Pathways to Learning

05/29/2006

You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.
Maya Angelou

In the newly revised Caring Spaces, Learning Places: Children's Environments that Work, Jim Greenman offered these observations on pathways in early childhood programs…

"Pathways structure our experience. A meandering path between activities will allow children to look over each potential activity and a bypass route would allow quick movement from one side of the room to another without disrupting those engaged in an activity…A straight-line path with forks or intersections defines specific choices – her and there. Inside, different divider heights create different visual access as do corners; a child has the chance to come across the unexpected. Pathways that narrow and expand create different social experiences or at least the potential for interchange….

"Pathways can be engaging experiences in themselves. They can occasion different motor experiences, depending on surfaces, grades, steps, and railings. A path in a Japanese garden is designed so that each step brings forth a new view, a new smell, and a new sequence of muscular actions: lifting the foot onto a step stone, walking over a narrow bridge, peering between branches. A child’s path may be designed in the same fashion. Inside, the pathway can involve motor experiences as well – tunnels, balance beams, or planks on a rug, and rough or smooth surfaces."

Caring Spaces on Sale! This week only you can purchase Greenman’s environmental design guide at a 20% discount - CLICK HERE

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