Shania Grijalva

TLS301
Nov. 28, 2016
Classroom Design Benchmark
Introduction
My classroom was the faith-based preschool in a local church. I had the rectangle room
with an observation booth with one way windows on two sides. I realized I would need to carter
towards both the observations and the families and children. The first thing I realized I would
need was tables on the wood for messy things, like food or crafts. I also needed a corner area
where I could gather the children for circle and rug time. I would also need cabinet space for
additional material. After looking over the sheet, it showed that there was an additional room to
the teacher area. I realized that the adults would need a space to go the restroom, so I added a
bathroom. I decided to create this room to be more warm and friendly but also related to the
classroom environment.
Bathroom Area
The first area I will address is the bathroom area for both the adults and children. For the
adults, I added a single bathroom in the teachers area. I decided to place it here as the childrens
bathroom have very little privacy. For the children, there are two toilets facing each other. On the
other side of them, there are cabinet sinks. In between them is a cabinet and a mirror facing out
towards the tables. This mirror invites children to look at themselves and see their own facial
expressions and movement.
Inside of these locked cabinets, I would place very standard supplies that would not be
harmful to the children, such as tissues, toilet paper and wipes. I would also keep the hand soap

and thick tissues for hand washing and drying. In the other locked sink, there would be meal
supplies, such as plastic utensils, plates, napkins, and plastic cups. I decided to keep these items
here as they are easy to reach as needed. The keys will be kept on a hook on the wall near the rug
area.
Table Area
I decided the tables would go on the wooden floor, as it would be easiest since this would
already be the area children clean their hands or messes that they made. On the wooden floor, I
placed two long child sized tables with 10 child sized chairs each and three stacked near the
bookcase behind the tables for adults to use. There are an additional four near the computer
station, two adult stacked and two children at the table. I placed extra chairs in the classroom, so
visitors would have places to sit if they came into the classroom. The seating area would be near
the window overlooking the parking lot because it allows in natural light. Over the windows
would have two sets of curtains, white glossy ones and also darker ones for naptime. This would
be a good area for children to have their lunches and to play. I strongly believe that rooms with
natural lighting make them more homey and bright.
Rug Time Area
Beside the window would be a long bookshelf facing the carpeted floor. There would be
childrens books separated by topics and reading levels. On the backside of the bookshelf, which
would face the tables, allows children to put their pictures or to create on the felt board. The
children would be able to create characters and shapes during free time for the felt board. On top
of the bookshelf, I would have an ornamental galvanized plant container filled with bright desert
plants in order to add color. Along the top of the bookcase, I would place books of the week,

which would follow the theme of the lesson plans for added learning materials. I would have a
lamp on the shelf.
Just south of this area is the rug area. There is a rug where I would put the headquarters
of the room for gathering up the children. I found this place the best area because it would likely
be quietest and calming as it is the more isolated area of the room. This would also be a good
place for children to come and look over books. In the corner, I would place my chair, and then
put a small box of todays lesson plan beside it. I would need easy access to it, and it would be a
good day to show children that we should not touch things that do not belong to them.
The walls surrounding the corner would be covered in the childrens artwork to show
them that we care and take pride in their work. I would also place the ABCs, 123s, word of the
day, and a calendar to go over in our daily lessons. Having a visual of things that happen is very
important. On the bookcase, with easy access to, will be a box of stimulation and calming
activities. Beneath us would be a large soft rug, so children can touch when they need
stimulation or have touch which sitting still. This area will also be open at all times to allow
children to come and calm or reset themselves.
Computer Area
Outside of this corner area and more towards the center of the room against the wall,
there will be two computer stations for the children. Beside the table will be two adult chairs
stacked up. They will have child sized desks and chairs with headphones, mice, and keyboards.
On the computer will be saved pages of appropriate learning games and the screens would face
the open room, so I could monitor their pages. It allows children to learn through the internet
through an appropriate atmosphere.
Art Area

Beside the computer area would be two easels, from and back. Children using these will
stand or have the ability to grab a set from the ones stacked near the bookcase. There will be gray
tarps under the easels to caught any paint that might fall to keep from staining the carpet. This
area allows children to calm down and think about the artwork that they would like to create.
They are welcoming to bring pictures and hand them on the wall for inspiration or ideals. Beside
that will be the door learning to the entry area.
Entry Area
The door has a window in it. This window will have a roller sheet that can be pulled
down during nap time and during lock down situations. There will be a childproofing sheet over
the edges of the door to keep children from putting finger there. On the wall to the direct right of
the door will be the sign in sheet, where parents and guardians can write arrival times and
comments or concerns for the day before speaking to me about it, such as the child staying up
later than usual or not wanting to eat breakfast. It would be for written documentation.
Quiet Corner
For children need a quiet corner, they will have the ability to sit in the corner near the
door. In this classroom, I thought this area would be best, as it gives children space from the
activities going on. Children can sit on the small rug with the pillows and calm down before
returning to the classroom. However, there will be other spaces during certain of the day which
can be accommodated into quiet areas for children.
Cubbies
There will be child sized cubbies, with the name and picture of each child. The childrens
cubbies will have boxes that can be pulled out to place extra clothes or special items from home.

