In Centers We Play and Learn

Art Center- When children work at the art center, they develop:

•  Social skills
•  Eye-hand coordination
•  Imagination
•  Small muscle skills
•  Creative expression
•  Problem solving skills
•  Concepts about size, color, shape, and texture

Play dough- When children play with play dough, they:

•  Develop small muscles
•  Create
•  Learn to share
•  Often pound and squeeze play dough helping angry feelings go away!

Discovery/Science – In the discovery center, students:

•  Observe
•  Experiment
•  Predict
•  Solve problems
•  Make decisions
•  Discover
•  Develop both science and math concepts

Block building – When students build with blocks, they:

•  Build muscle skills
•  Develop math concepts – number, size, shape, space, and weight
•  Plan and follow through
•  Work together with others

Pretend – In the Housekeeping center, children:

•  Learn to take on other roles – mother, father, doctor, teacher, waitress, waiter, etc…
•  Develop social skills
•  Work together with others
•  Develop language skills
•  Express themselves creatively

Listening – At the listening center, children:

•  Listen to a variety of stories read by a variety of people
•  Follow along in the book as it is read
•  Hear special sound effects that enhance the stories

Reading Center – When children play in the reading center, they:

•  Pretend read
•  Learn to enjoy, appreciate, and care for books
•  “picture read” books
•  Re-read familiar stories
•  Practice reading skills
•  Develop oral language and vocabulary
•  Practice rhyming skills
•  Develop story telling skills

Math Center – In the math center, students learn about:

•  Counting, sorting, and classifying
•  Making patterns
•  Comparing
•  Sequencing
•  Graphing
•  Measuring
•  Geometric shapes
•  Adding and subtracting

Writing Center – In the writing center, children:

•  Use a variety of materials for writing
•  Discover many purposes for writing
•  Write cards, letters, stories, and books
•  Develop small motor skills
•  Develop eye-hand coordination
•  Develop and practice letter recognition and phonics skills
•  Develop story telling skills