Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube

Not Just Cute

Whole Child Development

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Speaking
  • Podcast
  • Books
  • Contact
  • New? Start Here.

Unlock the Potential Within Your Room and Your Children With Learning Centers

August 21, 2009 by notjustcute Filed Under: Learning through Play and Experience 5 Comments

key

Montessori, Piaget, and Martha Stewart all have one thing in common.   All three would agree that a room should be a thoughtfully prepared environment, one that creates an invitation to those that enter.   Martha’s rooms may invite you to sit down and sip mint julep, but the other two postulated more about environments that invite children to learn. 

Children are born with a natural curiosity.  When a child walks in to a well-prepared preschool room, there is little that he or she needs to be told to do.  Different areas of the room are set with materials organized in a way that seems to call to the child, “Come, explore.  See what we can do together!”

Whether you call it “self-selected activity time”, “free play time”, “choosing time”, or “learning centers”, allowing preschoolers a large chunk of time to explore a variety of activities in an organized, inviting room is a vital part of early learning.  Here are a few areas to think about as you try to make the most of your room.

Dramatic Play Area (dress up, pretend play):  What you’ll find there:  Thematic props (menus in a restaurant, stethoscopes at the doctor’s office), clothes/ costumes, writing materials, mirror.  What they’ll learn there:  language, social skills, pre-reading skills

Book Area:  What you’ll find there: A variety of children’s books (preferably in a forward facing book shelf so that the covers can attract the children), comfortable places for sitting (pillows, blankets, chairs).  What they’ll learn there: pre-reading skills, vocabulary, theme incorporation

Working Tables(puzzles, games, manipulatives):  What you’ll find there: Table space for working with puzzles and games, baskets or shelves with materials that are rotated periodically.  What they’ll learn there: fine motor skills, cognitive development, social skills (games)

Sensory Table (sand, water, etc.):  What you’ll find there: Bin or commercial sensory table with sensory materials as well as tools for manipulating the material.  What they’ll learn there: sensory skills, creativity, motor skills, inquiry

Easel:  What you’ll find there: The obvious- easel and smocks with a variety of media and tools to create with.  What they’ll learn there: sensory skills, creativity, motor skills, inquiry

Art Table:  What you’ll find there: Creative art materials that change from day to day, space and materials for more than one child at a time.  What they’ll learn there: sensory skills, fine motor skills, creativity

Writing Area:  What you’ll find there: A variety of writing utensils and papers, alphabet charts, envelopes, clip boards, tools such as scissors, staplers and hole punches.  What they’ll learn there: prewriting skills, alphabet recognition, fine motor, language

Block Area:  What you’ll find there: Unit blocks as well as other constructive toys from time to time (marble race sets, megablocks, train tracks, etc.)  What they’ll learn there: spatial awareness, logic, math, language, social skills, creativity

Flannel/Magnet Board (think interactive bulletin board):  What you’ll find there: Thematic concepts presented in a way that the children can manipulate pieces and parts (flannel leaves for creating patterns, magnetic shapes for constructing a house, etc.).  What they’ll learn there: pre-reading, fine motor, theme incorporation, cognitive concepts

 Try to define these areas visually in the way you position the furniture and supplies (ie: the shelf holding your books backs up to the shelf holding the puzzles, separating the two areas).  Once you’ve defined the areas, walk around your room and make sure that you, as a teacher, have a good site line from each area to the others, without having to move too far away from any one spot.  This will help you monitor your class. 

As you arrange your room, pay attention to which areas you put next to each other with particular consideration to the noise and mess levels.  For example, the block area tends to be loud, while the working tables might require some quiet concentration.  Would it be a problem for your children to have those areas right next to each other?  Also, I like to distance my art areas from my book area, hoping I can intercept the blue-painted hands before they’re firmly planted on the cover of a book.

As teachers we sometimes have to work with what we’ve got.  Few of us are lucky enough to be able to say that we have all the space and supplies we would like.  But take a look at your room and think creatively.  How can you best implement these learning centers in the room you have?  You may have to share a space and alternate the activity (sensory one day, easel the next).  You may have to create easels that attach directly to the wall to minimize the space required (Bev Bos’s book, Don’t Move the Muffin Tins, has instructions for this). 

Learning centers enhance the learning that takes place in each activity, and keeps children engaged because the children are allowed to follow their individual curiosities and passions and go at their own pace within a planned, purposeful environment.  Even Martha would say that’s a good thing!

For more back to school ideas, click here!

Photo courtesy of Kriss Szkurlatowski

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Related

Trackbacks

  1. Back to School! 10 Things to Consider While You’re Preparing for a New Preschool Year « Not Just Cute says:
    August 21, 2009 at 2:40 pm

    […] a look at your room.  Have you organized your Learning Areas?  Find out about how to get the most from your room and give the most to your […]

    Reply
  2. Terrific Transitions at Preschool Arrival and Departure « Not Just Cute says:
    August 24, 2009 at 12:50 pm

    […] wait to depart.  For my arrival/departure transition times, I like to have children go right into learning centers as they come in.   At the end of the day, I schedule in about 5-10 minutes of “buffer […]

    Reply
  3. Meeting with the Taller Half « Not Just Cute says:
    August 25, 2009 at 2:22 pm

    […] what exactly does each of those activities mean?  What type of curriculum do you use?  If you use learning centers, give a little tour and explain what skills each area promotes.  This is a great opportunity to […]

    Reply
  4. Checking Out Preschools? Here are a Few Things to Look For… | Not Just Cute says:
    January 17, 2012 at 1:46 am

    […] level and see it through her eyes. Can you see the decorations? Can you reach the supplies? The room should be arranged in a way that invites your child to participate, and teachers should be able to identify the […]

    Reply
  5. Planning a New School Year? 12 Tips to Give You a Head Start | Not Just CuteNot Just Cute says:
    August 6, 2012 at 11:44 am

    […] you set up your classroom, you’ll want to take a mindful approach to creating your Learning Centers.  This post will help you to be aware of what you should find in each area, and what kind of […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

search this site

Privacy & Cookies: This site may use cookies to customize your experience. Learn more by reading our Privacy Policy.

I’m Amanda Morgan. Here’s what I’m about…

In early education, there is too much distance between what we know and what we do. I bridge the gaps that exist between academia, decision-makers, educators, and parents so that together, we can improve the quality of early education while also respecting and protecting the childhood experience.

Content Copyrighted (2008-2025), Amanda Morgan, All Rights Reserved

Get Our Newsletter & Developmental Guide

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 · Swank WordPress Theme By, PDCD

 

Loading Comments...