I decided this would be the perfect spot as it is an opening spot for children and adults to easy go
to. It also prompts parents to check it because of the closeness.
Dramatic Play Area
The two windows overlooking the playground would also be open to allow in natural
light. There will be two sets of curtains, white curtains and darker curtains to push light out of
the room for nap time. Theses windows would create a beautiful open environment. In between
the two windows would be a large mirror for the children when they play dress up. Under the
window farthest from the door would be a small round table to seat three children with the end
facing near the window. On top would be a pot of flowers to show nature and allows children at
the end of the day to do their tasks for the week which some requires watering. This allows
children to recognize that plants need care. There will be a tea set and plastic utensils to promote
the idea of a dining table.
The placement of these items allow children to dress up using the large tote boxes and to
explore their appearances. One will have dress up items, and the other would be filled with
career toys, such as doctor toy kits, dentist toy kits, baby toy kits, carpenter or construction toy
work kits, office toy kits, and kitchen supplies. This will promote learning about popular career
choice and add to dramatic play and dress up and looking in the mirror to promote the idea of
self. They also have a kitchen like environment with a stove, cabinet, and sink area. It allows
children play different types of scenes out and the space allows items to be switched out as
needed without disrupting the entire layout of the classroom.
Cabinets
In the northeast corner would be a large cabinet that would hold the sleeping mats and blankets.
This would keep the sleeping items mostly out the way until needed. Towards the bottom of the

cabinet, there will be a small locked cabinet of art supplies, such as paint, brushes, chalk, glue,
cups, and napkins. I will also keep all extra materials here, such as the drying rack and large
cleaning materials. It would be a large drying rack for artwork clear from traffic.

There is another cabinet in the bathroom area. This will have the smaller cleaning
supplies that could provide harmful to children. This cabinet will be elevated above the ground
and be locked.
Sleeping Areas
To make the most of the space, the sleeping areas would be the teaching corner in the
lower left and would spread south of the bookshelves to prevent children from becoming
distracted. It would not venture too far into the east, as the door is near there. The chairs would
be stacked up on the tables or near the bookcase to allow sleeping mats to go there. Some other
areas include near the dramatic play and also moving the book cases towards the observation
booth and putting children in that area.
Play Area
The next area would the middle of the carpeted space. There will be three two-shelf
bookshelves. The bookshelf south would have a section of plastic food, ranging from fruits,
vegetables, to take-apart sandwiches and pizzas. The next bookshelf would have cars, trains, and
put-together train tracks. It would also have street signs and train signs. The next slot would
include magnetic building toys that stick together and create objects. The next slot would have
logs to create small houses or buildings. The slot beside that would have stuffed animals and
plush toys. Another slot would have a large selection of blocks and on the other side would be
dolls and action figures. In the next bookshelf, there will be craft supplies, such as markers,

paper, crayons, rulers, pencils, construction papers, yarn, and safety scissors. The final shelf
would hold maps, puzzles, rainbow stackers, wooden letter blocks, and plastic animals. This
would have the theme of exploration.
I strongly believe in the variety of toys that must be offered to children. If children do not
have a variety of items, they will have limited resources. Providing them many resources and
different puzzles and games allow children to grow and development new skills. For example, in
the beginning of the year, smaller puzzles with larger pieces are out and slowly through the year,
the puzzles out are slowly smaller pieced with a larger image.
Climate
To begin with, language will be a large focus in the classroom. The teachers will speak to
the children in a respectful manner and understand that language they use is vital to the way
children react to the environment and learning. Lead teachers will not be afraid to share ideas
and talk about different situations and how they felt later it should have been handled.
Children will understand community items and handling of books and tools. They will
respect the environment as we respect the items that we share in the classroom and show that as a
community, it is our responsibility to clean and take care of communal toys for the future.
In order to invite adults into the classroom, there will be a small coach for children to say
goodbye to parents or for parents to sit down and read with their children if they get there early.
It will be an open space for adults to become part of the community of the classroom.
Natural and soft lights will be used as often as possible. Transitions will be songs or
sounds rather than words. For children to who hard of hearing, we will incorporate sight through
movement or actions. For example, if we do a bell, children head into the classroom, those who

