classroom design: shared rooms

my little one-room schoolhouse that could will, eventually, be growing into a two-room schoolhouse. in thinking about how to design this new space, i have been very excited (and overwhelmed) by all the creative possibilities. i am also acutely aware of the constraints of time, budget, and space. viewed in one light, these constraints could be seen as burdensome and limiting. viewed in a more optimistic light, however, these constraints can be seen as lending some structure and boundary (two things i am quite fond of as a preschool teacher!) to an otherwise limitless set of possibilities.

the expansion of my school will involve moving from having one mixed-age classroom to having two classrooms. the classrooms might be two equally mixed-age classrooms, or may be divided by age. though these two classrooms will be separated...

(perhaps like this)

... i am really interested in the idea of creating common spaces for children from both classes to work together. i especially like the idea of common work spaces where children at different ages can come together to exchange ideas. the common work space suits my educational philosophy and approach and, i expect, will fit nicely within my school's space and budget constraints.

here are the common work spaces i have in mind:

an art area, inspired by the reggio atelier:


a dramatic play area:


and a block area (picture a much bigger space, filled with many such buildings!):