New Centres

 This past week we introduced some new centres for learning. Take a look at the fun we are having!

1) Abacus

Students are challenged to recognize a number off a sheet and then on the abacus using one-to one correspondence, count the associated number of beads. If they are having trouble recognizing a number, they are learning to look in a book as a strategy to help them figure it out. 

2) Write the Room

So far we have talked quite a bit about the letters L and T. In this centre, students are encouraged to search the room to find pictures of L and T words. When they find them, the are to write them down. This centre helps the kiddoes with their letter recognition, sound recognition, printing practice and print awareness. 

3) Learn to Draw

In this centre, students are learning how simple shapes can help them draw familiar animals. This center enables the kiddoes to learn visual discrimination techniques as they need to decipher the difference between steps, helps with fine motor development and helps to boost confidence in drawing.  

4) Pulleys in the Popcorn Table

In this centre, students have been introduced to concept of pulleys. They are experimenting with a make-shift pulley system and learning how it can be used to move popcorn from place to place. This centre helps to work on collaboration and critical thinking skills. 

5) Marble Race

In this centre, students race against a partner to roll a number, recognize it, and then count out that many marbles to fill in a trivet. The first one to fill in all the circles wins! The kiddoes are working on number recognition and one-to-one correspondence. 

6) Sand Table

The sand table has been set up with an assortment of random objects and baskets. The kiddoes are challenged to read a poster, choose an item they would like to search for, and see how many of the items they must find. Once they find the number they need, they take the items over to a table and create a sentence with cards that read: I see ______ _______. They fill the blanks in with a number card and the objects they found. An example would say, I see 4 pom poms!

7) Coding Table

In this centre, students are challenged to "Tell me a story" using random loose parts and an assortment of arrows. The teaching of coding skills helps the kiddoes begin to learn critical thinking, computation thinking, and the hows and whys of coding. The unplugged approach allows learners to access computing concepts without the use of a computer, making lessons engaging and accessible to a variety of learners. It demonstrates that computer science is not about using computers, but exploring its fundamental concepts.

Lots of learning taking through play!