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Play Centres

 

A while back, when I was in day care, we didn’t have play centres. In some countries, kindergarten teachers don’t use centres, because they believe that they don’t really help. But I’m an advocate of this idea, and I’ll tell you why:

  • Centres promote children’s independence – because they get to choose what to do, whom they play with and most of the time they manage to do those activities by themselves, without having to ask for the teacher’s help;

  • Children can choose different types of activities throughout the day, not just the same one over and over again; If the teacher gives them a couple of options (for example the Art centre and the Construction centre), they will find something to do, even though their favourite game might be in another centre. Kids need variety, so they can see what they are talented at and discover new things;

  • They also become responsible and independent – when a child chooses an activity, she has to stick with it for at least 5-10 mins (depending on the age), be perseverant and try to finish what they started. Furthermore, the kids learn to clean up after themselves and take care of the toys they play with;

  • Children are actively engaged in the learning process, which will make them remember things that they learn; The learning experience is more meaningful.

Whether they are fun, exciting, new centres (such as a Hot Cocoa stand, the Bakery, etc.) or permanent ones, they make our job much easier; we have time to observe the kids’ play, see what if their social skills need to improve in certain ways.

Here are a few permanent centres that you can have in your classroom and ideas of toys, supplies, and activities to include:

 

 

Book corner

  • Books with images

  • Photo albums

  • Images for story telling activities

  • Story dice

  • Mirror

  • The Storyteller’s chair

  • newspapers, magaziner

  • foam or wooden letters

  • hand and finger puppets

 

Construction centre

  • wooden building blocks

  • Lego (photos letters/numbers/different objects made out of legos)

  • Plastic blocks

  • Mozaic games

  • Cardboard boxes, scissors, tape

 

Role playing centre

  • Cooking set (with cuttlery, dishes, food)

  • Doctor set

  • Soft toys

  • Puppets

  • Theatre stand

  • Cars

  • Parking lot

  • Plastic animals

  • Trains and tracks

  • Props (costumes, mustaches, glasses, apron, paper money, vet checklist, restaurant menu, ice-cream menu, etc.)

 

Art centre

  • Paint

  • Paint brushes

  • Pads for modelling clay

  • modelling clay

  • clay

  • cookie shapes

  • playdough mats

  • pompom mats

  • pencils

  • crepe paper

  • coloured paper

  • pom poms

  • sequins

  • wrapping paper

  • scissors

  • notebooks for drawing (Busy Book)

  • glue

  • salt dough

  • yarn

  • pipe cleaners

  • foam shapes

  • hole punch (different shapes)

  • sponges (for painting)

  • CDs with kids’ music

  • Musical instruments

 

Science centre

  • Images of fruit, vegetables, wild animals, domestic animals, habitats, people, life cycles of animals/plants

  • Geographic atlases

  • Scale

  • Boxes with different seeds and legumes

  • Magnifying glass

  • Beans

  • slider bags

  • soil

  • seeds

  • nuts, branches, leaves, pine cones, tree bark

  • maps

  • board games and maths games

  • Domino

  • Puzzles

  • Plastic/wooden numbers

  • worksheets

 

Multimedia centre

  • computer

  • DVDs and CDs for kids

 

Water and Sand Centre (Sensory table)

  • Sensory table

  • Salt tray

  • Rice tray

  • Soil

  • Rice, coloured sand, pasta, corn, maize

  • Shaving foam

  • Bowls of different sizes

  • Corn maize

  • Sand toys

  • Bubble maker

  • Straws

  • Pipe cleaners

  • Twigs, tree bark, leaves, acorns, objects collected from nature

  • Sponges

  • Measuring cups

  • Tweezers for kids

  • Handy scoopers

 

Of course, the list can go on for pages! These are just a couple of suggestions. You can also use investigation drawers/boxes (for science), math boxes, literacy boxes, etc.

 

 

Classroom Rules

 

It’s usually better to decide what the classroom rules are with your group, but when the kids don’t speak English as their mother tongue or when they are very young (3-4 y.o.) it’s more effective to have a set of rules already established.

 

However, it is very important to discuss the rules with your kids, make sure they understand them. Visuals will help them remember, without you reminding them every ten minutes. Also, you can use the visuals to discuss about the classroom rules during Circle time or any other suitable time.

