Indoor Reading/ Quiet Area

[AnonyMouse_32166]

Hiya,

 

just wondering if people could post any ideas for making the reading area cosy. In my classroom i hung a piece of material from the celling to make a sort of tent. This defined the area and children loved to sit underneath. However the fire inspector came around and i had to take it down as it hung over the radiator and it might catch fire!

 

I don't really move the area as i have it on the edge of the carpet .

 

This wondering if anyone has any suggestions as now it doesn't look very inviting!

 

Thanks

Emma

[Guest]

Grr to health and safety rules!!

I used to have one of those overbed canapy wotsits over my reading corner but I suppose that wouldn't be allowed either for the same reason.

My reading corner now has a nice thick rug and lots of beanbags and cushions of different sizes. I bought big cushions from Ikea (£5 each) and some cheap fleeces also from Ikea (about £3 each) in a few different colours and made cushion covers from the fleeces. They're really cosy and comfy I've also got a couple of blankets in there so they can get tucked up if they like.

Another idea I've heard is to have a pop up tent in class and chuck some cushions and books in there. I've never tried this myself because I use my reading corner for story time and I don't think we could all squeeze into a tent! But if you just want it for the children to use independently it might work for you.

Hope this helps xxx

[Guest]

What about adding some fairy lights? We have an over bed canopy too and I've recently put in some puppets which the children like. I also have my listening centre in their and they like to snuggle up on the bean bags and listen to a story. I'm definitely going to put some blankets in there now, that sounds lovely. I've also just taken down our most recent learning wall and have put all the photos into a scrap book which I'm going to put in there, as my class like nothing more than looking at photos of themselves.

[Guest]

Hi, if you have a corner space, get a length of plastic stuff for hanging net curtains, and string it across to make a kind of triangle shape, then hang materials from that to cordon off the area.

[Guest]

We have the cheap muslin curtains from Ikea. We thread them onto bamboo canes and hang from hooks on the ceiling - another way to cordon off the area. Also have fairy lights intertwined around branches in a pot. beanbags, cushions, mats, fleece - lots of different textures and lots of wicker baskets.

As well as book trolley also have CD player and headphones and a box of musical instruments and floaty materials.

Song box - inside lots of favourite songs and props.

Also have a story basket that changes regularly - at moment we have some Thomas stories with some track, trains, train whistle, hat, bag, tickets, pencils and paper.

[AnonyMouse_11396]

Hi like you i was determined to make our book area a comfy cosy and inviting place for the children to sit look and share books or just rest if they like.

We have a large 5 panelled board on wheels to make an enclosed area, one of these had a cut-out window, i purchased some wonderful coloured voile fabric which my lovely friend hemmed for me, sprayed it with fire retardant spray and attached with a wire plastic coated thingy for nets.

I also bought a great sparkly blind that you normally put at back doors to keep the flies out it is lovely.[ all from a shop called The Range].

Have a new bug carpet and large bean bag from bean bag bazaar, and tiny bean bags pack of 6 from A to Z supplies.

Not sure what your budget is but Ikea is great, The Range, and Asda did have some great cushions going cheap recently.

Love the idea of the tent to thanks missblinx

[AnonyMouse_13789]

Do you find that your children use the reading area well? I have tried a lot of different things, all of the above and still my children don't really use it for reading.

I also put books in every area and they use these more...... do you think it's because that is what they see adults doing more of at home, reading in different contexts.

[AnonyMouse_11396]

Like to try new things and keep it fresh so for a while i selected books for the different areas within the room, so for example vehicle books on the mat with the cars, garage, number books with PSRN, and so on this worked well. Also made our role play area into a library which was great.

[AnonyMouse_32166]

yes i also find that the reading area is used but not mainly for reading! i also have books in different areas of the classroom which are used more.

 

Thanks for all the ideas. i need to ask nicely for some funds first though!

Emma

[Guest]

We are having a go at theming our book corner each half term. Last half term it was a jungle-Elmer, Handas suprise-full of fur fabric, pictures, animal words in the introduced phonemes and soft toy animals. This half term its a wood with soft toys, buffets of wood, baskets of leaves and conkers-Owl babies and Gruffalo. We are creating story sacks with each focus book and one area is for a listening area (once the equipment arrives!) Over covering all of this is a £3 parasol from Asda which is quite low to add to cosyness. Not a very good picture . It was taken for our tidy up chart right at the beginning of September, there isn't even any books in the box! The base of the parasol has fabric around it now and the net over the top changes colour-orange at the moment. Theres a small hole in it that fits the knob of the parasol to hold it. Net and parasol go down at night so not to block the alarm!

Edited November 15, 2010 by Guest

[AnonyMouse_18910]

http://abcdoes.typepad.com/abc-does-a-blog...-talk-sofa.html

 

Have a look at the link above, I'm making an area like this in my setting. So far it's working well, but we are half way through.

 

I've also built pentagon dens wih the children (got the idea from the forum two years ago) It never fails, I only took our down today to make way for a teepee.