Julianne Butler Environment Observation

50 points

School- Watch Me Grow

Number of Teachers in the class -3
Number of Children in the class-14
Age of children-3 to 3.5 years

List all the interest areas you see in this classroom (ie. Library, art, science etc.) 5 pts.
• House area
• Writing Area
• block/toy Area (large, carpeted area)
• Art area
• Manipulative Area
• Discovery/Science Area
• Library/Cozy Area
• Woodworking Area

Do the center areas have the following: Is there enough materials, are the materials in good
condition, are they age appropriate. 5 pts
• There is a wide variety of materials in each center. Some materials are limited (blocks,
magnetic tiles, limited variety of art supplies)
• All materials are in fair condition. There are some toys with the start of some wear from
use. ( magnetic tiles, puzzles, baby dress up.)

Is there DEAD SPACE? (ei. Areas where children can hide, areas where they are not visible to
teachers) 5 pts
• There was one spot in the corner of the house area behind a dress up carousel that had
limited sight where a child had the potential to hide.

Does the classroom flow? (5 pts)

• The classroom has a good flow. The house area leads into the block/toy area. The high
energy areas are separated from the "quiet" areas. Art is near the sinks. There is enough
room in most areas to limit crowding. There was some minor crowding in the art area.
All areas have a good selection of toys to keep children engaged within the area.
Rating: Using a scale from 1-5, how would you rate this environment? Defend your answer. (5
pts)
• I would rate this classroom as a 4. There is a steady flow and defined areas with a
variety of engaging materials. There is space in most areas for multiple children.
Materials and shelves are labeled, within reach of the children and well organized. The
classroom is clean and well cared for by students and teachers.

Strengths: List 3 strengths you saw in this environment (10 pts)

• Materials organized and labeled with pictures as well as words. The entire environment
is labeled to create print rich environment.
• The areas are clearly defined and have materials that encourage play within those areas
• The classroom was clean.

Improvement: List 3 improvements you could see benefiting the children’s learning. (10 pts)
• Add more of the popular materials to the classroom to limit disagreements over toys.

• Separate the cozy area and library area to create two distinguished areas to allow for a
true “quiet/cozy”. The cozy, soft space is a great area for children to use when the need
to take a break from others and creates a safe spot to work through big emotions.
• Create more usable space in the art area. If possible, add another easel (just 1 doubled
sided available now) or even move a table to create more usable space. Many children
had exceptionally long wait times and some became frustrated. There were limited
supplies that included only colored pencils and crayons. I would have more types of
media including paints with different types of brushes/tools, markers, chalk, scissors,
glue, and simple collage materials.