 

I use reward systems only to encourage kids’ English, but not necessarily for behaviour. When kids get used to receive rewards (stickers, stamps, different surprises) for good behaviour, once these are taken away they might go back to their old habits. I only use stickers for behaviour when I try to encourage a more difficult transition or thing to achieve, such as potty training or getting dressed without any help.

 

You can download the classroom rules that I created here.

They are easy to understand, with images and they are expressed in a positive way. By saying “no running”, or “don’t push”, you actually stress the verb, so the kid hears it. By giving options or saying what they should do rather that what they aren’t allowed to do, you help kids understand what you, as a parent or teacher, expect from them. These 5 rules are easy to understand and they can be used to explain a lot of desirable behaviours. For example, by “We play nicely with our friends”, kids are taught to share, to treat the others nicely (no biting, hitting, or pushing).  

 

I hope you find these tips useful!

Ilinca

The Game Bag - FREEBIE included

 

Finnish weather isn’t that great – it’s dark and cold half a year, unfortunately. But preschoolers need to move and get rid of their extra energy. Taking them outside, to play in the park, ride their bike, or just for a walk is great, but sometimes parents don’t have the time to do that, or the weather doesn’t allow it. What we do at daycare is to have fun while playing movement games.

 

I’ve created a game bag, a small bag with game flashcards. Although me and my colleague know a lot of movement games, sometimes they just don’t come to our minds. That’s why it’s easier to use the game bag. In addition, the kids already know how to play most of the games, so we don’t need too much time to explain the instructions. Each kid has his turn to choose a game.

 

You can download a FREE printable from my TPT shop, Grumpy Dumpling. Here it is. Enjoy and have fun!

 

Super Sale on my TPT Store: 20% off

 

You can check the new products here.

 

Free Clip Art for Teachers

 

A couple of months ago, I decided to open a store on Teachers Pay Teachers; it’s called Grumpy Dumpling. I had so many ideas, but little talent or time to create clip art.

 

I’m still learning how to use my graphic tablet, so until I’ll have my own clipart, I will use the work of great graphic designers and illustrators. Here are some of my favourite free sets:

 

A big thank you to all of these great illustrators and graphic designers! You have made my work so much easier.

Sleeping

 

There are many preschoolers who have problems sleeping. It can be frustrating for parents and kindergarten teachers to put the kids to nap or sleep at night. Here are some things that might help solve this problem.

Establish a routine and always stick to it. Kids feel more comfortable and secure when they know what’s going to happen next. Therefore, they can slowly drift into a peaceful sleep if they feel safe and relaxed.

The routine can start 1 hour before they should be in bed. Because some kids become restless, hyperactive when they are tired, try to keep a calm atmosphere. You can do that by using a noise player, a nightlight, bedtime stories, lullabies, classical music, by talking about your day, or simply by cuddling with your kid.

 

The routine should/can also include:

  • bath time (with bubbles, some toys – you can even play that the toys are getting ready to go to bed);

  • brushing your teeth together,

  • washing her face;

  • playing a quiet game;

  • putting on the PJs (the child can decide which PJs to put on – but don’t give them too many options)

  • saying “good night” to some of the toys;

  • putting the toys in their bed and tucking them in;

  • hugs and kisses from the parents;

  • story time (read the kid’s favourite books – but avoid the ones with noises or fierce monsters/animals - or books about sleeping)

  • singing some songs – these are my favourite naptime songs from Super Simple Songs: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Goodnight, Little Snowflake, Row, Row, Row Your Boat

  • listening to some songs

 

Some other tips:

  • try to follow the same routine both at home and at kindergarten

  • don’t change the place where your child sleeps – neither the room, nor the bed

  • don't let your kid decide when to go to sleep – stick to your schedule

  • try to stay in the room for shorter and shorter periods of time – take care of some chores, but check on your kid and praise him/her if he/she is quiet and calm; reward the behaviour with an extra special kiss

  • you can hide an object (a drawing, or something interesting) in the bed


I hope these tips will help!

 

The Dot - by Peter H. Reynolds

 

Some children lack the confidence to do things by themselves, because they might have been criticized in the past, or just because they are doing something for the very first time.

