In today’s educational system, classroom furniture is integral to the overall learning experience. Selecting the ideal pieces and managing placement enables a more productive, engaging, and focused effort from the students and faculty.
Reputable furniture makers such as Made by Marco work diligently to help students be their best. That means allowing movement, flexibility, and exploration with design and placement. Many schools and teachers are still becoming familiar with these concepts, and common mistakes crop up in each grade. Let’s examine some of these and see how some of the problems can be resolved.
Common Mistakes with Classroom Furniture Design and Placement
Much of the educational experience centers on the classroom design and furniture placement. Today’s landscape focuses on flexibility, allowing kids accessibility and freedom to explore the classroom throughout their day.
Furniture makers are designing pieces to accommodate this mindset; however, the schools and teachers are still attempting to embrace the concept when setting up the rooms. Some common mistakes seen in various school systems include many of the following.
Teacher Workstations
Teacher’s workstations are inadequate. These professionals spend considerable time at their desks for lesson planning, parent conferences, grading papers, and much more. Adequate space and storage allow efficient management and productivity.
Unfortunately, these stations are commonly too small, leaving the space messy and a hazard for students approaching the teacher. While most of the room must be designated for student learning, sufficient space must be allotted to lead the student body.
Intricate Designs
In a preschool setting specifically, furnishings should be designed to consider a little person’s body. Tables should consist of rounded edges and durable surfaces.
In this setting, teachers often try to present a unique setup with unusual shapes, curved legs, drawers, and things that ultimately make it difficult for small children to maneuver through the space. This leads to falls and injuries. At this age, kids are still a bit unstable.
Chairs should be readily available in front of awkward spaces to allow easy access without injury. Select furnishings that have rounded edges and flat surfaces. Visit https://donutlovinteacher.com/2018/04/22/classroom-furniture/ to learn about selecting furniture for your classroom.
Age-appropriate
When you have a preschool class, furnishings that you may have purchased for a second-grade class won’t be appropriate for these four-year-olds, it will need to be age-appropriate. The chairs and tables must be lower to the ground and have soft edges.
In that same vein, young kids of this age must move while working. It’s essential to select pieces that facilitate this sort of learning while also allowing comfort when they choose to sit.
Use and Abuse
Practicality and functionality are a priority instead of designing for aesthetics when selecting furniture that will be used with small children. Schools often work with restricted budgets so you want to select pieces that can stand the test of time. Kids will move and abuse chairs, tables, bookcases, and the teacher’s desk.
A simple multipurpose table with a solid natural wood top works well in a preschool setup as a worksurface, perhaps for fingerpaints and then later for storytime. Stay away from intricacies with tabletop designs. It’s wasted on this age group.
A Professional Designer
When deciding to work with a professional designer for your classroom, being selective is important. A less experienced professional may have difficulty differentiating designs between children and adults or specializing the niche to an educational setting.
For instance, primary colors are not standard in a commercial setting but are favored in a child’s classroom.
However, it’s essential to understand how various colors and designs impact an educational environment. Go here for questions that you should ask before selecting furniture for your classroom.
A Redesign
A redesign of your classroom can be a major investment leading some teachers to consider donated pieces, secondhand or discount, or even garage sale finds. While these are budget-friendly options, they could present safety concerns compared to commercial-grade furnishings.
The piece could pose a liability when you’re unsure of the history, stability, or rating.
Commercial-grade furniture will be more of an upfront investment, but you have the returns in terms of security, safety, value, and warranties. You can always buy one or two items at a time until you achieve your desired layout or approach the PTA to work with you on a fundraising event.
Final Thought
The ideal scenario would be to redesign your classroom during the summer to present to a new group of children in the fall. Change is tricky for small kids once they adjust to a particular setup.
If the change is out of your hands, the ideal way to present new classroom furniture to preschoolers is by modeling your expected behavior. Practice will allow the kids to adjust to the new environment and allow you to maximize their educational experience.
