Teaching Two

I teach 3 year olds and their favorite part of the day is center time.   For those of you who don’t know what centers are, they are little stations that the children go to and do an activity on their own.  The children in my class are at a center for 5-6 minutes and then they rotate to the next one.

Last year Ashlyn, stayed home from school because she was sick.   She was sad she didn’t get to go because she was going to miss centers so I decided to have school at home.  I set up 5 different “centers” for her and she loved it!  I’ve been doing it ever since.  This is so easy and wonderful on many different levels.  It gets your kids engaged in independent activities that are educational and fun.  It also gives you some free time to get stuff done without having to rely on the tv to babysit. Here are some ideas for centers that are easy to set up and clean up.

• playdoh
• stamps
• Art- put some stickers, paper, crayons and have them make a picture
• baby dolls- my girls favorite
• blocks- I also sometimes put Little People or wood animals with the blocks and they make houses, schools, barns, etc
• puzzles
• reading- I make this fun by putting stuffed animals they can read to or sleeping bags so they can lay down and read.
• magnetic letters- let them use cookie sheets and write a few words down and have them copy them with the letters.  They love spelling their names
• Cut different shapes and let them glue them on paper to make something.
• Cut out magazine pictures of things they like and have them glue them to paper.  My 2 year old loves this!
• Sorting- they can sort anything from socks (helps you with the laundry), toys, to magnetic letters.
• Set up a water table (or big bowl) and let them pour, pretend, or see what toys will sink or float.
• Put toys (My Little Ponies work well) with a bowl of water and have them wash and brush their hair.
• Writing Center- another favorite- put envelopes,cards, paper, markers, pads of paper, stickers, and let them write letters or cards to others.

The great thing is is that almost anything can be a center.  The possibilities are endless.  I have my girls go in my bedroom and I put the centers out in different rooms of the house.  They love being surprised with what the next one will be.  Remember, to have them clean up each one before they go to the next one.  This is perfect for those long, summer days coming up!  Have fun with it.

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