Creating engaging and educational displays in early years settings is a powerful way to enhance learning and inspire young minds. Thoughtful displays can stimulate curiosity, reinforce learning concepts, and provide a dynamic environment for children. Here are some innovative display ideas for early years classrooms, with a special focus on understanding the world.
Nature Corner
A nature corner is a wonderful way to bring the outside world into the classroom. Fill this area with natural objects like leaves, rocks, pinecones, and flowers. Add magnifying glasses, microscopes, and identification charts to encourage children to explore and learn about the natural world. Display pictures and information about local wildlife, and rotate items with the seasons to keep the display fresh and relevant.
Cultural Exploration Board
Create a display that celebrates diversity and teaches children about different cultures around the world. Include maps, flags, traditional clothing, and artifacts from various countries.
Use photos and stories from the children’s own families to make it personal and relatable. Highlight different cultural festivals and traditions, and incorporate language by displaying common phrases in various languages.
Weather Watch Station
A weather watch station can be both educational and interactive. Use a large wall chart to track daily weather changes, and encourage children to be “weather reporters” who update the chart each day. Include instruments like a thermometer, rain gauge, and wind sock. Display pictures and information about different types of weather and their effects on the environment and human activities.
Eco-Friendly Display
Teach children about sustainability and caring for the planet with an eco-friendly display. Use recycled materials to create the display itself, and include information about recycling, composting, and reducing waste.
Show examples of eco-friendly practices, such as using reusable water bottles and bags, and encourage children to share their own ideas for protecting the environment.
Animal Habitats
Design a display that explores different animal habitats around the world, such as the rainforest, desert, ocean, and arctic. Include pictures, models, and information about the animals that live in each habitat, as well as details about the environment itself. Create interactive elements, such as flaps to lift or buttons to press, to make the display more engaging.
Seasons and Celebrations
A dynamic display that changes with the seasons can keep children engaged and excited about learning. Highlight the characteristics of each season with pictures, poems, and sensory elements like leaves in the fall or blossoms in the spring.
Incorporate celebrations and holidays from around the world that occur in each season, explaining their significance and traditions.
Transportation Station
Create a display that explores different modes of transportation. Include pictures and models of vehicles like cars, trains, planes, and boats. Use a world map to show how people travel in different countries and regions. Add interactive elements like toy vehicles or a pretend ticket booth to make the display more engaging.
Dirty T-Shirt Display for Parents To help parents embrace the mess that children return home in put up one of your school t-shirts covered in stains on a noticeboard surrounded by explanations of how this enables very important learning. We have a print out of quotes and sentences to use with a display with a dirty t-shirt titled ‘It’s not dirt, it’s me learning’.
Classroom displays are a fantastic way to enrich the learning environment and help children understand the world around them. By incorporating interactive elements, real-world connections, and diverse perspectives, educators can create displays that not only educate but also inspire curiosity and wonder in young learners. With these ideas, you can transform your classroom into a vibrant and dynamic space that supports early years education and fosters a love of learning.
