Centering Their Minds

Dominique Cheatham, KURA

Have you ever sat down and wondered what kind of learner that you are? Do you work better with your hands? Do you need to see things happen? Or can you hear something just once, and you have it down pat? It’s always interesting to think about how brains work, especially the ever-growing of our little ones. While we all know, not one style of teaching is going to work with every style of learner, sometimes it can be hard to reach all learners. It can also be hard to fit all those different learning styles into one lesson. This is hard, but not impossible. This possibility comes within a very special time of the day, centers! Someone who I’ve come to know as someone a center expert, is Ms. Cre Howard, and she is here to tell the importance and the effectiveness that centers hold. 

Why are centers important in Kindergarten?

Centers are important to teach in different modalities, scholars have an opportunity to get a lot of practice, at-bats, and time to problem-solve. You can meet scholars’ specific needs, because you have the chance to differentiate in smaller groups.  Also, if you strategically put scholars in groups based on skills, you have a chance to do some reciprocal teaching. I think it’s a great opportunity for scholars to learn kinesthetically, apply their knowledge in a fun way, and it’s also engaging. 

What is a way you use different modalities in centers? 

I like to use a lot of movement, whether that means they are coloring, jumping to words, or building with playdoh. Centers don’t have to be paper and pencil, you can use blocks, letters, spinners and games; studies have shown that scholars learn a lot through play. 

Can you give an example of a center or centers that use different modalities? 

Yes! They can read CVC words on paper or index card, and then they make the word using play-doh. Another way is we’ve used Easter eggs, where on one side is a diagraph and the other side is a chunk. For example one side is ch, and the other side is -ick, they put it together read the word, and they are able to write it and draw a picture, so it also holds them accountable for their learning. You can also have a listening center that reads books to scholars. 

How often do you use centers? What subjects? 

Every single day. We spiral skills, so you may see one group working on sneaky-e and another group working on rhyming. A lot of these skills build upon each other, so we cycle through different stations and centers every single say. We use centers in writing, phonics, math, really all day. Its just an opportunity for scholars to practice learning independently and to meet them where they are as learners in a really fun way. 

As Ms. Howard said, centers should be a time for independent learning, in a fun and engaging way! Whether they are cutting and pasting, using play-doh or listening to a story, centers bring the different learning styles into the classroom, meeting scholars exactly where they are. Below you find a few examples of my favorite centers.