Set up where the play area will be located in the room, or dedicate a room as the playroom. Keep quiet areas near quiet areas and loud areas near loud areas. Housekeeping should be by the entrance or at the busiest part of the room with blocks next to it, as these tend to be the loudest areas. Divide the room into areas for housekeeping/dramatic play, blocks, manipulative play/puzzles and large motor skills. Tape off areas on the floor.
Choose a color for each development section. Paint the areas a different color. This will make each small play area distinct and separate. This can be done by painting each section a different color and/or by having different color carpet in each section.
Set up the appliances in the dramatic play or housekeeping area. This area is where the children will learn to share, compromise, practice verbal skills and develop their understanding of symbolic representation. A kitchen with a child-size table and chairs, dolls, stroller and doll-size crib can be used in this section. Clean empty cereal boxes, macaroni boxes and other food boxes are great for the housekeeping play area and can be replaced regularly.
Set up the block area next to housekeeping. Blocks teach understanding relationships between size and shape, basic math concepts, such as geometry and numbers, as well as symbolic representation. Set up shelves with plastic bins to sort and hold the blocks and large interlocking blocks to define the block area as well as help keep it orderly. The block area is a good place to have a road-map carpet with trucks and cars.
Place puzzles and large stringing beads in the manipulative play area. This is a quiet area and should be placed in a part of the room that has less traffic, such as under a window. A long child-size table and chairs works well for the manipulative play area.