Creating an environment that encourages child initiation, participation and appropriate social interaction should be the goal of every early childhood educator. The physical classroom environment plays a great part in either creating or preventing situations that cause challenging behavior. Creating engaging, productive, nurturing, inspiring, child-centered, successful classrooms begin with the room's physical layout — the arrangement of desks and working space, the attractiveness and appeal of bulletin boards, the storage and easy access of materials and supplies, and the flow and organization of “workshops” and learning centers.

In the Reggio Emilia approach to education, classrooms feature displays of children's work, collections of "found" objects, ample space for supplies (all aesthetically arranged), and clearly designated spaces for large- and small-group activities. Reggio Emilia educators stress the need for a classroom environment that informs and engages the child. They consider the physical environment to be "another teacher." And in the sense that it can motivate children, enhance learning, and reduce behavior problems, environment really is an extra teacher.

Child-centered environments are planned around certain physical features. In the Early Childhood classroom creating effective space for learning centers is essential.  Many teachers prefer to create different areas within the classroom.  While young children need sufficient space, large open spaces are not conducive to organized classrooms. Smaller, well defined areas help children focus on specific activities and help them understand behaviors that are expected in those areas. Many teachers prefer to create different areas or learning centers within the classroom. The versatility of learning centers allows children to interact with center material at their own developmental level.  For example, a classroom might feature a quiet reading corner, a music area where students can play soft music while completing work, a discussion/conversation center, a large table for cooperative projects, spaces for wet or messy projects, multimedia spaces, and individual work areas. Several learning centers that are commonly found in early childhood classrooms are: art, block, dramatic, sand and water, listening, math, music, science, library, and reading and writing centers.

Consideration of certain variables within the arrangement of the classroom can contribute to the prevention of challenging behaviors. Look at your interest areas and consider these questions:

• Do the areas or centers have visual boundaries (shelves, tables, carpets, or even lines on the floor)?
  Centers should be clearly defined. Shelves, tables, carpets, or even lines on the floors can be used to define areas.
  
• Do the areas have names that are understandable to children?
  Centers should have clearly labeled names along with a picture of the activity in order to meet the learning needs of early emergent readers.
  
• Is there adequate space for multiple children to play in the same area?
  Centers should be able to accommodate more than one child in order to encourage and promote constructive play among each other.
  
• Are the various centers organized according to noise and activity level?
  Nosier centers, such as dramatic and block area, should be grouped away from quieter centers, such as reading and writing.
  Has traffic flow areas within and between areas been considered?
  Pathways between centers should promote smooth movement of children from center to center. Too much space leads to running in the classroom. Relatively narrow passageways are acceptable for most children.
  
• Are the areas able to accommodate many types of play?
  -       Dramatic/Role Play
  -       Solitary Play
  -       Parallel Play
  -       Constructive Play
  -       Exploratory Play and Cooperative Play
  
• Are the areas or centers adjusted throughout the year based on child observations?
  
• Are their clear rules and expectations posted on how children should enter and leave each center?
  Rules for getting in and out of centers (taking turns and the number of people allowed in the center) should be clearly posted and discussed

Encouraging students to make the classroom space their own, fosters a sense of ownership over their learning space. Welcome their contributions to its decoration, and urge them to take responsibility for its maintenance.  Interesting and attractive visual aids, such as bulletin boards and posters, are key components of an effective classroom. Wall decorations should be colorful, appealing and relevant to current class work and thematic units. They should be changed and refreshed frequently in order to foster student’s motivation for learning.

• Be sure to think about the diversity of your students when dressing the walls.
  
• Set aside a section of the bulletin board to be your designated "Student Work Museum" and post children's drawings, written work and other projects there.
  
• Make sure that each student's work is displayed often. It is also beneficial to display name plates next to each child’s work.
  
• Post daily schedules in a place where students can read them easily. This accessibility of the classroom schedule can help students grow comfortable with class and school routines.  For younger students, make a daily schedule that includes pictures or icons.

Observation is the key to choosing materials that reflect the interests of the children in a preschool classroom. By observing the types and content of children's play, teachers can choose items that support a variety of developmental levels. As children engage in play, they do so based on their level of thinking/reasoning, language and social skills. Therefore it is important to provide materials that support children on their individual developmental level. How do we do that? By providing materials that can be used in a variety of ways, often called "open-ended"! Many of these types of items are 'collected' and 'real life' materials, such as boxes, egg cartons, paper tubes, cell phones (non-functioning), telephone books, kitchen utensils, and pieces of fabric. Other typical items such as string, glue, tape, play dough, carpet scraps, blocks and paper are also materials that should be available to children everyday. As children construct knowledge based on their experiences, their thinking, language and social skills grow. By choosing the appropriate materials, teachers can support this growth and help children feel successful regardless of their level of development.