Miss Mari's Preschool
An Adventure Every Day!
Center Ideas for Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers
I am a firm believer that most of the behavior problems that occur during class can be solved by the students being engaged in the daily activities. For this reason, I change my centers daily. I know this may sound like a lot of work, but it's really not. I usually bring out three new centers a day. Now, this might not be a completely new center. I might just be changing or adding to a center that is already out, but it is something new for the students that will help keep the activities exciting and make them want to go back.
During Opening Circle time, after we pick our Classroom Helpers for the day, I show the students the new centers. I tell them what it is, I model how to play with it correctly, I model how to play with it incorrectly, and I show them how to clean up when they are done. I also talk about social situations that might happen during playtime and how to handle that situation. For example, one of our rules when we have the trains and train tracks out is not to be a "train hog." I tell that students that if Billy has five trains and Calvin has no trains, what is Billy supposed to do? I have found that this really helps minimize problems during Center time. The students know exactly how to play with the toys and how to clean them up, so they just need a few reminders.
I model EVERYTHING, even if the students have seen it before. I rotate my centers every few weeks, so the kids will see the same center every three months or so. I will model it again for them since it has been a while since they have seen the center.
