If you are never alone, you cannot know yourself.
– Paulo Coelho

Pradnya Patet, writing in her Community Playthings article “Designing Classrooms for Collaboration,” provides a number of design strategies that support children’s ability to work well together. One important point she makes, however, is that in addition to large enough group spaces, classrooms also need places children can find “safe haven.”

She explains: “Small defined spaces or havens allow children to retreat into spaces and feel safe. Children of all ages need a space to withdraw from over stimulation. Deliberately creating quiet areas in the classroom for children to retreat helps lower sensory overload…Lookouts or posts work in a similar fashion. Not only do they allow children to withdraw physically but give them a chance to survey the next space they want to enter and decide if it feels safe. Depending on the age of the child, pop up tents, bedsheet forts, half barrel rockers, or a smaller book nook can serve this purpose. It is amazing how much a short time with a few deep breaths in a haven or lookout can do especially for a child who is learning to collaborate.”

Especially when children are in group care, it’s vitally important that adults are able to tune into children’s individual needs for time alone and relaxation. In the Exchange Reflections, “Relaxation and Self-efficacy in Children,” beloved author Ruth Wilson writes how individual children can perceive relaxation differently from adults, often associating it with sensory-rich experiences like nature and play. This Reflections invites educators to have thoughtful discussions about whether children’s personal relaxation needs are being honored and met.