Welcome back to our blog series on all things centers! Check out part one here, where we talked about the most traditional way centers are seen in a classroom setting. Of course, there are likely tweaks here and there but overall, most people stick to this rhythm. Now.. this may be an unpopular opinion, but I actually don’t run my centers like this and actually never have! Even at the start of my career, I always did things my own way. Why? Honestly… coming up with 5-6 new activities every single day sounds like way too much work. More power to the folks that do, but it’s just not my jam. So today I am going to walk you through a little bit of how my centers have evolved over the years. Will there be a part three? Who knows… let’s see how this goes 😆
My First Approach
So my first hurdle with centers was coming up with ALL THE ACTIVITIES. Like I said… too much work. So when I first started, my class would do centers four days a week. Students did one set of centers on Monday and Tuesday, and a second set of centers on Wednesday and Thursday. At this point, my classroom was split in half, two tables on one side (we’ll call that side A) and two tables on the other (side B). So.. track with me here for a moment. Half of my class did side A on Monday and side B on Tuesday, while the other half of my class did side B on Monday and Side A on Tuesday. Repeat the process with a different set of centers on Wednesday and Thursday. Sometimes I would keep a center the entire week if I felt like there was interest, but overall I followed this pattern for several years. On Fridays, we went to the library, had show and tell, and dedicated time for printing practice.
Are you still with me? Cool. I did that for several years, but then moved schools. That alone changed quite a bit for me. Not long after that, a worldwide pandemic happened…. and I was no longer able to have volunteers in my classroom. Did that happen to you too? 😅 So I needed to pivot. I basically slowed everything down and cut it all in half.
The Shift
Making this shift meant that I had to change up what the kids were doing, because everything was slower and they had a longer period of time at each center. Everything they did had to be something that could be done over and over, or extended. A hard ask for four and five year olds, but we found our groove! So instead of doing a worksheet, they might be using a whiteboard instead to complete a similar task or objective. I also took out any crafting during centers by this point, and if we did an art project it was at a separate time of the day.
I still had a big problem, though. As I said, volunteers were not allowed on campus at this point post-pandemic. I had an aide, but she was not with me full day, so my afternoon class did not get any support 😭. Do you have this problem too? I couldn’t plan centers with two adults for the morning, and only one for the afternoon. Plus, we all know that even the “independent” centers still require a certain amount of refereeing and refocusing. Before implementing this style of center rotations, I would still recommend going back to part one to review the procedures and ways to get started.
That said, the other big shift I made here was to move myself to more of a facilitator role. In other words, plan for zero help and then any help your kids do get is just an extra bonus! My aide and I acted as facilitators in the morning (more on this in part three) and then in the afternoon I was facilitating on my own, with a smaller class. This also worked great for a handful of years. Although it is still not what I am currently doing in my classroom, I could see myself going back in this direction in the future if I decide to make a change again.
My New Approach: Free Flowing Centers
So.. what DO I do in my classroom now for centers? Well, the other piece to this puzzle is that the students in my class are getting younger each year. California is expanding the universal pre-k program, and soon every student who attends kindergarten will get to attend pre-k at a public school the year before. Amazing, right? Yes. And, my students are significantly younger than ever before. In fact, at full rollout I will have students who are three years old for a month before turning four by September 1st. If you’d like to read more about this rollout in CA, head to this link. Maybe this is totally standard procedure in other states, but it will be a huge shift for those of us teaching TK in California. With younger students come different needs. I really needed a change, so this year for the first time I tried out free flowing centers.
In my free flowing centers, students are not required to rotate at all. Each student travels with a name tag that has velcro on the back. At every center, there is a big laminated card with four velcro spots on it. Once the card is filled up, that center is full and no longer available to newcomers unless another friend leaves. So, what happens if a student really wants to be at that center but it is unavailable? Well, that is the best part. This gives my students a daily chance to practice self regulation. They know they need to find a new activity until the one they want becomes available. My students become facilitators of their own learning. I find they are more engaged in each center activity when it is their choice to be there, not the teacher’s.
I generally keep the same centers out all week, which gives kids plenty of time to explore every choice. At the beginning of the year, my aide and I act as facilitators. We help students who are struggling with an activity, who are upset about not having a turn at the table they were hoping for, or whatever general needs arise. As my students become more comfortable with the process, my aide and I each sit at a table and call groups over to work on an assignment that is required for the week. We also use this time to pull students to work 1:1 on skills they need extra support with. If I happen to have extra parent help, that person usually will sit and read with students, and they always LOVE that!
Play-Based Centers
The last major shift that I haven’t touched on yet, is the change to play-based centers. As I alluded to in the first part of this post, play is hugely important at this age. I could get up on that soapbox and stay for hours, but that’s a topic for another day. Play is a major reason why this method works so well for me! When students are learning through play, they have opportunities to work through foundational skills and build confidence. Engaging in extended play allows neurons in the brain to fire up and connect which strengthens all of those skills for long term benefits. Now, if you enter my classroom during center time, you’ll notice a huge difference between this time period and unstructured playtime. Center time, while play based, is not a free-for-all. There is hard work going on here, and a buzz that is just infectious! It is truly my favorite time of the day.
There you have it, my long-winded journey to find a method that works for me! And remember, that’s just it. This works for me, in my classroom, in my environment, with my student population. One of the things I love most about teaching is the opportunity to constantly adjust and make things work for YOU. I hope you’ll take these ideas and do just that. I can’t wait to hear what you come up with!
