The following suggested centres and resources are included for the purpose of providing general guidance in acquiring materials, equipment, manipulatives, toys and supplies. Teachers should not feel restricted to the centres or resources listed; nor should they feel that their programs are inadequate if their classroom inventories do not include every item mentioned.
When acquiring resources, educators are advised to consider the important role that carefully chosen and wisely used materials can play in the promotion of gender equity, age equity and respect for people with disabilities and from various cultures. For guidance in choosing materials, please refer to Saskatchewan Education's documents Selecting Fair and Equitable Learning Materials, 1991 and Diverse Voices: Selecting Equitable Resources for Indian and Métis Education, 1992.
Teachers and students are encouraged to create their own special names for activity centres.
When sufficient floor space, time and materials are provided, children can become involved in building block structures that extend imaginative play, promote language development, increase mathematical and scientific understanding, and improve their ability to control the environment. Building can be an individual or a cooperative effort. The space provided should be carpeted to make it more comfortable and appealing and to soften the noise of falling blocks. The carpet should be firm and flat to provide a level building surface. Low shelves for storing unit blocks can help to define the building area and to slow down or prevent traffic through the area. Blocks should be sorted and stored according to colour, shape and size. If the shelves have the various shapes of the blocks traced on them, children will be encouraged to put them away in an organized manner. The shelves can be lined with a flat carpet to muffle the clunking sounds at clean up time. Locating the block building area near the imaginative play centre may encourage more complex imaginative play.
The computer centre should be located in a quiet area of the classroom. To prevent reflective glare, the monitor screen should not face a window.
Computers can offer many learning opportunities for young children if the programs chosen are developmentally appropriate. The software selected should facilitate building critical and creative thinking skills, rather than learning by repetition. Besides promoting technological literacy, carefully chosen computer programs can be a vehicle for assisting children to work cooperatively with others.
The activity of cooking is important in the Kindergarten program, so provision of suitable space for simple cooking projects should be part of the plan. It is unusual to have a complete cooking area with stove, oven, refrigerator, working space and so on, in or near a Kindergarten classroom. However, tables usually used for other purposes can be adapted to the needs of Kindergarten cooks and food can be cooked in small appliances such as crock pots and electric skillets. The amount and complexity of equipment needed will vary according to local circumstances.
Cooking is one of several kinds of activities that can be enhanced by community participation. Volunteers can bring things from home and become involved in helping children learn to cook by following simple recipes.
Teachers should be aware of and consider their students' allergies and special diet needs when planning cooking activities.
Creative Problem-solving Centre
This area is best located near a water supply and where the floor is tiled. Tables, chairs, shelves and storage cubes are useful when working with arts and crafts materials.
Children need an opportunity to work with a variety of materials. These should be easily accessible so that children can get what they need themselves. Paper, crayons, pencils, scissors, glue and paint are essential materials. Play dough or plasticine kept ready for use and tables set up ready for painting encourage children to participate. There is no limit to the variety of materials that can be used in creative and expressive ways.
Teachers should keep in mind that it is the process and not the product that is most important.
The exploration area should have a display counter, bulletin board, storage space, and a table and chairs where children can handle and examine animals, plant life and objects. It should be located in a tiled rather than carpeted area.
The possibilities for materials in this area are endless. Children will find things outdoors to bring in for further study and examination. Field trips, films and videos, and other learning experiences will stimulate questions which prompt further investigation. Frequent additions or changes in materials will help children maintain high interest and curiosity.
The Kindergarten classroom needs a comfortable, carpeted area in which teacher and children can gather for various purposes, either as a whole group or in small groups.
Materials and equipment needed in this area will vary according to topics and purposes. The area should be equipped with bulletin boards, storage shelves and a comfortable low chair (a rocker is great). It should be situated so that the teacher can face the whole room while the children look into a defined area. Care should be taken that children are not facing a window, because the glare would interfere with their ability to see pictures or other materials.
Traditionally, basic equipment for the imaginative play area has included simulated kitchen appliances and cupboards, a table and chairs, dress-up clothes, a mirror and many other items such as dolls and doll beds to encourage children to "play house". Just as important are fix-it shops and garages for car repair and other mechanical work. Materials can be varied to transform the area into a hospital, a travel bureau, a grocery store, a popcorn stand, or other exciting places. If space allows, the home or playhouse can be maintained as a permanent play area, and the other areas added nearby. The resources list is suggestive rather than prescriptive. The intent is for the area to simulate the real world. These areas will be particularly effective when they represent environments that the children have recently encountered via a school outing or other learning experience. Parents/caregivers and other members of the community will often loan or donate materials and children can make some things from "found" materials.