have heard it or seen the bell, and all the children begin to come in. It works in the way that
children notice the people around them.
I also believe my classroom will be healthy and positive through the nature I bring in,
which is flowers, small trees, and cactus. Children will be given jobs to water these plants each
day as part of their jobs for the week. Through jobs, students will learn that they are part of the
community and their help matters.
Conclusion
I decided to place each item in the classroom for the purpose of creating a bright, helpful
learning environment. The toys chosen are toys I believe will promote further exploration,
learning, and imagination. I made sure to have necessary classroom equipment but also to have
items I believe are necessary to early childhood education and healthy classroom environments.
Thus, the room I created is best suited for preschool students.
I met these standards:
Arizona Professional Teaching Standards:
Standard 3: Learning Environment: Students will learn through the environment I
created, as I made it accessible to children and also added areas where they could have personal
and group growth.
Standard 7: Planning for Instruction: I have a teachers area where I can research and
think of different ways I can work in the classroom. There is also a lesson plan box.
Standard 8: Instructional Strategies: I believe my work in the classroom will be
influenced by the natural light and openness of the room and areas in the classroom.

Standard 9: Professional learning and Ethical Practice: I will show both professional
learning and ethical practice through listening to peers, mentors, and reading books on ways to
improve my classroom.
NAEYC Standards:
Standard #4: Using developmentally effective approaches: I have showed my interest in
pursuing growth through developmentally appropriate methods. This is shown through my
classroom by placement and description of items.
Standard #6 - Becoming a professional: I believe through this activity of looking at placement
critically will show how I am becoming a professional in comparison to my initial assignment.
CREATE Principles:
Principle #1 - Promoting early childhood educators' understanding of the cultural
knowledge and skills ("funds of knowledge") within diverse cultural communities: The
placement of items and allowing children that time to say good bye with the love seat coach in
the beginning or keeping special items in their cubbies show I am attempting to reach out to
families and making them comfortable in my classroom.
Principle #4 - Providing prospective and practicing teachers and teacher educators with
opportunities to work and reflect together in community and school settings: By putting this
document online, I show the world my work and my communication with the early childhood
education world beyond my classroom.
NETS-T Performance Indicators
Indicator #3: Model digital-age work and learning: I have computers within the room to
provide with work they do to further their knowledge. It will be safety locked, so children cannot
explore the entire internet for the sake of developmentally inappropriate items.

Indicator #4: Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility: Children help
keep the room and understand that they are part of the community. This shows that they have a
responsibility to both the classroom and their peers.
Indicator #5: Engage in professional growth and leadership: I will go to professional
conferences and bring back knowledge into the classroom to show children that they should not
top attempting to learn, even in the future when they are finished with formal education. I believe
that providing children professional opportunities through thank you cards and letters to soldiers,
children will learn that they are part of the community.

Reflection
Through this semester, we read the book by Denton, Power of Words and Bullards
Creating Environments for Learning. Through the course, we read from the books and did
classroom activities that would enforce what we had read. I felt a lot of the reasons I put things in
my classroom in the place they were was because of some of the readings. I thought closely
about teacher language, but I realized for this assignment, teacher language was less important
because there were direct conversation pieces. This benchmark is more closely related to
Bullards readings and the classroom activities on placement and environment.
During the beginning of the year, we read that the classroom environment had to be
engaging and interactive because children go through rapid brain development in the early years,
and thee spend a large amount of time in these classrooms. One the main points was the
importance of play and having these tools accessible to children. This specific chapter also
focused on how we can create environments that will reduce behavioral issues. I thought it was
interesting, as most of it had to do with placement of items and tools but also very simple things,
such as keeping their environment clean. As I was reading, I realized that f my classroom is
unkempt, my students will believe that I do not respect them. However, cleaning the room as a
community and providing jobs that can keep them together as community shows that I respect
and understand they are capable beings.
When I made the schedule, I thought of the time blocks and routines which would make
the classroom easier to adjust to. By making the schedule predictable, students will also be more
open to join the environment around them and enjoy the different learning experiences. Bullard
wrote that we must think about the time blocks we give to children to explore or play centers and
toys. The longer the time blocks are, the more they learn versus the smaller they are. The less

time spent on activities, the less time children have to truly become committed or work
independently on a project.
I also found that in the classroom, it should represent each child and their family. I
wanted to add photographs taken through documentation, so children can see themselves and
their families. I also thought about making sure this family area would be nearer to the floor, as
many times, it is up above for adults to see but not so much the people who spend the most time
in the classroom. I decided to add this into the corner rug area because while we are reading or
doing circle time, I want them to know they are loved.
Throughout this semester, as I learned about different ways to create classrooms, I slowly
added comments to my own sheet of paper. I thought about different articles and also my
mentors classroom. I thought about reasons why she placed things in certain areas, and I thought
about how I can put items in the best place for childrens growth.

