Open Discussion Forum

Hello,  Im curious to know how others feel about larger classrooms. I am an infant teacher with non-crawlers, mobile, and walkers. I'm going to be moving to a larger center, which means a bigger classroom. I'm excited about the extra space and the children not being on top of each other. Someone recently told me that smaller classrooms, in her opinion, were better and accidents were less likely to happen. What do you all think? Should I be a bit concerned? 

Hello Abigail, 

Congratulations on moving to a larger classroom. I would be excited about the extra space too.  I've always thought with more space, you can use your imagination and do more things. Accidents can happen in a small or large classroom if the classroom is not set up correctly, the caregivers are not attentive to the needs of the children, and/or the caregivers are not trained on how to care for the needs of the children.  I would recommend going to the NAEYC website and typing in infant classroom setup and you will see several articles on the subject.  I've pasted a link to one for you.  I also recommend looking at the rules and regulations for your state/agency as well to see what "EHS" has written regarding an infant classroom.  You have an important role as an infant teacher so always keep that in mind. Your work as a teacher is foundational to further growth and development of your children. Thanks for doing what you do. :)   

https://www.naeyc.org/our-work/families/high-quality-program-for-infant

Hello Abigail, 

The center where I currently work just recently moved to a more prominent building, which meant bigger classrooms. Some teachers and I had the same worries, but now we love having the extra space! Accidents can be prevented, but at the same time, they are sometimes bound to happen. It's essential to think of how you plan to design your classroom-knowing where you can put shelves and tables to allow the children to have space but not too much to where they can run. I also recommend looking at the rules and regulations for your state/agency and talking with your colleagues to see how you can make it a fun and safe environment for yourself and your children.

Hi Abigail,

I once believed that larger classrooms meant that accidents were more likely to happen. But, someone once told me that no matter in what classroom you are in, big or small, accidents will happen because they are little and they are learning and exploring new things. Especially when you have those infants who are learning how to pull up and even those who are learning how to walk, they tend to fall, bump themselves, trip, etc. I recommend looking up different layouts for the classroom and you can pick one that would be a good setup for the classroom.

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Ana Zarazua
EHS Child Development Teacher
TX
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It would give you more open space for the children to explore. You would be able to have a bigger gross motor area. You may be able to have more of a separated area for the children who are not walkers to explore. You can always give yourself a few weeks to try different setups to see which setup works best for the you and the children. I know one center I have observed in a classroom they had a half wall that divided the areas where the children where babies were in one area but if they needed to, they could be open a door that separated. But I know that was a while ago and since then I know the school had taken it out. 

I think a bigger classroom for infants is great. They will become mobile infants fast and need the space to move about. The size of the classroom don't stop the accidents.  Children need room to explore with their enviroment.

Hi Abigail, honestly it depends. No matter what there will always be accident even when you are present. Children are fast and in the blink of an eye something could happen. I think having more space allows for different kinds of activities and learning that you can't do in a smaller space. I know my center has very small classrooms so when the weather doesn't allow for us to go outside it's difficult to find an activity to burn off the energy without bumping into students. Just make use of the space you're given. Accidents happen.