Learning Centers Ideas?

[3kidzmama]

I currently have a play area, an area I call "the learning corner" which is for pre-k group activities and lessons, and a book area. I'm wanting to change it so that I have several learning centers. I've thought of reading center, cars center (with an area rug with roads and a town on it), art center, home center, and block center. After that I'm stuck. Can't think of any others.
Do any of you have centers? How do you have them set up, and what are they? Pictures would also be really appreciated!!

[familyschoolcare]

science
bugs
animals

[Abigail]

I like your ideas so far. When I do my setup, I'm going to have a reading center with books and soft places to sit. (Right now it's a toddler mattress as the "couch" with little throw pillows. I'm not going to have an art center right away until I get enough "big kids" who can use it. I have wonderful items to create a dramatic play area which includes a kitchen, dolls, dress up, pretend pets, and soon a child-sized table for the area as well. I'm going to have all the manipulatives (or at least the few I'll have available at once) on a higher shelf. Then all the blocks/cars will be together. Finally all the other general toys will be placed on a shelf as well. So my categories to start out with will be....

Dramatic Play
Reading Area
Manipulatives
Blocks/Cars
Toys

I'm also going to have the calendar and morning circle time area somewhere as well.

[melskids]

i have...

dramatic play: kitchen, dress up, and a doll house mostly, but other things get rotated in due to space...like the puppet theatre and tool bench

blocks/cars: unit blocks, carboard blocks, foam blocks, hollow blocks, tree blocks, small table top blocks, and legos/duplos. also props like people, trees, buildings, and the wood train tracks

a cozy/reading area: i also use a crib matress with throw pillows and a few stuffed animals...i also put the listening center stuff here....books on tape and old walkmans. there are also books throughout the room...science books by the science stuff, books about food in the kitchen area, and books about building by the blocks. you can never have too many books!!!!

a table top area : there are a few shelves....one for math, science, literacy, fine motor, puzzles. things on these shelves get rotated alot

a writing area: a desk with paper, pens, pencils, markers, stickers, envelopes, stamps, stencils, and all that stuff

sand and water table with all the accessories

art area...a table, art shelves, and an easel.

the baby area gets moved around depending on how many/ if i have any babies...

we move the coffee table (in the living room) and do music/gross motor stuff there....

the SA have special stuff in those rubbermaid drawers on wheels, which gets pushed back into my sons room at night. the SA kinda hang out in there, or the living room.

everything is out on low shelves and available throughout the day...we spend ALOT of time learning how to properly play with, care for, and clean up our stuff.

there are pics on my FB page....i think this will bring you to it...i'm not the best at computer stuff...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.350599002472.154582.348397697472

[3kidzmama]

science
bugs
animals

Interesting ideas... How/what do the children do in these centers?

[3kidzmama]

I like your ideas so far. When I do my setup, I'm going to have a reading center with books and soft places to sit. (Right now it's a toddler mattress as the "couch" with little throw pillows. I'm not going to have an art center right away until I get enough "big kids" who can use it. I have wonderful items to create a dramatic play area which includes a kitchen, dolls, dress up, pretend pets, and soon a child-sized table for the area as well. I'm going to have all the manipulatives (or at least the few I'll have available at once) on a higher shelf. Then all the blocks/cars will be together. Finally all the other general toys will be placed on a shelf as well. So my categories to start out with will be....

Dramatic Play
Reading Area
Manipulatives
Blocks/Cars
Toys

I'm also going to have the calendar and morning circle time area somewhere as well.

I actually really like the idea of using the crib mattress as a soft seating area. Never thought of that!

Also curious about dress-up. I currently have nothing but would love to add it. Only thing is those dress-up clothes are soooo expensive!! I've thought of just getting some clothes from garage sales or goodwill, and letting them dress-up in those. Do you do regular clothes or do you buy the dress-up clothes?

[3kidzmama]

i have...

dramatic play: kitchen, dress up, and a doll house mostly, but other things get rotated in due to space...like the puppet theatre and tool bench

blocks/cars: unit blocks, carboard blocks, foam blocks, hollow blocks, tree blocks, small table top blocks, and legos/duplos. also props like people, trees, buildings, and the wood train tracks

a cozy/reading area: i also use a crib matress with throw pillows and a few stuffed animals...i also put the listening center stuff here....books on tape and old walkmans. there are also books throughout the room...science books by the science stuff, books about food in the kitchen area, and books about building by the blocks. you can never have too many books!!!!

a table top area : there are a few shelves....one for math, science, literacy, fine motor, puzzles. things on these shelves get rotated alot

a writing area: a desk with paper, pens, pencils, markers, stickers, envelopes, stamps, stencils, and all that stuff

sand and water table with all the accessories

art area...a table, art shelves, and an easel.

the baby area gets moved around depending on how many/ if i have any babies...

we move the coffee table (in the living room) and do music/gross motor stuff there....

the SA have special stuff in those rubbermaid drawers on wheels, which gets pushed back into my sons room at night. the SA kinda hang out in there, or the living room.

everything is out on low shelves and available throughout the day...we spend ALOT of time learning how to properly play with, care for, and clean up our stuff.

there are pics on my FB page....i think this will bring you to it...i'm not the best at computer stuff...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?...2.348397697472

Impressive!!! I love your arrangements!! Sooooo jealous!! I'm saving money to buy more stuff, and I see lots of things in your pics I am adding to my "must have" list. Thanks for sharing!!!!

[familyschoolcare]

Interesting ideas... How/what do the children do in these centers?

science depends on the average age

bugs you could get plastic bugs to play with and posters of bug and their parts

Science could change every day

try mixing water and corn starch lots of fun. after a while the corn starch settles. so the texture is constantly changing.

Elmers Glue (does not work with all of the genetics) and liquid starch (equal parts) makes pudy.

[melskids]

Impressive!!! I love your arrangements!! Sooooo jealous!! I'm saving money to buy more stuff, and I see lots of things in your pics I am adding to my "must have" list. Thanks for sharing!!!!

youre welcome!

for dress up clothes, i found some stuff at yard sales/thrift stores, i asked parents to donate old halloween costumes or even stuff from their jobs (one is a nurse, on is in construction, etc), i got ALOT from walmart right after halloween...everything was 75% off.

the other thing we have is playsilks and large bolts of fabric. the kids can pretend to be anything they want with those. many of the fabric pieces have animal print on it...i also found in a clearance bin at walmart! these are actually the favorite around here, more so then the traditional costumes.

[3kidzmama]

youre welcome!

for dress up clothes, i found some stuff at yard sales/thrift stores, i asked parents to donate old halloween costumes or even stuff from their jobs (one is a nurse, on is in construction, etc), i got ALOT from walmart right after halloween...everything was 75% off.

the other thing we have is playsilks and large bolts of fabric. the kids can pretend to be anything they want with those. many of the fabric pieces have animal print on it...i also found in a clearance bin at walmart! these are actually the favorite around here, more so then the traditional costumes.

So you just put out large peices of fabric for them to drape on themselves? I bet they do love that! I'm so doing that!