This chapter introduces the reader to learning environments in early childhood settings. It explores different aspects of learning environments, including the physical environment, design considerations, risky play, resources and materials, and fostering responsibility for the environment. In doing so, it explores the notion that what an early childhood teacher does in the environment is a mode of scholarship. The scholarship of teaching in early childhood education and care involves systematic inquiry into children’s learning to inform educational practice. The teacher makes decisions about the construction of the learning environment – that is, the enactment of curriculum grounded in children’s learning interests – within the context of a socially just early learning environment. Reflective practice encourages us to inquire why the learning environment is constructed in the way it is, and what the environment’s construction says about what is expected to happen in that space and place. Your own identity – your values, motivations, roles and definitions – will influence your actions or the ways in which you inhabit places, and is an important starting point for inquiring about the early learning environment you intend to co-create with young children.

Youth circus opportunities are part of a global expansion in circus arts practices. Although defined with different nuances in different locations, Youth circus is generally accepted to include any youth participating in learning circus skills for non-professional reasons, including recreation, physical education, and social contexts. Anecdotes describing the transformative and beneficial effects of learning circus abound. Research indicates that the introduction of circus arts to a broad youth population has been shown to increase motor competence, motor confidence, physical literacy, self-determination, and encourage risk assessment. This chapter describes how research describing the benefits from participating in youth circus can be understood within the framework of risky play. When engaging in risky play, youth test their own physical and emotional limits in order to develop strategies that will benefit them when encountering future risks. The opportunity to participate in risky play enables youth to learn to trust themselves and develop awareness of their strengths and weaknesses. Learning circus offers a context for diverse, incremental, and individualized risk-taking, in environments where instructors and equipment provide risk-management. Looking at research results through the lens of risky play contributes to a description of youth circus as an enriching activity.