Sensory Garden Design Solutions in Child Friendly Environments (Case Study: The Children of the City Of Isfahan, North West-District #12, in Pre-Elementary and Elementary Schools

Abstract

Different stages of child development indicate that a large amount of children's learning process is gone through by perceptual skills related to the surrounding environment. Besides, children need to be active and stimulate their own senses in the environment more than others. The aim of the present study is to find out the importance of the existence of the environmental stimuli in child friendly spaces. Moreover, this study analyzes the characteristics and patterns of outdoor designs responsive to children's senses, and also deals with the way these outdoor designs affect children's growth. This research is a descriptive-analytic study, and the approach of the research is psychological. This study uses documentary resources to reveal the concepts and the importance of the issue. Finally, the research distributes questionnaires to obtain the characteristics of designing the sensory garden. The findings of the study revealed these design solutions: 1.Appealing and friendly environment, 2.Active participation and the integration of ideas, 3.Access to a variety of activities, 4.The possibility of free games, 5.Natural and green spaces, 6.Individual and group activities, 7.Social interaction, 8.Perception and understanding of values, 9. Different space colors. In this respect, the sensory garden leads to improving the healthy senses and the gradual growth of children's senses.