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Center Concepts
Art Area
- When the child works in the art area, he/she:
- is more concerned with the process than with the finished product. This is as it should be for this stage of development.
- learns about colors and how to use them
- learns to use imagination and transfers ideas to paper
- gets emotional satisfaction from being able to express himself/herself
- learns how to use small muscle coordination to handle a brush
- learns how to make choices and decisions
- increases language ability by talking about his/her creation
- learns how to use materials like scissors, paste, tape, and staples
- learns how to use imagination to make the kind of creation in mind. Once again, the process, not the finished product, is important
- learns about shapes, sizes, colors, and textures
- realizes that he/she has good ideas and is a person of real worth
- develops his/her creative potential
- becomes aware of and appreciates the beauty of the world
Housekeeping Area
When the child plays in the housekeeping area, he/she:
- learns what the roles of mothers, fathers and children are
- understands what it feels like to play at being someone else
- learns how to use imagination
- learns how to cooperate with other children
- increases his/her ability to communicate with others about personally meaningful experiences
- imitates and describes sounds from the environment
- pantomimes actions such as cooking and vacuuming
- expresses feelings
- establishes relationships
- verbalizes new information and concepts
- internalizes and comprehends new ideas
- role plays real life situations involving positive ways to handle conflict and differences
- learns about cultural differences and accepts them
Block Center
When the child works in the block area, he/she:
- learns to use imagination to create something from his/her own thinking
- has the satisfaction of being able to make something
- learns about sizes and shapes, weights and balances, height and depth, smoothness and roughness, volume, friction, and gravity
- is exercising his/her body
- may be learning to play with others
- learns to communicate ideas through language when discussing similarities and differences
- learns to solve problems and make decisions
- creates patterns when building
- represents personal experiences through role play and pretending
- develops eye-hand coordination, visual perception, large and small muscles
- learns math concepts such as number values and classification
- builds a rich vocabulary
Quiet Area
When the child works in the quiet area, he/she:
- has an opportunity to work alone or together with other children
- gains satisfaction in completing a puzzle or game and builds self-confidence
- has a opportunity to improve eye and hand coordination
- distinguishes and describes shapes
- fits things together and takes them apart
- develops and awareness of symmetry in one’s own representations
- compares and sorts objects into groups
- recognizes and creates patterns
- compares numbers and amounts
Story Center
When the child listens to stories or looks at books, he/she:
- learns to listen
- has the opportunity to increase vocabulary by hearing new words read
- learns about different concepts, people, and places
- learns to enjoy books and reading
- visualizes the things he/she is hearing about
- begins telling stories from pictures and books, in an orderly sequence
- begins hearing likenesses and differences in words
- recalls information that is seen and heard
- sees adults reading and enjoying stories
- learns to recognize the name of common objects, places, and actions
- develops book awareness concepts such as following pictures and print from left to right
Sand and Water Area
When the child works in the sand and water area, he/she:
- finds it soothing to bury his/her hands in sand or pour water in and out of cups
- is able to relax with this media and center attention on the task
- has an opportunity to play alone and not to need to compete with other children as with some activities. This is especially important to a child who has trouble getting along with friends
- has a great opportunity to learn about size, measurement and volume by experimenting with measuring spoons, cups and different size containers
- learns which kinds of things float in water
- develops eye and hand coordination
- works with scientific principles
- test ideas and concepts
- is not concerned with a final product so he/she does not find it frustrating
- develops vocabulary words such as "empty" and "full"
- explores actively the attributes and functions of materials with all of the senses
- transforms and combines materials
Outdoor Area
When the child plays in the outdoor area, he/she:
- learns how to use his/her body effectively
- experiences joy in achieving a skill
- has fun and relaxation to be found in bodily movement
- learns the limitations of his/her body
- learns safety and caution
- learns to take turns and to share a piece of equipment
- develops vocabulary words such as "over" and "under"
- gains experience using large muscles
- represents experiences the direction of movement of things and people
- observes and describes weather changes
- explores the natural environment and seasonal changes
- feels a personal sense of competence and mastery
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