Centers

The kids have been very busy with puzzles and manipulatives at Centers lately, and they are very proud when they finish something. "Take a picture!" is a phrase I hear often during our morning reading group rotation time.

The following pictures were taken over the last month.

We have been working on maps in Social Studies, and it is quite an accomplishment to assemble this puzzle of the United States.

Good job!

The sequence puzzles practice putting events in the right order.

After getting all the pieces together, the kids are supposed to whisper the stories to each other, using the words first, next, and last.
From the occasional giggles coming from the corner, I think they sometimes get pretty creative with their stories.

The giant foam pattern blocks make really neat designs.

The rhyming puzzles practice phonetic awareness.

This shapes puzzle is fun, too.

The solids shapes teach beginning geometry concepts.
Which shapes can stack? Which can roll? Which can slide?
Balancing is an important skill, too, and we somtimes have some crashes.

The kids think they are playing, but

little do they know that they are actually learning at the same time!

We've been working on symmetry, too, and I didn't realize until I downloaded my pictures that this design is totally symmetrical - pretty amazing!

Centers time also encourages the kids to work quietly and cooperatively together, since they have to whisper, take care of materials, and clean up after themselves.

Keep up the good work!