Toddler & Preschool Schedule & Routines Planning Sheet

Daily Arrival and Outdoor Play
Morning Circle Time
Hand washing
AM Snack
Music and Movement
Centers
Reading/Math/Science/Art
Story Time
Outdoor Play
Bathroom/Transition to Hand Washing
Lunch Time
Nap and Resting
Hand washing
PM Snack
Outdoor Play
Dismissal

7:45-8:15
8:15-8:25
8:25-8:35
8:35- 9:05
9:05 9:35
9:35 10:15
10:15 10:30
10:30-11:15
11:15-11:25
11:25-11:45
11:45- 1:45
1:45-1:55
1:552:10
2:10-2:30
2:30

Toileting Needs (AVAILABLE WHEN ASKED): Students will be asked if they need to go to
the restroom throughout the day and through observation of the behavior. Students will go to the
restroom as needed and let teacher know when they will be using the restroom. Students will also
be encouraged during handwashing.

Daily Arrivals and Outdoor Play (7:45 to 8:15): Students will enter on the playground, and
they will be watched by staff. Inside the classroom, one lead teacher will be setting out the AM
snack. Outside, the other lead teacher will be part of the staff watching the students.
Morning Circle Time (8:15 to 8:25): Around 8:15, we will begin rug time outside the
classroom on the carpet. The first teacher will begin reading a book to students outside. There
will be a good morning song, and I will acknowledge each child.
Hand Washing/Restroom (8:25 to 8:35): During the circle time, the students will be sent in

small groups to wash their hands and then be seated at the tables for the AM Snack. They will
not begin eating until after all students are seated. During that time, the students will do an
interactive song set.
AM Snack (8:35 to 9:05): Students will begin eating after all students are seated. They will be
able to ask for help opening their food or drink. Teachers will also sit down and eat their own
breakfast or talk with students. When they are done, students will be expected to tuck away their
food and drink. Then wash their hands again to play after finishing.
Guest Presentations OR Music and Movement (9:05 to 9:35): The students will wash their
hands before sitting down to rug time. Guest presenters, usually parents with a variety of talents
and time to spare, will sing, present plays, or share skills with children. When there are no
guests, we do music and movement.
Centers (9:35 to 10:15): They will be allowed to pick from the centers which range from dough,
arts and craft, puzzles, blocks, dramatic play, computers, and books. These centers will help
teachers take pictures for documentation. Children will also have guidance and support from
teachers.
Story Time (10:15 to 10:30): Children will sit down to rug time, and lead teachers will read
several books with touch on multiculturalism and diversity along with different morals. Students
will have the ability to ask questions and discuss different topics.
Outdoor Play (10:30 to 11:15): Children will play outdoors on the playground. When they
finish playing, children will go down to rug time. Inside the classroom, one lead teacher will be
setting out the lunch.
Hand Washing/Bathroom (11:15 to 11:25): During the circle time, the students will be sent in
small groups to wash their hands and then be seated at the tables for lunch. They will not begin

eating until after all students are seated. During that time, the students will do an interactive song
set.
Lunch Times (11:25 to 11:45): Children will take out lunches and will ask for help as they need.
Teachers will also sit down and eat their own lunch or talk with students. When they are done,
students will be expected to tuck away their food and drink. Then wash hands.
Nap and Resting (11:45 to 1:45):
Hand Washing/Toileting Needs (1:45 to 1:55): Children will wash hands and use the toilet as
needed. They will not begin eating until after all students are seated. During that time, the
students will do an interactive song set.
PM Snack (1:55 to 2:10): Children will take out PM snacks and will ask for help as they need.
Teachers will also sit down and eat their own snack or talk with students. When they are done,
students will be expected to tuck away their food and drink. Then wash hands when they are
done.
Out Door Play (2:10 to 2:30): Children have outdoor play while they wait for their parents to
pick them up.
Daily Departures (2:30)