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Background. The trends of developing child friendly urban environment result in designing of play areas in places which are not specifically made for children: train stations, cafes, shopping centers, etc. The design of such places requires research of children’s behavior, understanding and experience of using play equipment and materials. This article deals with children’s play spaces in trains and at railway stations in Moscow.

The purpose of the study is to highlight the principles of organizing play environment and equipment at train stations, airports, in trains.

Play spaces at the railway stations and toy`s sets for kids in trains were analyzed according to the basis criteria of the examination of play spaces and toys. Based on the data obtained, the principles of organizing space were proposed, taking into account the special conditions in traveling (a large number of people, rush, small space, children of different ages, etc.).

Research results. The study showed that play spaces at railway stations are unsuitable for children’s age needs: they are like copies of typical street playgrounds, include the same equipment, designed for kids aged just 2-5 years and mostly for movement and not for the role play. In trains play spaces are better adapted for cognitive and productive activities of children, while play and motor activity are ignored. Play sets are also designed for age 3-6 and require significant changing. This analysis allows us to identify 3 key principles of organizing children’s space in trips. Creating a children’s space, it is necessary to consider the duration of trips, the capacity and possibility of a place, age specific of play, speech and other activities of children. It is also important to focus on the features of age and remember that adults are the mandatory companions of the child in traveling. This study can serve as a basis for a more detailed and large-scale study of the issue of children’s spaces, as well as a general guideline for evaluating and designing such play spaces.

The paper has been devoted to the study of the influence of the developing subject and spatial environment on the creativity of the early childhood teacher and the child. The purpose of the study is to learn the process of development of the early childhood teacher’s creativity, based on the assumption that the work on improving the development environment will inevitably contribute to the development of the teacher’s creativity. This paper has been prepared on the basis of materials of research of developing subject and spatial environment of 26 groups of 4 early childhood institutions in the city of Ivanovo, Russia. Scales of Analysis developed by the author were used as an analysis toolkit. The toolkit is focused on the assessment of the teacher’s performance through the conditions he or she created for the creativeness of children. The problem of definition of the concept of creativeness in the work of the teacher and activity of the child is considered. The reasons of manifestation of creativity of the teacher and the child in the process of creation of the developing environment are explained. The developing environment has been analyzed through different perspectives: as a factor influencing the child’s activity and motivating the child to play, and the teacher to work, and as a space that changes the adult or child, while showing creativity. The research has shown that the involvement of teachers in the improvement of the playing space contributes to the support of children’s activity. The research revealed a slight improvement in the organization of the development environment of the experimental kindergarten groups. Thus, we established a correlation between the development environment, the work of the educator in its creation and the appearance of creativity in the play and other activities of the preschooler. The low score of the assessment of changes in the development environment in the experimental early childhood educational institution can be explained by the fact that the approach of educators to the design of playing space remained the same. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the level of teachers’ knowledge in the field of organizing the development environment and to do it simultaneously with the practical work on improving the playing space.

Background. In the context of the implementation of the Federal Educational Program for Preschool Education, many kindergarten teachers face difficulties in organizing a developing environment, which leads to tension and disagreements within the team. Studying the teachers’ attitudes towards this issue will not only reveal the professional aspects of improving the quality of the educational environment, but also identify areas for working with teaching staff.

Objectives. Identification of the essence and contradictions in the attitude of preschool teachers towards the organization of a developing material and spatial environment.

Sample. The study involved 28 respondents aged 25 to 65, including teachers and specialists from preschool educational institutions in the Ivanovo region.

Methods. The study was based on discursive design and qualitative content analysis of pedagogical essays that expressed the author’s position on the main issues of creating a developing environment in a kindergarten. The analysis of the essays’ content was conducted based on four aspects of the organization of the subject space, including approaches to zoning, the composition and content of corners (activity centers), aesthetic design, and the possibility of children’s participation in changing the space.

Results. It has been revealed that determining approaches to zoning the group’s space presents a particular challenge for modern educators, as they must choose between a clear division of the environment into play areas or a “dispersed” arrangement of materials. Educators have expressed a desire to increase the diversity of the play areas, with a trend towards moving away from unpopular play centers and encouraging children’s initiative and creating conditions for their activities. A separate issue is the difference in approaches to understanding the aesthetics of a kindergarten between educators and supervisors, which can hinder the collaborative creative work of educators and children within the group’s physical space.

Conclusions. The essence of teachers’ attitude to the organization of the developing environment is expressed in the contradiction between the need to comply with formal requirements, which are expressed in the structuredness of the space and its external attractiveness, and the importance of providing conditions for the child’s initiative and activity. Improving professional training and working with pedagogical teams can be carried out by transforming professional values from a superficial understanding of the environment as a system of “correct” corners to the formation of a holistic image of the environment as a space for the developing interaction between the teacher and the child.