Hiya Peeps
Ms. Patterson here
I am thrilled to be guest blogging for Lacey!!!!
I so heart her
Can you tell I am thrilled?
No really that IS my thrilled face!
Not really BUT this is the first picture that popped up so hey we are going to
roll with it
roll with it
Rolling on
Anyhoo
I am joining you to blog about my fav time of the school day……………………………………………………….
Centers!
Welcome to my center series
I will be blogging each Thursday in the month of June about a different topic related to centers
Today I will be blogging about how to organize centers
So what are centers?
Why are centers needed?
Where do I start?
I know as a first year teacher all of these questions ran through my mind. I was at a complete lost and it took me a while to figure out what the heck I was doing. By no means am I an expert but my principal calls me the small group queen so……………………….
I guess I will toot my own horn
Toot, Toot!
Moving right along
I don’t want to lose you
Back to the matter at hand
It can be very difficult for a teacher to meet each individual child’s need especially when that teacher has 33 kinders (that would be me) for the first 2 months of school! How do you do centers when you have that many children and how do you do them successfully?
I eventually ended up with 29 kiddos and I had 14 stations. I have 2 students per group which made my center time so much easier
I have tried groups of four or five and it was just too darn many and all they did was argue!
Sorry so off topic
Must stop rambling
Must stop rambling
*Shake, Shake*
I think it is all out of my system now
We may now more on
*Shake*
Centers are a great way to differentiate instruction and provide students with opportunities to learn independently
So here goes
Setting up stations
Step 1: Plan your space
Decide how many stations you would like to have and how you want to arrange those stations. It is a good idea to arrange your stations from quiet to loud or loud to quiet. You don’t want your library station right next to the listening station, now would you?
Maybe you would but I sure don't
I don’t have a large room by any means but I did run 14 stations for literacy and 14 stations for math! It was very messy but we lived
I mean it looked like a hurricane and an earthquake came through and we were the remains after the storm
But it is okay we were learning
Don't be afraid of a little mess
All of my stations were portable and the students would either go to a table or use the floor for stations.
Mostly the floor because the kiddos liked to lay on it after sitting in chairs all morning
When I set up my room I did so with centers in mind
My stations were arranged as follows
I had my centers arranged so that they flow around the outer edges of the room in a circle
So that when students moved to their next rotation I didn’t have to lose time with them trying to figure out what station to go to next! They just simply moved to the station that was to their right
Here is an example of my station list
Station One being the quietest station and the stations gradually get louder the lower down the station list you go then gradually back to quiet
Remember my station are set up in a circle so Station 14 is actually next to Station 1
Station One: Alphabet/Buddy Reading
Station Two: Listening Station
Station Three: Word Work
Station Four: Library
Station Five: Spelling
Station Six: Computer
Station Seven: Sensory
Station Eight: Word Family/Word Work
Station Nine: Magnet
Station Ten: Word Wall
Station Eleven: Pocket Chart
Station Twelve: Write the Room
Station Thirteen: Phonics
Station Fourteen: Journals
The listening station material remains next to the listening station.
Listening center materials
A book inside the ziploc bag with the cd
Game with pieces and boards for when the students finished listening to the story
I have two buckets that hold my pointers, small anchor charts, sight words, alphabet cards and picture cards. The crates on the left side hold activities that my small group is working on that week and also binders for me to track their progress.
The pink container in the middle also holds games and reading buddies
The two crates on the right hold another set of alpha cards and also the students guided reading books
Great stuff - I am definitely looking forward to your series! I am so impressed you managed 14 centers at a time! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteKara
Spedventures
I have done the two to a center too and it did work well but its a lot of upkeep... but it was less issues with arguing.. I may try that again next year. I have a debbie diller chart that allowed for 2 in a group that I used a few years ago
ReplyDeleteAwesome info! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete~Jen
Jen's Kinder Kids
Please come by & visit!
I love how you have all of your centers organized around the outside edge of your classroom in order from quietest up to loudest. You've really given a lot of thought into your centers!
ReplyDeleteLisa
Learning Is Something to Treasure
This is GREAT!! I always need help with centers. I'm so looking forward to this series. thanx
ReplyDeleteI am happy that you all found this post useful
ReplyDeleteI was so worried about it
Thanks again
Pocket Full of Kinders
Shuna P
It's incredible! SO useful! And so thankful you were willing!
DeleteThanks!!!
-Lacey
Very impressive. I'll be looking for your series posts !
ReplyDeleteBTW, I LOVE your "thrilled" face -- ha ha.
❀Barbara❀
Grade ONEderful
Ruby Slippers Blog Designs
I completely agree about keeping it 2 to a center. It sounds overwhelming buts it's actually way easier to manage the kids and the volume this way. My biggest problem is always storage options for so many centers. Part of my summer "to do" list is to get that figured out. You'd think it'd be easy considering I too have a tiny problem with overstocking organizational bins :)
ReplyDelete❤- Stephanie
Falling Into First
I LOVE this! It's my 30th year of teaching K & I LOVE centers. I rotate around the outside of the room as well! I also definitely use 2 to a center. BUT I have lots to learn from you, because I've not had any formal training, it is all from experience & preference....but I have to say, it is my favorite time of the day, & the times we don't have time for centers, (due to field trips, short days, programs, etc) the children will literally whine: We didn't have centers today..................... : ) I stay HOURS each day planning & prepping & I'm eager (so is my family) to learn a better way to get organized & use my time.
ReplyDeleteLove the idea! I tried centers this year with a class of 27 and tried five or six in each group and it did not work at all!! So appreciate these tips!! Keep them coming I will certainly come back to learn more!
ReplyDelete