 

It’s our job, as teachers and parents, to help them cultivate their self-esteem, to encourage them in what they try to do by themselves. Kids learn by doing: even if at first they might fail, they need to try again and again, until they succeed.

Kids who are confident and who know their strengths will be more positive and won’t give up easily.

 

This is what “The Dot” is about: not being afraid of expressing yourself. In the story, Vashti, the main character, regains her confidence because her teacher gives her a very good piece of advice: “Just make a mark and see where it takes you”.

It’s a heartwarming story that makes us realize what impact our words have on the kids.  You can find the book here (free delivery worldwide).

 

Classroom Decorations

 

I've always found it really useful to have numbers, letters, shapes and seasons on the walls in the classroom, because it’s easier to use the flashcards or posters during circle time.

 

There have been studies saying that children can't focus on what you are teaching if the walls are too busy: posters and photos on the walls may distract them, especially the younger ones. In an article on NBC News, “The Bare Walls Theory: Do Too Many Classroom Decorations Harm Learning”, the author talks about the fact that highly decorated classrooms distract kids from what is being taught.

 

On the other hand, kids learn almost effortlessly from everything surrounding them. They are curious and always ask questions about what they see.

 

That’s why I find it useful to have some classroom decorations with my 3-4 year olds. For example, we now have numbers (1-5) and the four seasons. Soon we will add some basic shapes, such as square, triangle, and circle. The important thing is to hang on the walls only that what’s truly important and helpful.

Here are some classroom decorations I’ve made this autumn:

Numbers

Seasons

 

 

 

 

Reward Systems

 

 

Positive reinforcement is extremely important for preschoolers and it can improve their behaviour in a fun and easy way. Don’t expect to get the same results from all the kids, because the roots of the problems are not the same, their personalities are different and each child is unique.

 

1. Stay on Green

 

Supplies: cork board, name tags, happy faces – green circles, neutral faces – yellor circles, upset faces – red circles (one of each colour for every child)

 

How it works: The teacher observes the behaviour of the child during the day. As soon as a child does something wrong (this has to be made clear to the child), he will get a warning. As soon as he was warned, the green face (smiley face) next to his name becomes yellow. Afterwards, the child will try to behave better, so that he can change his face to a happy one again. If he continues with the bad behaviour, he will receive a red face (upset face). At the end of the day, the children’s good behaviour will be rewarded with a sticker on their sticker chart.

 

The advantages of this reward system are:

  • The child knows what he has done wrong

  • The child will be able to improve his bahaviour

  • The child is rewarded for good behaviour

 

2. Sun/Cloud System

 

Supplies: a sun and a cloud (cut out and laminated, painted on a wall, or drawn on a board), name tags (for younger kids I recommend using an image next to the name, because they are unable to recognize their written names)

 

How it works: At the end of the day, the teachers explains what she/he liked/disliked about the child’s behaviour that day and rewards those who behaved nicely towards the others by putting their name on the sun. The ones who didn’t obey the class rules will have their name on the cloud. At the end of the week, those who have had their name on the sun every day will get a certificate for good behaviour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Colourful Beads and Sticker Charts

 

Supplies: a cup for each child and beads OR sticker charts (you can make them out of coloured paper), stickers

 

How it works: Those children who did something nice (shared toys, used English, played nicely, didn’t make any noise during quiet time, sang at circle time etc.) receive beads as rewards. At the end of the year, they can make a bracelet out of the beads they gathered. The same goes for stickers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Happy face/Sad face System

 

Supplies: cork board, names, happy faces and sad faces for everyone (they can be printed out, laminated and pinned to the board. This way you can reuse them.)

How it works: The system works the same as the colourful bead system. You can use one system for using English (if you teach English as a second language) and one for good behaviour.

 

These are a few rules you could focus on with younger children:

Playground Rules:

Sharing is caring

We play nicely (no fighting, running with sticks, driving the moped down the hill, swinging while standing etc.)

 

Lunchroom Rules/Manners:

We all start eating at the same time: after saying a transition rhyme

We use cutlery properly

We never forget to say ‘thank you’ before leaving the table

We clean after ourselves

 

Classroom Rules:

We listen to the teacher

We keep our classroom clean

Sharing is caring (We are all friends and we share toys)

Kind mouths (We don’t bite, eat toys, or shout)

 

 

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