Learning Centers in the Preschool Classroom

Turn Free Play Time Into High-Quality Education for Young Children

Sep 21, 2009

It may look like free play, but it's really all about teaching. Find out how savvy preschool educators enrich the daily classroom experience by using learning centers.

At first glance, a noisy preschool classroom with children talking, building, painting, scribbling, digging, splashing, and pounding may appear to be barely controlled chaos. In reality, the children are very busy learning. Learning centers allow teachers to create time and space for students to extend thematic learning, experiment with open-ended materials, and engage in sensory experiences. It requires commitment on the part of teachers, but the rewards in the education of children are immeasurable.

Extend Classroom Themes

In order to create a balance in the process of learning, teachers introduce a theme for children to consider through games, projects, and other hands-on activities in a small group. Once a theme has been introduced in a teacher-guided setting, learning centers can be utilized to further extend the learning process.

Enrich learning centers with activities that children are able to accomplish independently or in conjunction with a small group of peers. Teachers are available to assist in social interactions and extend the play while children explore, experiment, make observations, and draw conclusions.

Open-Ended Materials

Learning centers are best when children have a wide variety of materials at their disposal. The very best materials are those which can be classified as open-ended. Such materials allow for many different kinds of experiences rather than one pre-determined conclusion. A good example is the literacy center. In a literacy center, teachers can offer:

Writing examples are also helpful, including a child’s-eye view of the alphabet, lists, magazines, catalogues, newspapers, and junk mail. Having these types of materials available, children are much more likely to engage in rich and meaningful writing and literacy experimentation.

Sensory Learning

From the day they are born, children take in information through the senses. The most effective way to reach children is to teach through sensory experiences. Learning centers should be rich in materials designed to appeal to the senses. Every learning center can offer opportunities for visual, auditory, and tactile learning.

In a building center, offer many shapes, sizes, colors, and textures of blocks made from different materials such as wood, paper, and plastic. Add a wide variety of toy vehicles and a culturally diverse mix of little people and animals and children are invited into endless play scenarios.

Having paper and pencils available encourages children to make sketches, trace shapes, and plan building projects. As themes in the classroom change, new features can be added, such as ideas for new projects, pictures or examples, words lists, and photos of completed structures.

Time for Engaged Play

There are generally two schools of thought regarding how to structure learning center time. A free-formed approach allows children to move from center to center at will for the entire learning center portion of the day. A more structured method involves having children choose a center and remain there for a certain period of time, such as 20 minutes. After that time period is complete, the children clean up and choose another area in which to play.

Each teacher can judge the most appropriate system for her particular classroom and population of students. Either way, it is important that preschool-aged children are encouraged to fully engage in their play for extended periods in order to gain the most social, emotional, language, cognitive, motor and sensory development.

An art center with an abundance of material holds children’s attention and keeps them creating for long stretches of time. This is a center where olfactory and gustatory experiences can be easily added. Homemade dough and paint recipes can be scented and flavored using non-toxic ingredients like flavor extracts and spices. Be sure to check allergic ingredients and watch for reactions in paint or dough that touches skin.

Change Often to Hold Attention

An extremely important feature of good learning centers is regularly changing materials. Children who play with the same materials every day become bored, and boredom quickly turns to conflict. In order to promote optimum learning, centers should have core equipment with a changing array of additions that correlate with the current theme. An inexpensive solution is to trade age-appropriate toys and materials with other classrooms. Home-based preschools can develop a network with other providers and trade with them.

The dramatic play center can be changed often to tempt children into high-quality play. It is easy to get into a housekeeping rut in this area. While children generally enjoy time to play house with child-sized kitchen equipment, there are hundreds of other ideas for different dramatic play centers.

With a little creativity, teachers can use existing equipment in new ways to maintain children’s interest. A toy wooden stove, covered with butcher paper, can become the front desk for a hotel, library, doctor’s or vet’s office. It can also be the check-out for a grocery, retail, or home supply store.

Active Learning

Although they require careful planning, creativity, and commitment, learning centers are one of the most important features of a developmentally appropriate preschool classroom. By extending current themes, providing sensory play, allowing for open-ended experiences, and holding attention, centers give children the time and space to become active, engaged learners.

The copyright of the article Learning Centers in the Preschool Classroom in Preschool is owned by Karen Corekin. Permission to republish Learning Centers in the Preschool Classroom in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.