Listening to Our Spaces

In Caring Spaces, Learning Places: Children's Environments that Work, Jim Greenman wrote, "Space speaks to each of us.  Long corridors whisper 'run' to a child; picket fences invite us to trail our hands along the slats.  Physical objects have emotional messages of warmth, pleasure, solemnity, fear; action messages of come close, touch me, stay away; or identity messages of I'm strong, or I'm fragile… and spaces do more than speak — they load our bodies and minds with sensory information."

If you sat quietly in your indoor and outdoor environments, what would the spaces say to you and what are they saying to children?

• Does your space tell the special story of the plants and animals that live with you there?
• Does your space reminisce about children, family, and program celebrations and traditions?
• Does it invite the children to examine and wonder about the community and world that surrounds them?

And an equally important question: how do you LISTEN?

 Contributed by Christine Kiewra

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