Setting Up the Right Classroom Environment

“Can I tell you something?” the teacher asked as she pulled me aside.
“Of course,” I said.

“Every day I would remind one of my boys, ‘Keep your chair still… feet on the floor… sit nicely…’ And we were stuck in this loop. But after the conference, I wondered if maybe he wasn’t trying to misbehave. Maybe he just needed a better view. So I moved his chair slightly so he could see his friends more easily. And right away… he stopped moving it.”

She smiled and added, “I didn’t have to correct anything. Changing the environment did the work.”

Her moment captures the heart of what so many educators experienced at the JES Early Childhood Conference with Lisa Murphy, known nationally as the Ooey Gooey® Lady, exploring how the environment influences and shapes a child’s experience. The conference room buzzed with joyful, sensory rich play: Oobleck, flubber, soap shavings mixed with wet toilet paper scraps, simple science experiments, and all kinds of ooey gooey messes, all reminding teachers how deeply children learn through hands‑on discovery. 

And the impact was immediate. The very next morning, our JES staff saw fresh sensory stations, open ended materials, and brand new invitations for exploration already appearing in classrooms that often didn’t have that. 

Shortly after, another teacher reached out to a JES consultant for guidance. Her two and three year olds were full of big feelings, big movements, and big needs. She wanted support in helping each child through their challenges, but as we talked, we began to wonder whether the classroom setup itself might help everyone feel more grounded.

We explored simple, practical ideas to enhance her environment: adding a cozy corner where children could retreat when feelings grew big, and incorporating more sensory experiences — both wet and dry throughout the day. None of it required a full overhaul, just thoughtful shifts in how the environment supported the children.

Two days later, when a JES consultant visited her classroom, the teacher was eager to share what had changed. Her room felt calmer, safer, and the children were more connected. The group was playing with Magnatiles, but now the teacher had added spray bottles and shallow trays of water. The children had transformed the materials into a full car washing station to prepare toy cars for Pesach. It was magical to watch. A small change in materials had opened an entire world of creativity, cooperation, and joyful communication.

Later, the teacher reflected:

She shared how teachers of two and three year olds are placed in a fascinating position. Their students are changing so quickly, so dramatically, and are deeply sensitive to everything happening around them. She realized that she, too, had been experiencing sensory overload without noticing it. She had been reacting to each child one at a time, when really, the classroom itself needed a fresh start, almost like hiring a personal stylist, but for the environment instead of her clothes.

And the difference was immediate.
Her child who struggled with emotional regulation now had a calm place to go.
Her quieter child began talking more as materials became more engaging and open ended.
The whole classroom felt more grounded, including her.

“It’s a completely different level now,” she said. “The ideas were simple, easy, doable… I was just so focused on sticking to the structure from the beginning of the year. Once I shifted the environment, everything else shifted too.”

These stories reflect what Lisa Murphy calls the foundations of play: time, space, relationships, choice, independence, and rich sensory experiences. When these elements are present, children often show fewer moments of overwhelm and more moments of curiosity, connection, and confidence.

It’s not that teachers need to control children less or more. It’s that sometimes, when the environment meets children where they are, they naturally settle into who they are meant to be.

We cannot control every behavior, and we don’t always need to. But we can shape the environment to support development, ease stress, and invite joy. And when we do, the environment becomes our partner. It holds the children, it supports the teacher, and it allows everyone in the room to thrive together.