Here is an update on the room centers, and how they were received....
Wood Working Center - I got these great little plastic screws today which were the biggest hit! They are a little complicated for such tiny fingers, you have to match the shapes (I had to have it pointed out to me), but wouldn't you know these little guys were putting them together like crazy! There was a little bit of older sibling assistance going on, but the little guys loved it! I need to get some styrofoam, little hammers and golf tees, also!
Art Center - I have never been so happy with my art center as I am this year! I have also never had such a big art center! We now have a dedicated table, just for art, plus our easel & lots of uncarpeted floor space for butcher paper!!! It's going to be such a colorful year!! Our first two units are Learning About Me and I Am Growing. Tomorrow I am going to cut out lots of baby/young child pictures for drawing on, tearing, etc.
Nature Center & Sensory Table - Unfortunantly, this was my least popular center of the evening! I don't blame the kiddos, it's bland! I had some moss in the sensory table, and intoduced a couple of magnifying glasses. I also placed some bumpy, pastel colored, light up balls to the center. No, not "nature", but very sensory. Our nature center will soon enough be spilling over with items. I want to go out and cut some of the cattails I found last week with my kids during our Outdoor Hour Nature Study, http://handbookofnaturestudy.blogspot.com/2009/09/outdoor-hour-challenge-autumn-series.html
Reading and Pre-Writing - It's really small this year, and we haven't done alot to it yet. Only one little guy pulled out a book, but oh how that will change this year! I am going to spread out the books, putting more in nature, etc. One boy and one girl loved the tree stumps we have sitting in there! I highlight a literary character each month, and since September our color is going to be Red, we will have Clifford the Big, Red Dog! I also need to bring my magna-doodles!
Small Motor Skills/Puzzles - I put out a few puzzles. For this age, I like the 3-4 peice, knobbed horizontal puzzles that we start working left to right. It's a pre-reading exercize. We have some fun blocks. I will pull out all the legos but the red ones and one lego of a different color for contrast.
Dramatic Play & Home Living Center - We have our kitchen, our table and dolls. One of our first activities is bathing the dolls. I have normally used the sensory table, but I think I want to do that in the Home Living Center this year. I am also planning to start keeping our real veggies and fruit, etc. in the Home Living Center. Another huge benefit of not having a carpet in there! The kids were all about the pretend food, which is always a great sign of some creative kids!
Blocks & Music Center - These are combined because..... well, because they are! We have a transportation rug this year, but it's not going to take the place of our masking tape roads! I didn't open the center last night. We do a lot of Hokey Pokey during our first two units, and Heads, Shoulders Knees and Toes!
Tomorrow is our last day of planning before our big day on Tuesday!
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