The Prepared Environment: What Does It Mean?

The prepared environment is a space that children can be independent and succeed in. The experience inside the classroom/home allows the child to experience outside experience in a more rich way. This means that things are within reach or eye view of the child, orderly, beautiful with natural materials. Usually we have their materials (we use this word instead of toys) on a shelf that they can easily see and they can pick what they'd like. Some characteristics of a prepared environment include: 

• Safe, clean and uncluttered
• Materials are presented on the shelf from left to right and top to bottom which is how we write and read pages on a book
• Only one material type is available and one per tray
• Materials are on a low tray in the order they will be used, left to right
• Accessible to the child
• Materials at the front of the shelf
• Materials are child sized and supportive on independence with the right level of challenge
• Made of beautiful high quality and real materials
• Calm and natural color scheme
• Can be breakable with encourages respect and care
• Low hooks to hang coats and bags
• Step stool that the child can use to brush their teeth or reach things that are a bit high
• Eating are where they can independently get in and out of. For babies, a weaning chair and table is a good option. ( I will create a post about budget options)
• instruments that the child can use without difficulty.
• Snacks and plates, forks etc they can get on their own