I am super excited to have a guest blogger this week to share her knowledge about the naturally inspired classroom. This can be for the traditional or homeschool rooms. Please help me welcome Tina with Teach the TK way to Nolan’s Notebook.
WHY CREATE A NATURALLY INSPIRED CLASSROOM?
Why create natural classroom environments you ask? Brain research tells us that color affects our physiology, impacts anxiety, and affects pulse and blood flow. Natural classrooms are spaces that allow students to regulate their feelings, emotions, and sense of learning more easily. Hello friends, I am Tina from Teach The TK Way, and I am here to share my journey of creating a natural classroom environment with each of you.
Think about how certain colors make you feel…
Red, yellow and orange tend to invoke a sense of urgency and can create feelings of high energy and anxiousness in some people. While the colors blue, green and tan calms the heart and mind making us think of the ocean and relaxing by the pool. Blue hues have also been linked to creativity and imagination, both necessary skills in today’s classroom environment.
Natural classroom spaces have begun to fill our Instagram feeds and Pinterest accounts, encouraging teachers around the world to embark on inspired journeys. Natural classrooms encourage open spaces; on walls, on shelves, and most important spaces to fill with authentic learning. Natural classrooms can take on a few different styles but have a few things in common.
NATURAL CLASSROOMS ARE NEUTRAL IN COLOR
Gone are the days of rainbow-colored table tops, multi-colored organizing bins and commercially created bulletin board cutouts. Instead, the walls of today’s natural classrooms are painted with neutral colors, covered in organic fabrics (sprayed with flame retardant spray -to appease local fire ordinances) and reminiscent of nature. Brick, stone, and wood are updated forms of wall covering. In my first classroom, I remember covering the concrete stone wall with red, yellow and blue bulletin paper in an effort to HIDE the clean white wall. (SMH) When we know better we do better!
This is not to say that there are not fabulous teachers achieving greatness in rainbow-colored rooms around the world. Far from it- This is a way to encourage teachers to look at ALL the research and decide what works best for them and their students.
I was already on the natural classroom journey, but unaware of how much work I really had to do. Imagine 47 colors coming at you from all angles and then a teacher asking you to focus. That is exactly what was happening in my traditional classroom.
NATURAL CLASSROOMS DO NOT HAVE TO BE EXPENSIVE TO ACHIEVE
Personally, I was spending 60+ hours in my space, as a teacher and program director. I needed an environmental change that allowed me to breathe and stay focused on my duties. I began researching methodologies and best practices. It was during this time I came across a few approaches to student learning that appealed to me. Reggio, Montessori, and Waldorf are all close to my heart, and if I were, to be honest, my classroom is reminiscent of each.
Back to my original room: When I started in my program all of my bins and cubby areas were color-coded by group. Red, Blue and Yellow bins, containers, baskets, and tabletops scattered around the room. I thought it made it so easy for students to find the “yellow table”. Little did I know that a single table would elevate the room to an almost unbearable decibel. Then I would spend most of the morning trying to bring the students back down to a space of learning.
It took 3 years to make a total transformation. I started simply by changing out my containers. Evolving into transforming floors and walls as well. What I achieved was a space I can truly call home. A place where parents, admin, and guests can literally walk in, take a deep breath and think- I am home!
You can read more about my natural classroom transformation and outdoor classroom design here.
If you want to know more about how to achieve a natural classroom of your own you can download your FREE copy of my MASTER GUIDE TO THE NATURAL CLASSROOM here.
Tina @TeachTheTKWay