Learning Centers

Once a day (twice a day for the children who stay all day) the children are able to play at our Learning Centers. The children stay at the Center of choice for 15 minutes and then are able to either stay at that Center for the second 15 minutes or go to another Center! Although the children are playing, they are learning many many concepts and skills!

Several of the Learning Centers are in our preschool classroom and the other Learning Centers are in our second ("extra") classroom. Therefore, during Center time, the children have a lot of room, making our classroom less crowded!

Most of the Learning Centers change throughout the school year. For example, the wooden blocks will be a choice for a month and then the children will vote to change the wooden blocks to another type of building material. Our art materials also change over time, as well as the books in the Reading Center according to the season and current theme that is being studied. Our House Center changes to a restaurant, doctor's office, grocery store, or a Center that interests the children!

The Reading Center gives children an opportunity to relax and read, either alone, with a friend, or with a small group of friends! Children who need a peaceful place will often seek out this cozy corner!

This Center is equipped with a large selection of books. Books including alphabet books, wordless books, factual books, math books, silly books, science books, books with rhymes, books about transportation, community helpers, character education, health, and many more types.

The books are often rotated according to the seasons and classroom themes.

(I placed the above container in our Reading Center. On the rings are important words - words such as the names of every child in our classroom, the days of the week, number words and our sight words! The children love to find and read their own name, names of peers, and other important words! Preschool children are readers!)

Our Writing Center is a favorite Center! A Writing Center allows children to freely investigate and explore writing. At this Center our younger children will experiment with early forms of writing, including scribble writing. Other children are writing using phonemic awareness, that is, they are writing down the sounds they hear in words. All children love to write their own letters, books, and lists. They often write notes to one another, family members and to the staff!

Some of the materials included in this Center are: lined/unlined paper of various colors and sizes, envelopes, blank books, index cards, crayons, regular and colored pencils, clipboards, stapleless stapler, chalk/chalkboards, and alphabet cards. In the photo above you can see a magnetic board where the children are able to display their writing!

In the Block Center children explore and investigate. They learn socialization skills, math and science concepts, and literacy skills. Children learn to collaborate by sharing ideas and materials. They learn about size, shape, texture and weight that affects a building's strength. They learn new vocabulary words such as "cylinders", "patterns", and "symmetry." Children deal with spacial and structural problems as well. They enjoy role playing. When the children are finished in this area they learn to be responsible by sorting the materials and placing everything back where it belongs.

Staff are able to observe children exploring, working cooperatively, sorting, grouping, comparing and arranging materials.

Materials rotate in this Center, such as: wooden blocks/wooden vehicles, Bristle Blocks, Waffle Blocks, Llegos (including multicultural Llego people), Interstar building materials, a farm set, gear sets (children put together objects that incorporate gears that really turn!), and train sets.

In the Science Center the children learn to investigate, experiment and learn many science concepts. The children learn new vocabulary words such as "repel" and "attact" when discussing magnets. They learn about magnifying glasses and how to use them. Children learn about scales and predict whether an object weighs more, less or the same as another object. Children bring in all kinds of interesting objects from nature such as pine cones, shells, and stones to explore, compare, and sort.

Some materials included in this Center: plants, pan scales, a standard bathroom scale, magnifying glasses, rulers, tape measures, magnets, shells, clipboards, paper, writing instruments, and science books. Many of these materials/objects are rotated throughout the school year.

We have a large variety of puzzles that we rotate every two months. Examples are: number puzzles, alphabet puzzles, community helper puzzles, science puzzles and puzzles that reflect cultural diversity. We have puzzles of varying levels from the very simplest to more complex.

In the Art Center children are able to use their imaginations to create all kinds of 2-D and 3-D artwork! Children also develop their fine motor skills, learn to recognize colors, patterns, shapes and explore their own original designs. They learn about a variety of textures too. Children learn to appreciate the art of their peers. Some items in this Center are: standard and colored pencils, markers, paints, and crayons (standard markers/crayons/paints and those that are "people colors" - that is, that have various shades of skin colors!). We have all types of paper, scissors (standard and crinkle-cut craft scissors), old magazines, fabric, craft sticks, glue, paint, yarn, playdough, and stencils. There is an easel for painting/chalk drawing. Children not only create out of playdough, but we also make our own playdough!

We encourage children to send in unwanted materials from home to be recycled in this Center! Parents have sent in items such as empty cardboard toilet tissue rolls, empty paper towel rolls and envelopes from their "junk" mail.

The children thoroughly enjoy the Math Center. We have a large variety of math manipulatives that we rotate periodically. Exploring activities through manipulatives lay the groundwork for abstract concepts such as sorting (by color, size, shape), ordering, making patterns, classifying, counting, and comparing (for example, we compare sets for more, less, and equal amounts). Using these materials develops their fine motor skills as well. Some materials included in this Center are: geoboards, ordering boards, linking chains, stringing beads, colored cubes, pattern blocks (with activity cards) and numerous other manipulatives. In our whole groups, small groups, and individually, children play a variety of math games such as Numbers Bingo, memory games, matching games and math board games.

We have some wonderful educational software of varying levels!The children learn a variety of skills.At times, the children will work together in pairs or with an adult.

Children role play here and interact socially. For example, after a visit from a dental hygienist, the children pretended that the child in the dollhouse had to visit the dentist. They create their own stories as they role-play and practice turn-taking!

This texture table provides children opportunities to explore the principles of science and math. They acquire social skills by collaboratively creating objects with a peer such as a sand castle. Children develop fine motor skills as they scoop and sift sand and manipulate objects. The materials in the texture table are rotated - at times we will put water in the table. Children will predict whether or not an object will sink or float - they will then test their predictions. If we are studying birds, we will put birdseed in the table. Some objects included in this table that are rotated depending upon the substance placed in the table: measuring cups/spoons, small containers of varying sizes, sifters, shovels, basters, water pumps, and other objects. Staff facilitate by asking open-ended questions. Questions are asked such as, "How many spoons of sand will it take to fill up the small blue bucket?" (children predict first and then test!)

The children role play here and interact socially. We have over 30 puppets that are periodically rotated.

The House Center provides opportunities for make-believe, role play and social interactions. Pretending to be people in situations they've experienced (or would like to experience!) helps give children a sense of the adult world. It gives them opportunities to work together, express their feelings and ideas and use language to communicate their roles and respond to others' needs and requests. This Learning Center includes: multicultural dolls, dress-up clothes (including multicultural clothing), hats, paper/pencils, newspapers and flyers, a sink, stove, refrigerator, table/chairs, kitchen equipment, wheelchair for dolls, doctor's kit (with a functional stethoscope!), and telephones.