A fundamental factor in the development of a child's relation to his/her environment is the support and facilitation of activities found in the environment during the developmental phases of the child. The purpose of the study is to account the places of importance, as perceived by pre-school children, in their environment. The information about children's spatial experiences may help in planning the environments, which support the development of children to the highest extent.

Theoretical Background

The basis of the research is the idea of the reciprocal relation of a child and his/her environment. By their actions, the children actively influence their environment and, on the other hand, the environment dictates the possible activities for the children. Childhood, as seen in the society, is formed of this two-way interaction (see Raittila 2008). This concept of the interaction between man and the environment can be labelled transactional.

In the research the relation between man and the environmentis studied by the tradition of humanistic geography, focusing in the individual experience. However, the subject is also approached from the cultural geography point of view, in which it is conceived that environmental experience is not only built subjectively, but intersubjectively: in addition to our own experiences, the experiences of others and media influence the way we see our environment.

Environment, place, space and activity space are fundamental concepts in the research.

Research Methods and Data

The research involved developing a new way to study the activities and experiences linked to places through collecting and documenting "in situ" experiences of children, who were allowed to reflect their environment independently during several days. Mobile telephones with camera and the Binder application allowed the children to photograph their important places and situations. The children bare GPS-transmitters, which saved spatial information of their activity spaces. The photos taken by the children were printed and descriptions of the places were written on them. The photos were used as a basis for interviews during the following week. The children were individually interviewed and they could freely speak about their photos and experiences in their environment. The data was collected in Rovaniemi (Muuroal; 4th grade*) and Helsinki (Jakomäki; 5th grade*). Together twelve children took part in the study.

The results show an emphasis of the school as an important space for social relations and community. A lot of pastime friends are the ones at the school class. Even if virtual places, such as the Internet and television, are important for some pupils, physical places were clearly preeminent in the results. Hobby places and constructs, like playgrounds, are important for children. Still the unbuilt environment, especially the forest around home, was mentioned as an important ground for playing with friends. Natural environments were also mentioned as places for seclusion, tranquility and, on the other hand, excitement. Different sentiments of fear were almost exclusively linked to social fear, e.g. certain places were shunned because of encounters with drunkards.

*Finnish school system grades.

Public places, especially malls in urban environment, were important for the children as places of pastime and meeting. The importance of open public spaces was preeminent for those children who had not a lot of directed hobby activity. As a counterweight for public places, the importance of home and own room stood out as a place of security. For many children the impact of having pets was big. Children's activity spaces, especially the spaces for independent activity, were limited to the near perimeter of home and school. Places further away, e.g. hobby places, were often travelled to with parents.

Conclusion

Against the assumption that physical distance would lose its importance in urban environment - as people search for suitable places for their activities, disregarding distances - children's activity spaces seem to be relatively limited to the perimeter of school and home, in the light of this research. Since these activity spaces are limited, there should be a variety of places of interest and pastime near school and home. The children like the places meant and built for them partially because they are publicly available. Parents also let the children pass their time in these dedicated places. The children seem to have a need to further develop the environment by figuring new uses for the places. Because of the importance of school specifically as a birthplace of social relations, it is vitally important to sustain a good and secure school atmosphere. The results show the fascination that children bear to self-created things such as shacks, drawings and environmental art. In the light of the research, children seem to value reward through activity. Playing with pets and caring for them was also conceived as important, and the pets were held dear. An interesting thought to play with is how to integrate the positive value of self-creations with school. There are multiple options to this, and they are increasingly easy to implement if taken into consideration already in the planning of the school and its perimeter.