Other ideas for imaginative play centres include a campground, a pet shop, and a restaurant.
Listening Centre
(Composer's Den, Listening Lane, Music Land)
This is an area where children can listen to music or experiment with making sounds with various traditional, home-made and found instruments. Music and rhythmic activities are often shared with others. Although not ideal, it may be necessary to combine this area with the quiet-time relaxation centre in order to share equipment that both centres use (e.g., the listening post and audiocassette player-recorder).
In some Kindergarten classrooms there is sufficient space to set up a climbing frame and lay out mats for jumping or tumbling. If there is no space in the room, there may be an empty room nearby or suitable hall or lunchroom space that could be used provided that adequate supervision is available. Inside space for physical activity in or quite near the classroom enables children to choose to be physically active at times other than recess and gym time. Outdoor play space for Kindergarten should be identified and developed. Such matters as shade, drainage, trees and ground cover should be considered. Children should go outdoors every day, weather permitting.
This is a quiet area where children can look at books, view filmstrips, listen to a variety of taped resources and write (emergent type) stories of their own. Books and stories are often shared with classmates. This area should be carpeted, attractive and near a window. Although not ideal, it may be necessary to combine this centre with the listening area in order to share equipment that both areas utilize (e.g., listening post, audiocassette player-recorder).
This centre could be permanent or could be set up for a short-term class project. Kindergarten students should learn to develop habits that are environmentally sound.
The sand and water centre needs to be located near the water supply and should be in a tiled rather than carpeted area. Preferably, there should be space for both a water table and a sand table, storage shelves for various things to be used in sand and water play, and a place for a broom, a dustpan and a mop. Commercially constructed tables with plastic liners (metal rusts quickly) are desirable, although other kinds of containers such as children's wading pools or baby baths set on low tables work reasonably well. Commercial tables with built-in shelves under the trays save space. For variety, wheat, beans, etc. may be substituted for sand, but teachers must be aware of and consider students' allergies.
In order for children to use small-sized manipulative materials such as puzzles, interlocking bricks, and small figures productively, there needs to be a defined area for their use, away from traffic. There should be shelving at the child's level on which single items can be placed. There should also be small tables, benches or floor mats on which children can work individually or in small groups.
Many varied and interesting materials can be assembled for use in this area. Any material which invites children to construct, fit things together or develop patterns would be suitable. The materials may be home-made rather than commercial; however, they should be sturdy enough to stand up to constant use. As the year progresses, different materials should be added to the area.
A bulletin board and display area should be designated where items related to a theme can be arranged. Many of these can be brought from home by the children. The resources in this area should be changed frequently and should reflect the interests and experiences of the children.
The woodworking centre is intended to provide a safe place for children to engage in the simple, satisfying activities of hammering, sawing, gluing and clamping. The area for this activity should be well defined and contained, with space for two or three children to work. The area needs to be visible from all parts of the room so that the teacher can give steady supervision. Carpeting under the workbench helps to reduce noise.
A workbench and a peg-board on which to store tools constitute the basic equipment for the woodworking area. It is a good idea to trace the shapes of the tools onto the peg-board with a permanent marker so that students know where to store them. Shelves are also needed for labelled containers of nails, screws, etc. Tools should be real. Smaller-sized adult tools can be handled effectively by children.
Care should be taken to select appropriate wood scraps. Hardwood presents too great a challenge to young children just learning to handle tools. Wood should be sanded down so that it is sliver-free. Treated wood should not be used since the chemicals in certain treatments could cause illness if ingested. A variety of materials such as foamed plastic and cardboard may be added to the workbench area, but these materials do not provide the same satisfaction as working with a good piece of wood.
Locating the woodworking centre near the creative problem-solving centre enables children to have access to paint if they want to make a product look more finished. However, painting wood requires thicker paint than normally used for painting on paper.
Writing can be a part of every centre in some way, but here it is the focus. Materials should range from concrete to abstract to suit all levels. The writing centre should be located in a quiet area of the Kindergarten classroom.