The paper reflects on the importance of the material environment in a preschool institution, in accordance with a contemporary educational approach that views space not merely as a physical environment, but as the third teacher. Modern methods in pedagogical practice see the child as an intelligent and creative being, capable of independently organizing their activities. Therefore, it is essential to create a safe, flexible, and aesthetically pleasing environment that encourages the holistic development of the child through all its elements. This implies a well-equipped preschool space that provides children with various opportunities for active, autonomous, and purposeful shaping and exchange of experiences, individual and group learning, exploration, and play. Such a motivating environment is often divided into thematic activity centers, which might include, for example: a center for early reading and writing, a center for mathematical activities, a center for construction activities, art and music centers, drama activities, sand and water play, family role-play, and solitude, center for nature and research activities, center for manipulative activities and social games. These centers are equipped with diverse and stimulating didactic materials, but also with various unstructured materials that encourage children's creativity. Within the centers, activities are structured with regard to the interests and needs of the children and in accordance with their developmental level. This approach to child education and environmental organization requires a competent educator whose role is to observe, document, and adapt the space to the children's interests and needs. The educator is expected to recognize situations where their involvement in children's activities is desirable, as well as when it would disrupt the dynamics of children's interactions and learning. In his approach, the educator can implement work methods, activities or materials that are originally linked to alternative pedagogical approaches (Montessori, Reggio, Waldorf, Anji and others), and each of them see the importance of a quality spatial environment in their own way. The space as the third teacher offers opportunities for active learning, the acquisition of lasting knowledge, and the exchange of experiences with others. Ultimately, the goal is for the child to develop into an independent being, ready to embrace the risks of exploration and experimentation, in order to respond to the increasingly complex demands placed on them in lifelong learning.