This reduces the caregivers need to leave the classroom numerous times daily, while providing for full visual supervision of children in the classroom. A pod design is where one large room is divided into two classrooms through a combination of half and full walls. A pod design is less costly than two separate classrooms, which require extra plumbing and square footage. It also allows for informal visiting of children and staff between rooms and easier transitions for infants moving up into a toddler classroom. Each classroom should have access to a sink adjacent to the food prep area, a sink adjacent to the diapering area, and a child height sink in the classroom for older infants and toddlers.
Natural light enhances the quality of the classroom.
Children need to feel connected with the natural environment. This height allows infants who are able to pull to standing, and older children to see outside, but it also provides the ability to create an activity area against the wall. This will increase the amount of functional space and prevent accidents from doors opening into a baby. This will increase the amount of light into the classroom, warn adults going into the classroom of children on the other side, and provide an added space for children to observe coming and goings. The walls frame the activity areas, while the center of the classroom remains fairly open.