ABSTRACT
The overarching theme of early childhood constructivist pedagogies is that in order to support learning, practitioners need to look at how they are teaching from a child's perspective. The first priority is to create an environment that is physically and emotionally secure and safe. The environment is often referred to as the third teacher providing a variety of spaces for children to experience and explore. The environment is carefully studied, from the physical structure to the internal layout of the various centres or exploration places. In an attempt to provide the best, practitioners may be tempted to overcrowd the learning environment with furniture, toys and equipment. Building up a collection of natural resources began with items found in the immediate environment (leaves, shells, bark and twigs, rocks and pebbles). These provide the children with many opportunities to develop their understanding of concepts such as big and little, same and different, long and short, few and many, heavy and light.
