There is a small sign at our preschool, titled “Messages In The Environment,” for adults to read, detailing the kind of environment we want to be presenting to children.

It states, “This a cheerful and happy place, You belong here, This is a place you can trust, You can do things on your own and be independent, You can get away and be by yourself when you need to, This is a safe place to explore and try out ideas, This is a place where your work is valued and appreciated.”

The environment is often referred to as the Third Teacher, with parents being the first, and teachers as the second. As early childhood teachers, we are constantly thinking of how every aspect of our environment might be affecting a child’s behavior or needs, and how we can affect changes. Creating opportunities for hands-on learning means the early childhood environment is continuously being adapted to allow for new experiences.

Young children have an “extraordinary hardwiring to be curious, to explore, to connect, to feel, and to solve — all of which are skills that predict the academic outcomes most adults want for their children,” (Erika Christakis in “The Importance of Being Little”). Children will do this anywhere and everywhere. It is one of the joys of teaching young children that we get to create environments, and routines, where we can foster this incredible drive to learn through play, social interactions, and teacher relationships.

Some days children come to school and get deeply engaged with the materials of their choice, building huge block structures, having group imaginative play in the play kitchen, working on their own ideas next to a fully stocked art cart. Other days there is overflowing high energy and we have choices to bring out materials, like bouncy ride on horses, spinning seats, or rocking boards, to happily meet children’s need for more active play. We also have many choices to bring out calming materials to see what best meets individual needs.

An important aspect of the environment at our preschool is that children have open-ended time, and agency. Children arriving in the morning have almost an hour and a half to start their day freely choosing where and what they want to play with, can move freely within our classroom to any area, and can move materials anywhere to suit their play needs. This affords teachers many opportunities to observe and interact with children individually or with peers. Another highly valued part of our environment/routine is outdoor play. Most of the school year we are outdoors for 4 hours a day and have the physical set up to comfortably do that. As with so many of the high-quality Early Learning centers in Addison County, we have a large and stimulating outdoor play area with sleds, bikes, scooters, swings, mud kitchen, outdoor blocks, sand area, etc.

There is great diversity in Early Childhood Learning environments within Addison County and, indeed, in all of Vermont. The majority of these environments, for infants to preschoolers, are privately based and have been carefully developed, in many cases, for decades. There are children tucked in former elementary school classrooms, there are forest-based schools, there are schools that prefer less materials out at once, and schools with an abundance of materials out at once. The important factor in all the diverse environments is a dedicated, knowledgeable, and professional workforce who understand what is truly important for young children’s growth and development. Young children need an environment filled with opportunities for exploration, loving relationships with teachers who are skilled at observing and scaffolding their development, humor, safety, and a social group of peers to learn with.

The spaces we have in Addison County are beautiful designs tailored to the unique developmental period of our youngest children. I am a strong advocate for maintaining the public/private early learning environment infrastructure we HAVE. I also advocate for letting 3- and 4-years-old children play together, they are a wonderful cohort in the same developmental phase, and the impacts we’ve been able to have with children being with us for two years is huge.

As an adult, I treasure being able to work in a beautiful and stimulating space, having fun and joyful learning experiences with young children. It’s the best.