So recently I posted about changing around my dramatic play area and opening a grocery store in the classroom. This, in itself, was exciting. However, there is an equally exciting side story. In order to create the grocery store, I had to move a lot of furniture and “re-purpose” it. So my clothing storage shelf for dress up and my couch and chairs for the house area needed new jobs. Thus, the library!
We are now really involved in several exciting reading and writing units – poetry, how to books, goods and services. I checked out an enormous amount of books to immerse my students in these new subject areas, and I set up a little library in a new area of the classroom.
It has been like magic! The kids are drawn like magnets to these books. More than half of my class has been choosing to explore these books during their free choice time (trumping blocks, coloring, games, and marbles), and they simply LOVE sitting on the couch and chairs to read. Never underestimate how powerful a little scenery change can be. In the Reggio Emilia philosophy of education, environment is the third teacher. This new environment has really supported the reading energy in my room.
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