Perception of environment in preschool children's drawings (4-6 years) and required qualifications for children's environments

Many children spend their time indoors and have very limited relationships with nature due to the shrinkage of safe open spaces (parks, playgrounds, urban forests, squares, etc.) as a result of unplanned urbanization. The increase in time spent with watching television and playing computer games isolates children from social surroundings. However, play is the most effective way to prepare the child for adulthood. Playing games improve children's skills, talent and personality. Children should experience appropriate games in appropriate environments to accelerate the development process and increase the impact of childhood on personality formation and development. The children reconstruct the information they acquire from the environment by visual perception in their minds through their senses. In the first years of life, the experiences through perception play an important role in shaping lifelong behaviors and attitudes. For this reason, environmental perception of preschool children, which is at the heart of the education system, is very important. Preschool children aged 4-6 years spend most of their time in kindergartens. Kindergarten gardens and urban open spaces should be designed depending on the play needs of children. Creating design criteria for children's environments can be possible by knowing the identity development and psychological needs of children. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the environmental perceptions of the preschool childrens aged 4-6 years. In this context, 43 children from Şirin Kreş and Gündüz Bakımevi and Düşler Akademisi Kreş ve Gündüz Bakımevinde were asked to draw pictures about their environment. The analysis of the drawings has revealed that the children depict the environment they live in and what they see around them. The children included vivid and warm colors in their paintings. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that the children included 17 different natural elements and 20 different artificial elements in their drawings.