Kindergarten Centers

• Ruler
• Tape measure
• Real-world examples of interesting buildings/architectural structures (student-created Links to an external site., books, postcards, calendar photos)
• Camera, iPad, or other device to photograph constructions
• Rubber dolls or other figures
• Dollhouse furniture
• Animals (plastic or stuffed)
• Vehicles
• Signage/Label making materials (tape, markers, pencils, index cards, sticky notes)
• Pieces of fabric
• Familiar or preferred items to entice students to use the blocks (e.g., action figures)
• Keva planks
• Pictures of differently-abled people
• Sentence strips as roads
• Yarn to make roads or paths
• Legos
• Marble run
• Writing/labeling materials
• Recyclable materials
• Cardboard tubes
• 3D Geometric Shapes
• Flashlights (from Science Kit) to create shadows
• Jumbo Nuts & Bolts

Block Transformation Ideas

The following items can be used to help transform the Block area:

• Farm: animals, materials to make food in the fields or for the farm stand 
• Theme Park: students can build roller coasters, mazes, etc.
• Zoo: animals, food, tickets, train
• Construction Site: hard hats, tape measure, construction vehicles
• Ramp-making: fabric, styrofoam, cardboard, plastic, etc.: which textiles can make an object go down the ramp?

• Natural Items: seashells, seeds and pods, leaves, branches, tree pods, sand, pebbles, rocks, bird feathers, bones, nests
• Water
• Life Cycles (butterflies, frogs, mealworms)
• Shadows: flashlights, shoe box turned on its side, interestingly shaped objects, make your hand into animal shapes, What’s that Shadow? A Photo Riddle Book by Christopher L. Harbo
• Sorting trays, cups, or boxes
• Microscopes
• Cameras
• Timers and stopwatches
• Measuring spoons
• Plastic beakers or cups for pouring
• Tweezers
• Plastic baggies
• Lab coats (cut-down adult-sized shirts with stick-on labels for name tags)
• Kitchen scale
• Date stamps
• Nonfiction books and magazines
• Binoculars
• Pinwheels
• Staff photo (students can use magnifying glass to look for faces)
• Jacob’s ladder
• Magic tricks
• Kaleidoscopes
• Discovery bottles

Science Kit

The following items can be found in your science kits and added to the Science Center:

• Hand lens
• Funnels
• Color paddles
• Magnets
• Measuring cups
• Pippets (eye droppers)
• Thermometers
• Clipboards

This center may also be called the Book Nook, Reading Center, Listening Center, or Technology Center

• Inquiry-Driven Text Sets: dinosaurs, weather, transportation, space, author collections, dramatic play-themed baskets of books
• Variety of books/songs available or rotated through
• Book-sharing board (illustrate a part of the book on cardstock and, pin to the board, write a review)
• Author/Illustrator images
• Bookmarks
• Special and/or child-sized seating (yoga mats, plastic chairs)
• Sticky notes
• Quieter space. For example, use a large box with a ‘skylight’ and doorway
• Tablets, computers
• Flashlight (from Science Kit)
• Photos of students reading
• Big books
• Pointers
  • Tip: themed and seasonal pencils are often found in dollar bins; use them to create pointers you can rotate in and out. To make, glue an eraser cap on one end of a pencil and a puffball on the other for small pointers! 

• Child-sized table and chairs
• Kitchen (oven, stove, refrigerator)
• Baby bed/crib, blankets, dolls
• Kitchen Items: Dishes, cups, utensils, tablecloth, food
• Hand lens/Magnifying glass (from Science Kit)
• Tape measure
• Mirror (small ones are in Science Kit)
• Child-sized broom, dustpan, and mop
• Dress-up clothes
• Fabric to create costumes
• Stuffed animals
• Keys on keychains
• Wallets, purses
• Telephone, telephone directory
• Notepads, sticky notes, and writing utensils
• Small suitcase, attached case
• Magazines
• Maps (for going on trips)
• Travel brochures
• Balance/Scale
• Calendars
• Cash register, play money

Dramatic Play Transformation Ideas

The following items can be used to help transform the Dramatic Play Center:

