LEARNING CENTERS

Today we introduced Learning Centers, which we will do twice a week. When doing a learning center, children work independently on their own task/activity. Upon completion of the task, children need to be checked by the teacher before they can clean up and put away their learning center.
Below are photos of the first set of learning centers the children will be doing. There are ways learning centers can be differentiated in order to meet individual needs and abilities.

Shape Classification and Identification
Children are given a set of photo cards with different objects and are asked to sort them according to their shape. Once this task is completed, some children are given another set of photo cards to sort with more challenging shapes including pentagon, octagon, and hexagon.

Numerical Order 1 through 10 and Counting
Children are asked to put numbers 1 through 10 in correct order. They are then given cards with a certain number of objects that they must match to the corresponding number. We are assessing numeral recognition (1 through 10); numerical order (1 through 10); and one-to-one correspondence. As an extension, some children will be asked to recognize and/or produce 2-digit numbers beyond 10.

Patterning
Children are given plastic bears and cards. Using the bears, children continue the pattern shown on the card.

On the last pattern card, children can create and continue their own pattern.Things That Go Together/Logical Associations
In this activity, children are given a set of cards and asked to pair them together logically. We then ask the students to explain their pairings. In the example below, a child might say, "You drink milk with cookies" . Another child might pair the cookies and the carrots together giving the explanation that, "The cookies and carrots are both foods.

Sequencing
Children are given 5 different "stories" , each consisting of 3 cards. Children put the cards in order according to what happens first, second, and last in the story. We then ask the children to verbalize what is happening in each picture.

Reading Readiness
Children need to match the colored object to the color word that appears in the corresponding color. On the flip side of the cards below, the color words appear in black. Children with emerging reading skills are asked to match the colored object to the corresponding color word in black.

Matching and Identifying Upper Case Letters
Children are asked to match the letter tile to the letter on the card. We then ask the children to identify the letters for us in random order. If children are comfortable with this task, we ask them to match the upper case letter tiles to the corresponding lower case letter on the card.

Matching Upper Case Letters to Lower Case LettersSpatial Reasoning
In this learning center, children view the puzzle pictured below put together. The puzzle pieces are then taken out and mixed up and children are asked to put the puzzle back together.