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Your Classroom Then and Now

Back in July I wrote ablog called : Classroom Sights Do Too Many Colors Overstimulate Children. I showed you a "calm"

and a "not so calm" view of the inside of a classroom. I have since been wondering through schools looking at different ways teacher's approach the "interior design" of their rooms. I have picked up a few tips to pass along:

-Keep Your Walls Calm. Information is good, but keep it simple and change it frequently.

-Use Your Lighting Appropriately. Bright lights can be good during more activeparticipation, but create havoc during reading or writing or group work. Tryhalogen lights for times when you need more calm and turn off the overheadlights.

-Arrange Your Desks Thoughtfully. How are the children facing? You or the backwall? Can they see the board? Can they see you? Do they have space for theirthings or to move without kicking someone?

-Where Do The Sounds Come From? Are there humming noises? Loud sounds outsidethe door? Can you use a little Mozart in the background to calm things down? Isthe room carpeted or do the chairs scratch and make noise every time they aremoved? Try putting tennis balls on the bottoms of the chairs. A parent can workon a collection for you. Just make a slice in each ball and wal-la! You have quietchairs with just a little bounce

-Do You Have a Quiet Space? Kids need a place to sit, relax and regroup. A fewbeanbags or pillows can do the trick.

These are just a few suggestions. So check in on your classroom and see if youcan implement 1 or 2 to make your room sensory sensitive. How are you doing?

Tags: Classroom Organization, Sensory processing

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Comment by baozulin on November 11, 2010 at 8:46pm: This is very usefull! Yes, Kids need a place to sit, relax and regroup!
Thank you for your message here!
bao

Comment by Sue Wilkinson on November 11, 2010 at 4:14pm: I love how you are allowing variations for each students sensory needs. Cool!

Comment by Joan Green on November 9, 2010 at 1:09pm: I agree. The classroom environment should be interesting, but not overwhelming. I am starting another new business, a tutoring center for children with special needs. When picking the paint colors I thought of the students I have had in the past. What would be calming to some and invigorating to others? I picked "Lily Pad Green" for calming on two connecting walls and "Buttercup Yellow" on the other two walls to energize. The work center is arranged so that the student will face the wall that is most helpful to them at the time. I also incorporate music into the mix by having a choice of no music at all, to soft ocean melodies, to disco depending on the needs and mood of the student at the time. Movement activities need to be intermixed with sedentary tasks. Ten minutes of table time can be broken up with five minutes of movement to music. Utilizing natural light from the windows is helpful as well as turning off the lights and plugging in small white Christmas lights to create a calm yet festive feeling. These small and simple environmental considerations can, at times, make a world of difference to children with special needs. What does your classroom look like and how can you easily modify it to create the best working environment for your students?