Center Justifications

This is why we choose to teach young children

using centers.

WaterCenter

Through water play, a childmay:

  • acquire mathematical or scientific skills
  • learn about measuring
  • enjoy filling and emptying
  • understand the concepts of “wet” and “dry”
  • experience cause and effect
  • enjoy the fluid sensations of water
  • experience warm and cold
  • learn rules of safety regarding water on the floor

DollsCenter

Through dressing dolls, a childmay:

  • gain finger dexterity
  • learn about seasonal clothing requirements
  • learn to button, snap or zip
  • practice caring for another person
  • assume the role of mother, father, or caretaker

SandCenter

Through sand activities a child:

  • may acquire mathematical and scientific concepts
  • may integrate his/her cognitive, fine motor and gross motor skills
  • may enjoy conversation
  • may need to wait for a turn sometimes
  • may enjoy the tactile stimulation of the sand
  • may enjoy measuring
  • may gain experience with cause and effect
  • learns rules of safety
  • may enjoy emptying and filling

SpecialCenter

With the special materials in this center, a child:

  • may explore individual aspects of our unit o9f study
  • may discover new ideas or materials
  • may manipulate new or unusual materials
  • may practice sharing or taking turns
  • may build his or her vocabulary
  • may appreciate things that belong to someone else and need special care

Art Center

Through art a child:

  • enjoys sensory experiences
  • has opportunities to plan and think for himself/herself
  • enjoys manipulation by squeezing, pounding, brushing, cutting
  • experiences creative ways of using materials
  • has opportunities for releasing emotional frustrations and tensions
  • experiments with color
  • finds new ways to share his/her school experiences with family members
  • learns responsibility for clean-up

**It’s the process—not the product—that’s important

BookCenter

Through books a child:

  • may enjoy handling and looking at books
  • learns to listen to stories
  • increases his/her attention or interest span
  • develops new concepts and adds to previous experiences
  • learns to visually attend to activities
  • begins to take responsibility for the care of books
  • increases his/her vocabulary
  • may get new ideas and develop interests in new things

FingersCenter

Through manipulatives a child:

  • enjoys a sense of achievement
  • learns to solve problems
  • learns to work independently
  • has opportunities to make choices
  • may enjoy conversation
  • develops coordination and fine motor control
  • learns to manipulate materials
  • forms mathematical concepts
  • may play imaginatively

PlayhouseCenter

Through dramatic play in the playhouse a child may:

  • learn to play (work) independently
  • develop coordination and fine motor control
  • enjoy imaginative play
  • “try on” the roles of many different family members
  • work through personal family situations
  • begin to develop a sense of orderliness

ComputerCenter

Through computer experiences a child may:

  • be exposed to concrete and playful learning where he/she can practice responding to real life situations in a non-threatening and constructive manner
  • acquire pre-academic skills (shapes, numbers, letters, same/different one-to-one correspondence)
  • observe, experiment, explore
  • experience cause and effect
  • begin acquiring computer literacy skills
  • learn to cooperate
  • learn impulse control

SkateCenter

Through experiences with skates a childmay:

  • experience “heavy” and “taller”
  • develop balance
  • learn to wait his or her turn
  • gain fine motor skills
  • gain dressing skills
  • learn to ask for and receive assistance
  • have fun with motion
  • llearn about gravity

PuzzleCenter

Through puzzles a child:

  • may increase fine motor skills
  • may develop an understanding of part-whole relationships
  • learns to work independently
  • learns to solve problems
  • will practice making choices
  • may learn to finish what he or she started
  • may gain information or develop concepts

Manipulative Center

Through these manipulatives a child may:

  • gain manual dexterity and fine motor skills
  • learn about part-whole relationships
  • work cooperatively with another child
  • enjoy conversation
  • explore different textures, colors and weights in materials
  • practice sharing materials
  • experience comparatives such as longer, higher, taller, bigger
  • enjoy constructing, with or without the production of a specific end product
  • gain skills in problem-solving

MagnetCenter

Through magnets a child may:

  • enjoy manipulating materials
  • understand “same/different” concepts
  • enjoy imaginative play
  • practice counting, sorting or organizing materials
  • improve coordination and fine motor skills
  • learn to solve problems
  • experience magnetism first-hand

BlockCenter

Through blocks a child:

  • has opportunities for using large and small muscles
  • chooses sizes and shapes
  • learns to use his own ideas
  • may enjoy conversation
  • begins to recognize the rights of others
  • learns to put materials away
  • learns about gravity
  • learns to make decisions
  • has opportunities to cooperate and collaborate

Listening Center

Through listening a child may:

  • enjoy hearing a story
  • enjoy an independent activity
  • enjoy listening to music
  • learn to turn pages on cue
  • increase his/her attention span
  • develop new concepts and add to previous experiences
  • increase his/her vocabulary
  • assume responsibility for equipment
  • learn to view himself/herself as a “reader” or a “listener”

Dramatic Play

Through dramatic play a child:

  • plays out home experiences
  • develops muscular coordination in imitating actions
  • has opportunities to play alone
  • has opportunities to “help”
  • may role play life situations
  • may begin to cooperate with others
  • reveals thoughts and attitudes through conversation
  • develops his imagination
  • may develop thinking and reasoning skills

WritingCenter

Through writing a child may:

  • enjoy manipulating writing materials
  • begin to understand that printed words express thoughts
  • choose an idea or thought to express
  • appreciate the writing of others
  • learn to view himself/herself as a “writer”
  • have positive literacy interactions with an adult
  • discover that writing can be an effective communication tool

ScienceCenter

Through observation of natural objects a child may:

  • acquire mathematical or scientific skills
  • learn to appreciate natural beauty
  • become more aware of her/his surroundings
  • learn to help care for plants and animals
  • develop an interest in experimentation
  • experience magnetism first-hand
  • learn to use a magnifying glass

ABCCenter

Through the ABC center a child may:

  • learn to recognize letter symbols
  • enjoy play with letter symbols
  • begin to understand that printed letters express sounds
  • connect letters with pictures that began with that letter
  • arrange letters to form words
  • learn to view himself/herself as a “reader”
  • enjoy an independent activity

PuppetCenter

Through puppetsa childmay:

  • gain hand dexterity
  • develops muscular coordination in imitating actions
  • have opportunities to play alone
  • role play life situations
  • begin to cooperate with others
  • reveal thoughts and attitudes through conversation
  • develops his/her imagination
  • act out stories with puppets