Simple Do-It-Yourself Toddler Learning Centers
Whether you're setting up a preschool classroom, a home-based daycare, or just a learning playroom in your own house, you may consider the educational benefits of learning centers for toddlers. Learning centers are different areas of a room in which a child can learn different skills through playing and other activities. These learning centers are ideal for classroom situations, in which children can be rotated to different learning centers on different days, to allow them to experience different activities throughout the week.
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Things You'll Need
- Large open space
- Low bookshelves
- Colorful rugs
- Signs and instruction sheets
- Craft items
- Building blocks/toys
- Musical instruments suitable for children
- Reading tapes and CDs
- Dress up clothes suitable for children
- Puppets
Instructions
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Setting Up Your Learning Center Areas
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Choose a large space, such as a classroom or an entire room within your home. If offering centers in your home daycare, use a large basement, family room or similarly spacious area.
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Use low bookshelves or other room-defining furniture to section off areas of the room that will serve as distinct "centers." This is also a great way to store supplies used for each learning center activity.
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Use colorful area rugs to help define and add color to each learning center area. You can have the rugs correspond with colored cards so that children know which learning center activity to go to based on a colored card or shape on their desk that morning. This way, you can rotate the colors for each learning center activity to keep the process fresh and exciting for kids each and every day.
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Make a sign and/or instruction sheet for each learning center activity. The instruction sheet should list the various activities available to the children in that specific area.
Creating the Different Learning Center Areas
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Create an arts and crafts learning center by offering a number of creative options for the toddlers. Include paper, paints, markers, crayons, coloring books, and other drawing and painting activity items. Also, include glue, pipe cleaners, safety scissors, construction paper, and other craft items to allow the children to express their creativity and make items they can take home to parents or siblings.
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Assemble a construction learning center that offers building blocks like LEGOs, Lincoln Logs, K'Nex, Mega Blocks, and other popular building toys. You can even add little hard hats and play tools for the kids while they make their own buildings and structures.
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Set up an auditory learning center. Here, you can include a selection of musical instruments suitable for young children and tapes and reading CDs with headphones.
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Create a theatrical learning center. Include dress up clothes, puppets, and a small theater space. Children can work together to make up their own play, and can interact with others while using their imagination.
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References
- Photo Credit little preschooler image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
