Teachers organize and structure the environment to support specific educational goals. Children do not spend all day in structured activities and drill and practice. They do not sit at a table all day doing worksheets. Instead, each child will be provided a solid foundation for academics by emphasizing concepts and process, along with the active manipulation of relevant concrete materials and interactive experiences. Children need to get their hands on stuff and manipulate it themselves. They need to see it, touch it, smell it, taste it, hear it, and feel it. Children are motivated to learn by their desire to make sense of their world. For children to understand and remember what they have learned, it must be meaningful and interesting to them.

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Open-ended activities foster creativity, risk taking, and trying out new ideas. Children must be allowed to be in control and to make choices. The teacher prepares the environment so it provides stimulating, challenging activities. They are constantly adding additional challenges to push children’s thinking.