials  such  as  animals,  lakes,  trees,  rocks,  straw,  and  rocks.  Thus  I  have  

created  the  outdoor  environment  as  a  natural  unstructured  space,  where  

children  can  creatively  play  in  a  spacious  and  free  environment.    

 

The  Queensland  Kindergarten  Learning  Guidelines  (2010)  emphasise  the  

significance  of  children  spending  time  in  outdoor  environments  to  enhance  the  

use  of  natural  materials,  social  interaction  and  for  children  to  engage  in  familiar  

as  well  as  new  learning  environments.  In  my  design  I  have  created  a  corner  of  

the  outdoor  environment  with  numerous  tall,  thick  and  large  trees  for  children  

to  explore,  titled  ‘The  Woods’.  Galizio,  Stoll  &  Hutchins  (2009)  emphasize  the  

multiple  benefits  for  children  beyond  the  standard  playground.  This  includes  the  

development  of  physical  skills,  creative  play,  imaginative  play,  health  related  

benefits  and  motor  skill  development.  Additionally,  the  Scandinavian  approach  

to  outdoor  learning  environments  include  the  ‘Forest  Kindergartens’  where  

children  are  free  to  self-­‐learn,  explore  their  natural  surroundings,  utilize  solely  

natural  resources,  deepen  their  understanding  of  the  world  as  well  as  their  

awareness  of  their  natural  environment  (Neate,  2013)  

 

 I  have  also  created  a  ‘Water  Play’  area,  where  children  can  experiment  with  

water  as  a  source  of  life,  the  ecosystem,  and  for  aesthetic  purposes.  The  area  

includes  a  stream,  rocks,  water  plants,  a  well,  water  buckets,  a  log  and  a  

sprinkler.  Using  these  materials,  a  Reggio  Emilia  approach  is  that  children  are  

able  to  engage  in  child-­‐directed  inquiries  related  to  sunlight,  water  schedules,  life  

cycles  of  plants,  why  the  stream  is  high  one  day  and  lower  the  next,  rain,  insects  

and  water  as  a  source  of  life  (Clyde,  Miller,  Sauser  &  Liebert,  2006)  

 

 A  child-­‐directed  inquiry  may  also  be  conducted  in  the  ‘Green  Zone’,  which  

includes  a  vegetable  patch,  a  green  house,  a  worm  farm,  compost  bin  and  flower  

walls.  By  inquiring  into  such  natural  environments,  children  are  able  to  wonder,  

question  feel,  experiment  with  have  opened  ended  materials,  make  a  deeper  and  

wider  sense  of  their  environment,  and  experience  cognitive  process  in  

familiarising  with  new  concepts  (Gillespie,  2000;  Katz,  1998  &  Seidel,  2001).  

 

A  ‘Yarning  Circle’  is  also  available  for  children  to  engage  in  Indigenous  Australian  

cultural  experiences.  The  circle  is  made  by  the  gathering  of  logs  to  form  a  

communal  space.  Within  the  ‘Yarning  Circle’  children  may  engage  in  traditional  

indigenous  stories,  dances,  music,  conversation  and  art.  The  space  is  open  for  

family  and  members  of  the  indigenous  community  to  engage  with,  teach  and  

collaboratively  learn  with  children.  The  dimension  of  ‘Sense  of  Community’  is  

cultivated  through  child  interaction  between  peers,  adults,  families  and  teachers,  

where  children  feel  that  they  belong  and  a  sense  of  hierarchy  is  not  present  

(Ceppi  &  Zini,  1998).  Evident  in  the  ‘Yarning  Circle’  the  Reggio  Emilia  approach  

to  community  learning  is  of  children  and  their  relationship  with  others,  their  

history  and  their  societal  and  cultural  surroundings  as  well  as  learning  from  

others  (Rinaldi,  1993).    

 

In  conclusion,  the  design  of  my  early  years  Kindergarten  classroom  and  outdoor  

environment  has  been  inspired  and  informed  by  the  Cai  Guo-­‐Qiang  Exhibition  for  

Kids  at  GOMA,  extensive  research,  and  the  Reggio  Emilia  approach  to  indoor  and  

outdoor  physical  environments.  Through  thoughtful  and  informed  construction  

of  the  learning  environment,  atmosphere,  architecture,  materials,  resources  and  

natural  elements,  I  have  created  an  indoor  and  outdoor  space  that  encourages  

enriched  learning  experiences  through  the  promotion  of  a  child’s  exploration,  

inquiry,  imagination,  open  ended  learning  abilities,  diverse  needs  and  play.  Thus,  

through  the  thoughtful  creation  of  enriched  learning  spaces  with  emphasis  on  

relationship,  aesthetics,  pedagogy,  culture  and  constructive  learning  

opportunities,  I  will  continue  creating  and  promoting  positive  learning  spaces  for  

early  years  learning  environments  that  align  and  endorse  the  environment  as  the  

‘third  teacher’  (Stonehouse,  2011).      

 

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