Practitioners at a day nursery were improving the environment for babies. Responding to research which suggests that babies focus on high contrast tones of black, white and red, they created a high contrast area in the baby room. The practitioners worked with parents and carers to provide black and white photographs of the babies and people and objects which were special to the babies and mounted these on display boards at babies' eye level. The baby room was designed to stimulate the babies' senses and encourage exploration, with differently-textured materials at ground level for them to reach and grab. The materials included soft cushions, silk scarves, silver foil, black plastic pots and voile.
These practitioners were able to:
Babies' experience of learning is in the here and now. It is in the babies' moment of curiosity, puzzlement, effort or involvement that the skilful adult makes a difference.
In the box below, make a note of the features in your workplace to make it more appropriate for babies and list any improvements you might make.