Brianna Orosco

Materials Project

8 Centers for a Kindergarten Classroom

1. Dramatic Play/ Puppet Center

Developmental Domains: Motor-Physical, Cognitive, and Social-Emotional Development

Type of Learning: Using their imagination, social skills, role play and communication

Items in Center: Costumes, play food and silverware, doctors kit, dolls, puppets such as
animals and Sesame Street.

In this center, children will be able to dress up and use their imagination to be a doctor,
play house, play cooking and making meals. This will help the children learn to
communicate with each other and also use physical/motor development by physically
acting out who they want to be in this play time. They also can use the puppets to play
with and can learn acting and social skills with this center.

2. Building Center

Developmental Domains: Motor/ Physical, Cognitive and Social-Emotional Development

Types of Learning: Problem solving, imagination, science, and creativity

Items in Center: Wooden blocks, Architectural blocks, colored blocks, ABC blocks, and
Large Legos and road sign blocks.

This center allows kids to see how high they can build blocks and then watch them fall
over. They can use their imagination and build a house or building. In this center children
can work individually or work as a small group. The children are able to build and use
their imagination with different types of blocks and legos.
3. Library/Reading Center

Developmental Domains: Cognitive

Types of Learning: Reading, observing pictures to have an understanding of the story.

Items in Center: Books that we have read in class, common books where children may
recognize the characters such as Disney characters or Disney Channel characters. Little
bean bags for kids to sit and read their books.

This center will be a quiet center for kids to grab a book, sit in their comfy chair and look
at pictures or read them if they know how.

4. Kinetic Sand Center

Developmental Domain: Motor-Physical, Cognitive, and Social-Emotional

Types of Learning: Fine motor skills as the children get to feel, squeeze, and dig in the
sand. Also, you will learn creative play.
 Items in Center: Kinetic Sand, little dinosaurs or animals that children can cover up and
try to find, little shovels, small cups.

This type of center would be very beneficial for children with disabilities because it
helps with Sensory Processing Disorder. They also have found it to be a calming affect
for children with Autism. This seems to also be a decompressing center for a lot of
children since it is more of a relaxing center.

5. Puzzle Center

Developmental Domain: Motor and Cognitive and Emotional

Types of Learning: Problem solving and matching, Fine Motor skills, Shape recognition.

Items in Center: Wood puzzles, Color and shape puzzles, Alphabet puzzle

This type of center is a great center that is used for many ages. Children learn how to
problem solve by taking a piece and trying to figure out where it fits. This also can be a
rewarding center when a child finishes the puzzle.
6. Art Center

Developmental Domain: Motor-Physical, Cognitive and Social-Emotional

Types of Learning: Coloring, painting, creativity, imagination,

Items in Center: Paint, Paint Pots, Paint brushes, Crayons, easels, construction paper,
scissors, glue, glitter, gems to glue, stickers.

The art center is an open center where children can choose what type of art they want to
do whether it is painting a picture or coloring a picture or creating a picture by gluing
objects on a piece of paper. I would be sure to have an art wall where the children can
hang their pictures to show the classroom. This could also be used as a calming
mechanism for children with disabilities.
7. ABC Center

Developmental Domain: Motor-Physical, Cognitive and Social-Emotional

Types of Learning: Learning their alphabet

Items in Center: foam ABCs, Magnetic ABCs, plastic bins with toys that start with a
certain letter, alphabet fishing game.

This activity children will get to learn more about their alphabet and items that begin with
the certain letters such as A, you could put in a fake apple, ant, alligator. Children can
also have a writing book where they practice writing their letters. We can also have a
matching game.

8. Discovery/ Science Center

Developmental Domain: Motor-Physical, Cognitive, and Social-Emotional

Types of Learning: Weather, how a plant grows, what items are magnetic.

Items in Center: magnify glass, magnets, plants, sensory bottles, lights, planets and
weather, fish tank

Children will finally be able to discover and learn how certain things work and happen.
What does it mean when it rains? How do plants grow? How to find out if something is
magnetic? There are so many fun things that you can do with this type of center to help
the children use their imagination and it is a great learning skill.
References:

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=751

http://www.naeyc.org/yc/10_things_children_learn_block_play