We have over 12 centers available at any given time; most
are permanent (ABC, reading, writing, fine motor, art,
sewing, construction, listening, science & observation,
computer, storytelling, drama), a few are added when the
students are ready for them (word, publishing place, rhyme
time ), and a few are removed when they no longer need
them (home and playdough ).
Each center has a certain number of center pins
(determined by space and teacher). To go to a center, the
student must clip the center pin to his/her collar (so we can
see at a glance in which center a child is working).
Once a student has finished working in his center, he cleans
up and shows his work (if there is a finished product) to the
teacher. He then needs to record that he has worked in that
center by coloring the appropriate icon on his center card.
If he has completed a "product center," (ABC, fine motor,
writing, art) then he must also record completion by
coloring the center's icon on the teacher's "check-off"
clipboard. Then he can repeat this process with other
centers until center time is over. This process allows
students to work at their own pace... not that of "the group."
Children are free to choose the centers they work in, but
each student MUST complete the 4 "product" centers (art,
fine motor, writing, ABC) every week. This is easy to "keep
track" by using the "check-off" clipboard.
*Hint: Students use a color-code to show which day they
completed certain centers. Each day, the calendar helper
moves the star to "today" as a reminder for which color
they'll use to color their cards (e.g. Monday -pink,
Tuesday-orange, Wednesday-blue, Thursday-green,
Friday-purple).
This helps document student work habits.
are permanent (ABC, reading, writing, fine motor, art,
sewing, construction, listening, science & observation,
computer, storytelling, drama), a few are added when the
students are ready for them (word, publishing place, rhyme
time ), and a few are removed when they no longer need
them (home and playdough ).
Each center has a certain number of center pins
(determined by space and teacher). To go to a center, the
student must clip the center pin to his/her collar (so we can
see at a glance in which center a child is working).
Once a student has finished working in his center, he cleans
up and shows his work (if there is a finished product) to the
teacher. He then needs to record that he has worked in that
center by coloring the appropriate icon on his center card.
If he has completed a "product center," (ABC, fine motor,
writing, art) then he must also record completion by
coloring the center's icon on the teacher's "check-off"
clipboard. Then he can repeat this process with other
centers until center time is over. This process allows
students to work at their own pace... not that of "the group."
Children are free to choose the centers they work in, but
each student MUST complete the 4 "product" centers (art,
fine motor, writing, ABC) every week. This is easy to "keep
track" by using the "check-off" clipboard.
*Hint: Students use a color-code to show which day they
completed certain centers. Each day, the calendar helper
moves the star to "today" as a reminder for which color
they'll use to color their cards (e.g. Monday -pink,
Tuesday-orange, Wednesday-blue, Thursday-green,
Friday-purple).
This helps document student work habits.
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It took us several years of trial and error before finally
coming up with a system that worked for us... and our
Feel free to tweak it and make it your own. You may
also view our workshop presentation slide show related
to centers and how we manage them on our Freebies
page.
coming up with a system that worked for us... and our
Feel free to tweak it and make it your own. You may
also view our workshop presentation slide show related
to centers and how we manage them on our Freebies
page.
| Center Pins |
| Center Card- Student Record Keeping |
| Teacher Record Keeping |
