The Yellow Room
Yellow Classroom Environment
- Entryway with cubbies for children and informative bulletin boards for parents.
- Carpeted area with a table for art and manipulatives.
- Dramatic play area with a wooden playhouse, small table and chairs, and dress-up cabinet.
- Play structure for gross motor development, which includes a slide, a tunnel, stairs and a ramp.
- Reading area with a low bookshelf, pillows and a couch.
- Open shelving with easy access to materials.
- Tiled area with easels and sand or water table.
- Private bathroom area and changing tables to support children's needs with potty training.
Emerging Developmental Skills
- Helping the children develop positive self-esteem is a priority
- Social skills
- Language Development
- We use American Sign Language and words/books from the children's home languages in addition to English
- Fine motor development
- Gross motor development
Educational Philosophy
We believe children learn through play, as well through interaction with peers and significant adults. Our curriculum builds on the children's interests. Teachers use many different strategies to sustain and expand the children's interests.
Example of a Curriculum Project:
The children became very curious about pumpkins after noticing them in the neighborhood on one of our walks. Parents and teachers brought pumpkins and gourds into the classroom for the children to explore as their interests dictated. They started by touching the pumpkins, then lifted (with teacher help if needed), rolled, stacked, carried, and pushed them in carts. The children brought smaller pumpkins and gourds to the sandbox to interact with them in a different way. As the pumpkins grew soft, children were able to poke through them. After the children had explored the pumpkins on their own, a teacher cut pumpkins open for the children to explore. Children touched the insides and scooped out the seeds. When children had difficulty reaching inside, teachers cut the pumpkins into pieces. The children were introduced to knives for cutting and forks for poking. Pieces of the pumpkin were placed into the water tank where children could observe their sinking and floating properties. After some time, the gourds began to dry out and teachers pointed out to children how they could hear some of the seeds shaking inside. Red and yellow paint were put out to facilitate the discovery of orange. Orange play dough was introduced to enable children to create their own pumpkins, if desired. These activities provided a wonderful framework for vocabulary development.
