Brief description: This outdoor learning environment has been designed to support

positive interactions in an early childhood setting. This is an area where the children can
come to relax, interact and play with other children. Children are encouraged to come to
this outdoor space to gain a sense of belonging and safety and to create and look after the
garden. This is an area where children can interact with other peers and learn respect for
the environment. This space is filled with engaging materials including plants, veggie
patch, books, pillows, blankets, and hay, digging tools, grass, a tree, mat, radio, wind
chime, kite, watering can, lamp and Buddha.

Target age group: This learning environment has been designed for kindergarten children
aged approximately four years old.



Discuss specific features and explain how positive learning interactions and pro-
social behaviour between children are encouraged and promoted
Allowing the children to take care of the plants provides them with the opportunity to
demonstrate pro-social behaviours because they are all contributing to create and care for a
garden/veggie patch. This area promotes social interactions as children work together to
water the plants, ensure they have the appropriate amount of sunlight, remove dead leaves
and watch out for plant pests. Children can also use this space to relax by sitting on the
mat with cushions and reading a book, or listening to music. This space promotes positive
social interactions as well as individual quite time.
Identify curriculum links from:
Queensland Kindergarten Learning Guideline
Outcome 2: Connectedness
A kindergarten child who is connected with and contributes to their world:
Is building positive relationships
Shows increasing respect for diversity
Shows increasing respect for environments

Significant learnings:
Skills for connecting and relating to others
Awareness of own and others rights and responsibilities
Understandings about fairness
Caring for and respecting environments
Ways to investigate and understand natural and built environments
Exploring interactions between people and environments


Link features to relevant perspectives and theories about:

The Zen Garden is an engaging space where children can interact with each other.
Vygotsky believes that social interaction and social learning leads to cognitive
development (Riddle, n.d.). Vygotsky stresses the importance of the connection between
people and the learning environment in which they act and interact in shared experiences
(Riddle, n.d.). This outdoor environment is a community of learning that encourages
children to engage and interact positively with each other as they work collaboratively
together to care for the garden/veggie patch.

This outdoor learning environment links to the Reggio Emilia approach because this space
invites interaction as it provokes discussion about plants and gardening. Allowing children
with the opportunity to play and explore with realistic objects sparks childrens curiosity
and imagination (Strong-Wilson & Ellis, 2009). This in an active area used for inquiry,
investigation and wonder as well as a quiet area used for thinking, relaxing and exploring
(Robinson, 2010). This is an engaging area that encourages children to make choices,
including about whether to be with others or to be on their own.

This is also a space where children can come to relax and calm themselves down. This
relates to Louise Porters Guidance approach as she believes in teaching children to
manage their emotions as well as giving children a sense of potency (Porter, 2006).
Therefore children can come to this space and read books, listen to music, and be in
control of the learning environment by taking care of the plants/veggie patch. This
promotes positive behaviour as children feel a sense of belonging in the environment.

The choice and placing of the materials/equipment, including the hay, pillows, blankets,
books and kite contribute to the aesthetic appeal and comfort of the space. This is a soft
area that encourages children to relax, reflect and rest (McNaughton & Williams, 2009).
The sounds and aromas, including wind-chime, music and plants, are places carefully to
enhance childrens calm and relaxed feeling. This encourages children to feel calm and
happy which promotes positive behaviours.


References

MacNaughton, G. & Williams, G. (n.d.) Teaching and the environment. Retrieved from
http://leo.acu.edu.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=497833

Porter, L. (2006). Guiding childrens behaviour. Retrieved from:
http://leo.acu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/623366/mod_resource/content/2/developing_r
esponsible_behaviour%20Porter%202006.pdf

Riddle, E. (n.d.). Lev vygotskys social development theory. Retrieved from
http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:5kQaD8br7v8J:scholar.go
ogle.com/&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5&as_vis=1

Robinson, K. (2010). The environment as the third teacher. Retrieved from
http://leo.acu.edu.au/pluginfile.php/627107/mod_resource/content/2/CBS_ThirdT
eacher.pdf

Strong-Wilson, T., & Ellis, J. (2009). Children and place: reggio emilias environment as
third teacher. Theory into practice, 46 (1), pp.40-47.