Center Time Fun

Center time is a very important time in Kindergarten.  We have center time Monday- Thursday from 10:45-11:00 a.m.  We have 7 centers in our classroom.  They are:  the listening center, the writing center, the art center, the math center, the house center, the block center, the letter center, and the game center.  Each center contains hands on activities or materials  that help the students learn important Standards of Learning (SOL's).  It is also a very important time for social development in the classroom. Each child will rotate through the centers in a two week period.  After two weeks, the centers will change and new materials and activities will be introduced to the students.

Listening Center-  In the listening center, the students will listen to books that connect to learning in the classroom. 

Writing Center-  A teacher will always be in the writing center with the students in order to help each child with a writing activity.  The writing center allows the students to develop their language and writing skills.  It is an important time for the students to practice connecting sounds to letters and practice writing their letters.

Art Center-  A teacher is also always in the art center in order to help the children practice important skills such as fine motor control, coloring skills, cutting skills, creativity, and various other skills.  The activities are both fun and challenging, and the students always enjoy creating their special works of art.

Math Center-  A teacher also works in this center too.  In the math center, the students will find many hands on manipulative to practice the skills we learn during our math time.  We also have an activity that incorporates the Kindergarten SOL's in a fun and exciting way.  The children learn by having fun, which is always the best way to learn.  We work on counting, writing numbers, sorting, graphing, understanding tally marks, and we even incorporate some science skills in the math center. 

House Center-  This is always a popular center in Kindergarten.  It may seem that the students are only playing in the center, but so much valuable learning is actually taking place.  Here, the students have more freedom to develop skills on their own.  They learn how to socialize with other students, how to take turns and share, how to live in a home with others, and how to treat their friends in a fair and kind way.  There are always smiles on the faces of the children in the house center.

Block Center-  This is another popular center in Kindergarten.  Here the students will learn very important social skills.  They also have time to develop their creativity skills.  Here we may find our future engineers and builders.  

Letter Center-  In the letter center the students will work with a parent volunteer to reinforce learning in the classroom.  We learn a new letter every two weeks.  The students work on activities that relate to our new letter with the help of our parent volunteer.  They love working with our parents and this is a wonderful way to open our classroom to our students parents who are eager to be a part of their child's learning.  The students develop cutting skills, coloring skills, fine motor skills, creativity, sound and letter development, and writing skills.

Game Center-  This is another fun center in Kindergarten.  Here they will find many fun games and activities that relate to SOL's in the classroom.  The students will work together in small groups and learn how to play and take turns while getting along with each other.  Sometimes, our aid works in this center with the students on a specific activity, but most of the time, the student are allowed freedom to work on whatever game or activity that they choose.