If you’ve ever wondered why a program or classroom feels stressed, frenzied, or just not right, chances are that the PITCH is one of the primary causes of that “ick” feeling. There are four types of environments that in early childhood programs: The physical environment, the interpersonal environment, the temporal environment, and the curricular environment. These four: P, I, T, C, can be designed to create harmony in each classroom and the program. When they do in fact, work well, your program has the right PITCH and everything flows. When they do not work together, programs may be dysregulated.
You may already know how to set up the most of these environments, but you might not realize that the temporal environment is responsible for an imbalance. The temporal environment is all about timing: Daily schedules, including arrival, snacks, choice time, group times, outdoor play, and the transitions from one to the other. Directors will often set up schedules for teachers to have turns with their classes on playgrounds, in music, dance, etc. But is the schedule really working for the children or are the adults scheduling to fit children into constructs that work for them not the children? In this paradigm-shifting webinar by Dr. Tamar Andrews, professor and the Director of Early Childhood Education at American Jewish University, you will explore how to find the right PITCH, with a special focus on temporal environments. Tamar will deepen your understanding of predictable routines and help you uncover how to know when the PITCH in your program is working.
In this session you will learn to:
- Analyze your current schedules and determine what they consist of. Identify areas of weakness and strength in your current schedules.
- Utilize theory and best practices to design better environments that promote more harmony in the classroom and program.
- Develop skills and take back notes and checklists to teach these practices to your staff.
