Preparing the classroom before the children arrive

The week before children arrive is your best chance to set up the prepared environment the way you want it to work all year. Work through it shelf by shelf, checking order, child-height access and which materials to hold back until later in the year.

Before you start, get down to the height of the youngest child in your class. Kneel or sit on a low chair. Most of what goes wrong in a classroom setup is visible only from there: a shelf label that's too high, a mirror that shows only the top of a head, a hook behind a door.

Start with the room, then the shelves

Stand in the doorway and look at the whole room before you touch a tray.

• Can a child see where to go first? The coat hooks and shoe area should be the first thing a child reaches.
• Are walkways wide enough for a child carrying a tray or rolling a rug?
• Is there open floor space for rug work, away from the main path?
• Does each area of the room have a clear edge, so a child can tell practical life from sensorial from math?
• Are the windows, plants and pets at a height where a child can tend them?

Then remove anything the children won't use in the first month. Extra furniture, stacked bins and adult supplies make the room harder to read.

Shelf by shelf: order and access

Go to each shelf and work through this list. Move left to right and top to bottom, the same way you'll present materials.

Order

• Each material has its own place, and nothing sits on top of anything else.
• Materials run from simplest on the left to most complex on the right.
• Every tray holds everything the child needs to finish the work: the sponge for the spill, the cloth for drying, the right number of pieces.
• Pieces are counted and complete. A puzzle with one missing piece goes in the repair box.
• There is space between items.

Access

• A child can lift every tray from the shelf without moving another item.
• The heaviest materials are on the lowest shelves.
• Glass and breakable items sit where a child can carry them with two hands and walk a short distance to a table.
• Pitchers are small enough for the smallest hands and fill to a line the child can see.
• Cleaning supplies, such as a dustpan, a small broom and cloths, hang on low hooks near where spills happen.

Condition

• Wood is clean and smooth, with no splinters.
• Fabric is washed and ironed.
• Nothing is chipped, cracked or faded.

Spend the most time on practical life. In the first weeks, it's where new children spend the bulk of their work cycle, and they'll take their cue from how cared-for it looks.

What to hold back for later

A full classroom on the first day overwhelms new children and leaves returning children nothing new to look forward to. Plan to start with fewer materials and add them over the first weeks as you give lessons.

Use these questions to decide what stays in the cupboard:

1. Have I presented this yet to anyone in the room? New children need a lesson before they take out a material. If no one has had the lesson, the material can wait.
2. Does it have many small pieces? Hold back the bead materials, the movable alphabet and the cylinder blocks with many parts until the class has settled and children know how to return work.
3. Does it need a skill the children don't have yet? Cutting, sewing and food preparation need careful handling of tools. Start with pouring and spooning, then add them.
4. Is it seasonal? Save autumn leaves, harvest work and cultural materials for when they fit the calendar.
5. Will returning children want something new in October? Keep a few favorites in reserve so you can bring them out after the first month.

A simple rule many guides use is to start each area with its first few materials, then add one or two items a week as lessons go out. Keep a card inside the cupboard door listing what's waiting.

The last check before the first morning

The day before school starts, do one more pass.

• Sit on each chair and check that feet reach the floor.
• Check the bathroom: step stool in place, soap within reach, towels at child height.
• Put out name labels on hooks and cubbies.
• Set the snack table with exactly what the children will need.
• Walk the room once as a new child would, from the door to the hooks to the first shelf, and fix anything that slows you down.