Enriching Indoor Environments
An early childhood environment is many things: it’s a safe place where children are protected from the elements and are easily supervised, and it is where important activities of the day take place, such as playing, eating, sleeping, and learning. Beyond the basics, the physical environment is an image of the teacher’s planning and the student’s learning. It should be well organized, comfortable, and personable and offer a variety of materials for cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. In this course, participants will learn best practices in designing an inclusive indoor environment that fosters children’s developmental growth. Through interactive learning activities, discussions, videos, reflective writing exercises, scenarios, and a field assignment, participants will learn to create an indoor environment where all children feel secure, comfortable, welcome, and ready to explore. This is a five-hour course worth .5 CEUs.
Watch this short video to learn more about this class.
An early childhood environment is many things: it’s a safe place where children are protected from the elements and are easily supervised, and it is where important activities of the day take place, such as playing, eating, sleeping, and learning. Beyond the basics, the physical environment is an image of the teacher’s planning and the student’s learning. It should be well organized, comfortable, and personable and offer a variety of materials for cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development. In this course, participants will learn best practices in designing an inclusive indoor environment that fosters children’s developmental growth. Through interactive learning activities, discussions, videos, reflective writing exercises, scenarios, and a field assignment, participants will learn to create an indoor environment where all children feel secure, comfortable, welcome, and ready to explore. This is a five-hour course worth .5 CEUs.
This course can be utilized to meet the training requirements to earn or renew your Child Development Associate (CDA) credential. Course content is aligned with the CDA Subject Area 1: Planning a safe and healthy learning environment.
- Inclusive environments
- Principles of environmental design
- Organizing your environment
- Well-being
- Classroom centers
- Positive behavior
- Environment and challenging behavior
- Developmental growth
- Safety
- Learning
Approved for 0.5 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in all 50 states.
This course is approved for CEUs in every state. It is also approved for state training hours in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia.
“I've learned that the environment I provide is the foundation that help supports children's growth and development... I will build a social and emotional environment along with cognitive, language, and physical skills. I will provide an environment that makes the children feel safe which also will help reduce challenging behaviors. I want my children to get the most out of my classroom when they come to school; therefore, my classroom will feel secure, comfortable, and welcoming so they are ready to explore!”
-Brittani P., TX, 2021