true toys

Arranging Kindergarten Classrooms

Helping kindergarten teachers achieve working in aesthetically pleasing and pedagogically correct kindergarten rooms

TRUE TOYS

BY TAMARA TANDARA PERÉNYI

The environment we live and work in impacts how we think, feel and behave. We know this now.

Years of teamwork with exceptional colleagues in diverse kindergarten settings have taught me how to create supportive, aesthetically pleasing kindergarten rooms that enhance both learning and teaching.

In most kindergartens, as teachers, “we” struggle with excessive commercial toys, insufficient storage space, cluttered appearance and unappealing rooms.

Eventually, it leads to a gradual loss of visual sensitivity to the overall aesthetics and functionality of a kindergarten room, hindering effective teaching, causing overwhelm or discouragement, and negatively affecting children and teachers alike.

I put together guidelines that assists all teachers, regardless of experience, in rearranging and organizing their kindergarten classrooms intentionally.

Project Work

I began tailoring toys & tools for children since I started to work as a kindergarten teacher. This is how TRUE TOYS came to be. In the recent years, my focus shifted towards the space - the place of where we keep the toys and its significant role in kindergarten teaching and our everyday life.

Toys are what kindergarten teachers teach with, intentionally or not, daily and mostly, assisted by our silent colleague - the physical environment or in the words of Loris Malaguzzi, "The Third Educator".

Testimonials

My favorite thing about the Kindergarten Room Enhancement Project is that we could finally get rid of the items that made the entire space too colorful and busy, and replace them with light and natural color ones. This created a much calmer atmosphere. I only wish we had more time with the carpet search.

I love how every area has its function now, and that the whole classroom setup promotes independence. Playing around with different arrangements is totally worth the time and effort. Making minor adjustments can be a game-changer.

Thank you so much for the thought and effort that went into the Kindergarten Room Rearrangement proposal. You have this magical ability to make things clearer, brighter, better… and somehow you always appear with the right idea, tool, object, from the recesses of the school.

If I had to choose one word to describe you, it would be precise! I truly think you did an amazing job, and I feel we had very similar ideas, but I never had the time or energy to execute them on my own.

You are always there to lend a helping hand, a kind observation or suggestion. You're always in the right place at the right time. I don't know how you do it? Thank you! I’m so grateful.

Tamara Tandara Perényi

KINDERGARTEN TEACHER &
TRUE TOYS CREATOR

Children’s toys and kindergarten space are my niche. I can show you how to turn your kindergarten room into both aesthetically appealing and pedagogically correct environment through rearranging the furniture and curating toys for play.

I believe, the more one delves into their chosen professional interest, irrespective of others’ opinion, they expand their knowledge base but also their confidence builds up steadily and expertise grows irreversibly.