Soft Spots in Your Classrooms

08/28/2006

Soft Spots in Your Classrooms

Once when her brothers were fighting over who got more spaghetti for dinner, her mother said, ‘You don’t look at another person’s plate to see if they have more than you. You look to see if they have enough.
Jodi Picoult, from A Spark of Light

The January/February 2004 issue of Exchange contained a Beginnings Workshop on "Space" consisting of five articles with differing views of classroom space. Scott Brouette focused on aesthetics and had these observations about soft spaces...

In our classroom we have tried to make many soft spots where the children (and teachers) can sit comfortably and relax with a book or a game.

We have even created a whole area in our classroom called the “Soft Spot.” The children brainstormed and voted on the name of the area. The “Soft Spot” contains a couch (adult-sized love seat), a full-sized rocking chair, a small table with child-sized chairs, books, games, puppets, and many pillows.
We also have a “Rest Stop” in our room for two children. There is also a love seat and books in this area.
Throughout the room we have pillows for the children to relax with; we even have a pillow bed which is a large wooden framed box with pillows on the floor.

Soft spots are wonderful places to read with children or simply to have a conversation. Children who are in group care for many hours of the day need some down time. This is not always easy to come by in a group setting, so any way the environment can be manipulated to include quieter places is a tremendous benefit to young children.

Curriculum Ideas on Sale! This week you can purchase any of our 70 + Beginnings Workshop 16-page curriculum training guides, including the one on "Space," at a 20% discount!

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