Away with the decorations—the room as the "third educator"
In Reggio pedagogy, parents and early childhood educators view the space as a third educator. In an article for the magazine “Meine Kita,” Gottfried Schilling describes what early childhood education spaces should offer in order to fulfill this role.
Early childhood education spaces must meet four essential requirements, writes the educational space expert:
- They should provide orientation,
- enable focused play,
- be inspiring and adaptable, and
- offer a feel-good atmosphere
The article succinctly describes what can help meet these requirements. The text provides initial insights into spatial design issues and highlights the complexity of the topic. After all, “educational spaces are pedagogy in 3D,” as the author writes.
For the headline “Down with the Decor!” the publisher drew inspiration from the tip that concludes the article. In it, Gottfried Schilling suggests doing away with decorative items that serve no purpose. “Daycare rooms should contain only what children need for their play,” he writes. Because too many visual stimuli overwhelm children and make it harder for them to orient themselves.
You can read the article “Down with the Decor!” from Meine Kita (Issue 4/2022), pages 18–19, here: