FINAL JDDK Millmount News Spring Edition 2024 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 22
T H E D E L I V E RY
Water Playroom
Designing sensory experiences
Early years schemes have always been a hive of activity, used by multiple ages and
developing the next generation of young minds. There’s a lot to consider when it comes
to the design and here we identify some fundamentals, taking inspiration from the Reggio
Emilia approach. Reggio educators refer to the importance of creating sensorially “complex”
environments that will support development and learning. They call the physical environment
of their settings “the third teacher”, alongside the adults and the children themselves.
Sensory rich experiences are key and it’s all about balance, as the environment shouldn’t
be bland and uninspiring, nor should it be overstimulating. Décor is a big factor in this, and
we would avoid overly bright colours dominating wall space, as well as popular images or
characters that children will be familiar with. Instead, keeping it abstract allows the children’s
imagination to come alive. The space should be designed to allow the use of the walls as a
canvas to be altered on a regular basis and display the children’s artwork, making them the
protagonists of their environment.
Visual and physical connections to the outside and nature add to the complexity of the
sensory experience for children and are key to providing extended learning opportunities.
The practical provision of covered outdoor areas and a conveniently located place for wet
coats and muddy wellies will support outdoor play and learning all year round. Child (and
baby) height windows are a fun way to make sure every child can be connected to the
outside, helping them to orientate themselves as well as enjoy the bene昀椀ts of daylight and
views of the natural world.
As humans our wellbeing is supported when we have freedom of choice and children thrive
when they are in spaces that are conducive to autonomous discovery. If a child is in their
own home, they are likely to be able to choose to play in a variety of types of spaces –
whether those are small, tall, dark or light. When we design childcare spaces, we endeavour
to include opportunities for similar experiences. Whether it’s 昀椀nding an enclosed spot that’s
the perfect size for them and offers a sense of privacy and enclosure; spending time in a
large space with more light, different acoustic qualities and more to explore; being on their
own or with other children and adults – it’s about easy access to variety and the power
of choice. Examples of this include introducing bay windows that are child sized; creating
under-worktop spaces where children can create a “hideaway”; open play areas and more
communal areas where different age groups can mix.
Promoting investigation through play is key for development at this young age and there are
a lot of different ways to achieve this, such as water playrooms, which are fantastic assets
if the space is available.
Storage is an essential within the Reggio Emilia principles, where there is an emphasis on
planning speci昀椀c play and learning opportunities. It’s therefore essential to have space to put
away items of equipment and play materials and leave out only the key items for that day.
Available storage space differs from setting to setting, but we design as best as we can in
the spirit of this principle.
Reggio Emilia also encourages risk taking, and on our trip, we saw examples of this such as
no handrail on a small staircase or the option to take a slide on the way down. The thinking
behind this being that children need to take risks and make right and wrong decisions to
support their learning. While in the UK we may be more bound to safety policies, again we
design in the spirit of this, with one of our design schemes including a mound in the outdoor
area which the children could enjoy crawling up and making their way down.
22 Millmount. Spring 2024.
Covered and open outdoor play areas
provide options whatever the weather.