• Supermarket: cash register, supermarket circulars, coupons, materials to make money, reusable bags, balance, kitchen scales, sticky notes for prices
• Post Office: hanging shoe organizers as mailboxes, canceled stamps, magnifying glasses, paper for making stamps, envelopes, telephone
• Doctor’s Office: clipboards for patient information (from Science Kit), ruler to measure growth, scale, eye chart, bandaids
• Veterinarian’s Office: clipboards, stuffed animals, scale, ruler
• Movie or Puppet Theater
• Restaurant: supermarket circulars for cutting out foods to make menus, cash register, tablets to write orders, aprons, nametags, table numbers, fabric for cloth napkins, chef hat (can be made out of paper), recyclable items to be used as spices on the table, playdough to create food
• Flower Shop: flowers, paper, notecards, ribbon, cash register, money
• Airplane or Airport: bags, materials to make tickets, hats, nametags, globe, maps, tools for fixing the airplane, tray (from Science Kit) to serve snacks/drinks, headphones and flashlights (from Science Kit) to direct the plane on the runway, photos of faraway places
• Firehouse: flashlights (from Science Kit), hats, plastic hoses, phone, maps, keyboards/pretend computers 
• Candy Shop: pretend candies, cash register, money, play-doh, plates, boxes, ribbons
• Pizza Shop: play-doh to make pizza toppings, menus, plates, cups, utensils, boxes, tablets, etc.
• Beach: Beach ball, blankets/towels, sunglasses, picnic items

Dramatic Play Tips

Don’t forget to enlist other center areas to help make materials. Invite students to brainstorm what is needed to change the Dramatic Play center and ask them to contribute to its development.

For example, when opening a flower shop:

• Writing Center: create the “menu” with illustrations, etc.
• Play-Doh/Clay: sculpt vases, flowers
• Art Center: use tissue paper, pipe cleaners, and glue to create flowers; make money
• Painting: create signs to hang in the shop
• Etc.

• Cuisenaire rods
• Attribute blocks
• Geoboards and bands
• Pattern blocks
• Pegboards and pegs
• Abacus
• Paper and pencils for recording information
• Grid paper/dot paper and colored pencils for planning designs for geoboards
• Graph paper
• Board games
• Dominoes
• Dice
• Tangrams
• Playing cards
• Spinners and counters
• Rulers and tape measures
• Magnifying glasses and coins
• Scales (balance, kitchen, bathroom)
• Clocks (digital and analog)
• Tessellation packs or puzzles
• Origami paper
• Checker sets
• Mirrors for pattern blocks (to change perspective)
• Keys
• Buttons
• Acorns
• Fabric scraps
• Bottle caps and corks
• Seashells
• Coins
• Toothpicks, popsicle sticks, paper clips (for measuring)
• Number lines
• Rekenreks
• Whiteboards, whiteboard markers, erasers
• Laminated math games (e.g., Investigations, etc.)
• Check your school’s Math Closet (if applicable) or check with other grades for materials

Math Center Task Ideas

As part of the Math Center, students can complete the following tasks or activities:

• Conduct a survey
• Write math stories
• Make a puzzle
• Create a board game
• Measure the same item with multiple objects
• Origami
• Make playdough
• Go on a shape hunt
• Embed in other areas (e.g., create an inventory of materials in other centers, such as the number of cars in blocks)

All kindergarten classrooms have been provided with a sand and water table. Consider the following items:

• Explore with a variety of base materials (shredded paper, pasta, rice, sand, gravel, kinetic sand, etc.)
• Measuring spoons and cups
• Spoons, forks, tongs
• Paper or plastic cups of different sizes
• Cardboard tubes and tape
• Clean, empty plastic containers of different shapes and sizes (e.g., dipping sauce, spices, yogurt)
• Play sand can be ordered yearly as part of the science consumable order

Art CENTER

Includes drawing, sculpting, coloring, crafting, etc.

• Crayons, markers, colored pencils
• Skin tone crayons
• Glue (try liquid glue for fine motor practice)
• Tape
• Construction paper or different sizes, colors
• Newsprint
• Drawing paper
• Chalk
• Color wheel Links to an external site.
• Art books
• Wood scraps (for 3D construction)
• Collage materials
• Cardboard tubes
• Stickers
• Paper bags
• Envelopes
• Tissue paper
• Pipe cleaners
• Scissors
• Calendar pictures
• Stencils or items to trace
• Paper scraps (collected from the die-cut and other places!)
• Reuse gift wrap, tissue paper, ribbon, and boxes
• How-To Draw a ___ tutorials 
• Use Chromebook to play videos of directed drawings or step-by-step instructions for drawings

Art Center Task Ideas

As part of the art center, students can complete the following tasks or activities:

