School Lockers: More Than Just Simple Storage By Kris Starliper At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

It’s probably the first thing you notice walking into a preschool room: the area where children store their coats and other supplies. Usually these lockers are open and are small enough that children are able to hang up their own coats and put their own things away. School lockers serve many purposes in a preschool program. Not only are they a place where children store their belongings, but they also can support literacy development, give children a sense of security, and keep the preschool tidy and well-organized. The locker is a repository for everything that belongs to an individual child.

For example, it is a great place to store extra clothing the school should have on hand in case a child has an accident or somehow gets messy. Items brought for “show and tell” can also be stored in the child’s locker. An extra jacket or sweatshirt for the surprising cool day will allow a child to enjoy the outdoors and, of course, can be kept in the child’s locker. In order to identify a child’s locker, many preschools place the child’s name on the locker in large letters. Children typically learn to read their own names first and to recognize the letters in their names. Having the child’s name on the locker not only clarifies which locker belongs to whom for preschool staff and parents, but it also helps children to develop the critical skill of literacy.

For many children, preschool is their first experience with large groups of other people and with being away from home for a period of time. In such situations, children need to know that the locker is their own special place for their very own things. For children who are insecure, security items such as special toys or blankets can be stored in the locker where they are accessible when the child needs them. Of course, preschool children cannot be counted upon to remember to tell their parents about important papers such as field trip permission slips. Teachers can place papers that need to go home with a child in the child’s lockers and parents can be instructed to check the locker for papers and such when they pick up their children.

Also, a child’s artwork that is ready to go home can be stored in the locker until parents pick it up. Each locker could even have a clipboard with notes about upcoming events or things that happened that day so parents could have that information available easily. As children move through their schooling in elementary, middle, and high school, they will have lockers. The preschool locker helps them to learn basic locker etiquette, such as respecting another child’s ownership of his or her locker. Lockers give children safe places to put their treasures. They give parents and teachers a place to communicate when school events prevent the possibility of talking together. They support children’s efforts in learning to read. And they give children opportunities to take responsibility for keeping track of their coats, boots, artwork, and other things.

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