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Study these photos of school-age environments, and then answer the questions that follow. When you are finished, share your responses with a trainer, coach, or administrator.

1. What messages (positive and negative) does this environment send to the children in it?
   Possible positive messages:

   • You can have fun here.
   • You can express yourself here.

   Possible negative messages:

   • You cannot be by yourself here when you want to be.
   • You cannot trust what happens here.

    
2. What behaviors (positive and negative) would you expect to see in this environment?
   Possible positive behaviors:

   • Smiling, laughing
   • Active play, children working together

   Possible negative behaviors:

   • Yelling, screaming, crying
   • Pushing, shoving

    
3. What emotions might children and youth feel in this environment? How does this space help or hurt school-age children’s ability to meet their own physical and psychological needs for privacy, organization, personal space, and ability to move around? How might this ability (or inability) to meet these personal needs affect children and youth’s emotions?
   School-age children in this environment might feel excited, happy, frustrated, or overwhelmed. Although there are many opportunities for fun and active play in this environment, it might be difficult to move around. There is no space for children and youth to be by themselves. The environment might make children and youth feel like they do not know what to expect and cannot predict what will happen next. This could create stress for children, and as a result they may act more aggressively with each other and with their teachers.

    

4. What messages (positive and negative) does this environment send to the children and youth in it?
   Possible positive messages:

   • You can trust what happens here.
   • You can be by yourself here when you want to be.

   Possible negative messages:

   • You cannot express yourself here.
   • You cannot do things on your own here.

    
5. What behaviors (positive and negative) would you expect to see in this environment?
   Possible positive behaviors:

   • Quiet play
   • Attentive listening

   Possible negative behaviors:

   • Crying, whining
   • Running, wild behavior due to boredom

    
6. What emotions might children and youth feel in this environment? How does this space help or hurt school-age children’s ability to meet their own physical and psychological needs for privacy, organization, personal space, and ability to move around? How does this ability (or inability) to meet these personal needs affect children and youth’s emotions?
    

    

7. How are these school-age environments similar to/different from the first two environments?
   Like the first environment, these environments are fun and provide many opportunities for play. Like the second environment, it is well-organized. These environments are more home-like than either of the first two environments.

    
8. What messages do these environments send to the children and youth in it?
   These environments send a lot of positive messages to children, including:

   • You can trust what happens here.
   • You can be by yourself here when you want to.
   • You can have fun here.
   • You can express yourself here.

    
9. What behaviors would you expect to see in these environments?
   • Attentive listening
   • Smiling, laughing
   • Active, engaged but not wild, play
   • Children and youth working together
   • Development of autonomy (children and youth doing things on their own)

    
10. What emotions might children and youth feel in these environments? How do these spaces help or hurt school-age children’s ability to meet their own physical and psychological needs for privacy, organization, personal space, and the ability to move around? How does this ability (or inability) to meet these personal needs affect children and youth’s emotions?
    These well-organized environments and the predictable routines that accompany those environments help children and youth feel calm and content. The home-like and child-centered aspects of this environment make the environment seem familiar and help school-age children feel comfortable expressing themselves and engaging in projects on their own.