• Mural
• Paper bag puppets
• Chalk on wet paper
• Make invitations or cards
• Create items to go in themed centers (ex., money for Dramatic Play, shapes for a shape hunt, paint or craft flowers for flower shop)
• Ripped paper collage
• Tear, ball up, and glue tissue paper to make a 3D drawing
• Color mixing 
• Make bracelets with pony beads or cut-up plastic straws and pipe cleaners
• Chose a sticker and make a setting for it
• Writing/drawing in the sand
• Make a boat and see if it will float

Paint CENTER

All kindergarten classrooms have been provided with an easel. Consider the following items:

• Tempera Paint (including skin tone colors and white paint for a base to make tinted colors)
• Fingerpaint
• Sponge painting
• Watercolors
• Brushes of different sizes/thicknesses
• Paint containers
• Smocks or button-down dress shirts (worn backwards)
• Q-tips

Paint Center Tips

• Change paint colors every 2-3 weeks; consider changing colors to match the season, themes, or student choice. For example, in February, provide red, pink, and purple. Ask your students for ideas!
• Mix paint to create new colors. Use white paint as a base and tint with colors for pastels or monochromatic options. For example, in January, provide light, medium, or dark blue. Add glitter to white for “snow” or “icy” colors. Ask students to brainstorm color combinations and make them together. 
• Add a little water to tempera paint cups for ease of application or to refresh the paint that is starting to dry.
• Save plastic icing tubs and lids - they make great paint cups. Line with plastic baggies and fill the baggies with paint. Each evening, close the baggies or place lids on the container to prevent drying. Students can also contribute; at the end of the week, students at the painting center are responsible for  placing the brushes in soapy water for cleaning and disposing of the paint baggies when it is time to change the colors.
• Wrap the easel in laminated bulletin board paper for longevity

Paint Center Task Ideas

As part of the paint center, students can complete the following tasks or activities:

• Crayon resist painting (watercolor painting over a drawing made with a white wax crayon)
• Marble in a box painting
• Wet on wet painting (watercolor painting on paper made wet by a sponge)

• Clay/Play-doh
• Flat surface
• Tools (rollers, cookie cutters in a variety of shapes, letters, etc.; dull plastic utensils, dull scissors)
• Trays to contain materials
• Resealable containers (reuse cleaned takeout containers, gladware, etc.)

Play-Doh/Clay Center Tips

Use MOI funds to purchase new play-doh or the ingredients for homemade play-doh, or consider having a Play-Doh sign-up for your classroom. 1-2 families can sign up each month; their child can read to perform a task to help make the Play-Doh at home, choose the colors, and add scents (vanilla, pumpkin spice, cocoa, gingerbread, etc.)! Homemade play-doh gets disposed of monthly after use. Don’t forget to send home a reminder and recipe to families when it is their turn!

• Fine motor activities (e.g., lacing, threading beads, untangling yarn, etc.)
• Variety of paper: construction paper, lined and unlined, tablets
• Variety of writing materials, including those only used at writing center
• Stamps and ink pads
• Envelopes
• Stickers
• Greeting cards (or tear the fronts off old cards)

Writing Center Task Ideas

As part of the writing center, students can complete the following tasks or activities:

• Make invitations or cards
• Create items to go in themed centers (e.g., menus, signs)
• Chose a sticker and write about it
• Writing/drawing in sand, shaving cream, or baggies filled with sensory materials (gel and glitter; paint)

• Begin with familiar materials and fewer centers.
• Less is more, especially at the beginning of the year! Use a combination of commercial and noncommercial materials and rotate them throughout the year.
• Help develop technical art skills: using scissors, refining gluing techniques, learning different ways of folding, rolling & crinkling paper, etc.
• Check with your Art teacher to see what skills have been taught, and for materials you may need.
• If you have Pre-K, check with them for materials to see what center ideas were successful or of high interest to the students.
• Combine centers to save space and create more interest.
• Introduce and model how to use new materials.
• Teach how to clean up and organize materials.
• If students have to stay in one center for the whole session, consider having ‘open’ centers that are always available if students need a break from the center they are in that day.  These could be centers that have familiar materials and/or centers that may not have enough materials to engage students for the entire time (ex. Book Center, Fine Motor Center, Science Center).
• Students can help transform everyday work tables into centers; for example, the horseshoe teacher table becomes the Art Center when all materials are stored in a bin that is easily accessible to students.