I love creating Learning Centers for my preschoolers. I have several small tables set up for art, math, writing, science, phonics, and computer center. At each table I have a folder with the work or the picture of the work in the folder with a tally chart for each day. Once the child completed the assignment he/she moves to the next center. We even have centers for music, drams, puppet play, PE, and so on. Sometimes we use centers as musical chairs. We play music then stop the music and the child rotates to the next center.
Do any of you use learning centers on a daily basis?
Here are some ideas, http://www.successful-homeschooling.com/home-school-preschool.html
http://homeschooling.suite101.com/article.cfm/homeschool_learning_centers
Wow, that sounds awesome! Can you show us some pics? I’m sure it’d be inspirational for many of us!
Yeah, I need a bigger house!
Sounds like a good idea, but with all these little tables in my biggest room, the family room, there’d be no floor space. Maybe folders in a sleeve on a wall, with one desk/table…just have to go get the folder and return. Thats PE…physical exercise. Or just have the folders on the table. Bit hard for art and other spread out subjects…I have to think I could manage this space-wise. An extend-a-table could be handy. And desks with lids and room under the lid. Anyone got some space saving ideas? I read a book which even suggested raised platforms with storage underneath. They designed a whole house with under-floor storage.
Oh that’s right I forgot to mention I have the small fold up tables. We just place them when we need them. I live in a doubelwide myself so I know about space, there is none for storage at all. Thank goodness we have a 3 bay garage, and a lawnmover building. I redesigned my laundry room for our actual classroom. I have a small room but it has cabinets in it for storage. I just downsized my laundry needs and made them a class room. I myself am a pack rat so I have to learn to downsize. I keep all of my teaching materials in tubs outside. I organized everything according to grade and each idividual child. Also we use plastic rolly carts for extra storage in the clasrrom. I bought the ones that stack upon each other. Each child has their own. I also made a pocket chart to hang on my wall that is see through, they love it. I then place all of the childrens’ completed work in big binders that I recycled. People donate us old binders all the time. When our 2 came we placed some of our furniture in storage because of not having any room. Our coffe tables, book shelves, and so on is in storage, there just wan’t enough room to roam. Little sacrifices for the greater good.
I will post pics of our classroom and centers soon. By the way a nice tote workd great for a table, and a open space floor works great as well for the kids, maybe not us older folks but we have music using a picnic blanket and home made instruments in the middle of our living room floor, we have drama time in the children’s room on the carpeted floor, we sometimes have science outside on the front porch, and ofcourse we cook in the kitchen, we play sensory in the bathroom or bathtub, we made our own sensory tub the bath tub. My harth for the fireplace contains several baskets and tubs of educational toys, they can just grab and play. We also use my living room with the picnic basket for our TV time, or Bible Story movie time.
I will post the pics soon.
Pictures
Thanks for sharing…
That’s great that you have such a well thought out system for your kids. When I taught 2nd and 3rd grade, I had centers also. They are very effective and fun for the kids. I had a timer on and gave them about 19 min in each center and when the timer went off they cleaned it up and moved on to the next one in the order of the day they were assigned too. Thanks for your input and sharing photos, your giving lots of parents good ideas 