Do you ever have those moments when you have a total mom win? I mean like all of a sudden you get THE idea of the year? Well let me tell you what my most recent mom win was...Centers!
Yep, you got it, I introduced the idea of Center Time with my girls. I'm not sure what took me so long to get with the program here and actually do this with my kids...I mean I used to do Centers all the time with my students when I taught public school. And if I'm being honest, after we did Centers the first time here at the Hive and it went over so well, I was ashamed at myself for not having the brains to do them sooner. I'm going to give myself a little credit though, as I am still claiming to exist in the "I just had a baby" phase of my life.
So the idea is pretty simple really...take whatever you'd like to incorporate into your Centers and place the different activities in various places around your house. Here at the Hive we are fortunate to have "a circle" in the layout of our rooms. Meaning we have foyer that connects to an office that connects to a dining room that connects to a kitchen that connects to the living room that connects to the foyer again. (This was one of Ava's requirements for our new home by the way, that our home have "a circle" for running around. I told her that she lucked out when we found this house as we weren't specifically looking for "a circle" during our house hunting.) Even if you don't have "a circle" you can certainly still implement Centers with your kids! In fact I've done Centers just around our dining room table a time or two before and it works just as nicely. We are also fortunate that I have loads of educational manipulatives from my public school teaching days. You don't have to make Centers educational specifically each time, but I do like to have some learning going on during play. I'm the type of person that believes we never stop learning, and we can learn
even especially while playing. I don't usually give any instructions as to how to use the Centers, as I think it is important to leave play and learning open ended, and I think it's great to see how my kids come up with their own ways to play and use the Centers.
So here's some examples of Centers we've done before...they are mom and kid approved!
Pop Cubes
Remember those little, colorful, plastic cubes that stack together that you played with in Kindergarten? You probably haven't thought of them much since then, I know I wouldn't have had I not been a teacher, but these things are fun! You can stack, sort, build, count, and loads more. They are usually sold in a set of ten, which gives you 100 cubes total. The kind from
Learning Resources are great because they can snap together in multiple directions.
Blocks
Think of those little wooden blocks with letters or numbers on them. These are great for stacking and building of course, but they can also be used to spell words out too. We also have a set of big, foam blocks that have numbers and + - signs on them. I can't remember where we actually got our set of letter blocks from, but you can find them loads of places.
Here is a set that Target sells.
Pattern Blocks
I love pattern blocks. There is something calming for me about playing with these. You can find just a big bucket of pattern blocks at
Learning Resources or get a set that has pre-made pictures to assemble like this from
Amazon.
Kinetic Sand
We recently discovered the amazingness of this stuff on our most recent beach trip. We love playing in the sand at the beach, but this sand is even better! I am positive some of my super scientific friends could explain how it maintains its incredible awesomeness, but I for one have no clue. It is like playing with sand except it somehow sticks together (think of the perfect ratio of sand and water to make the perfect sandcastle) and it also seems to move all on its own! My kids love this Center and ask for it nearly every time.
Here's the kind that we have.
Stickers
Put out some scrap paper and some stickers and let them have at it. Stickers are pretty cheap and you've prolly got load lying around somewhere anyway...why not use them! I also put any mailing labels or christmas package stickers that I get in the mail into the sticker pile. The kids don't seem to mind and it's fun to see their sticker creations.
White Board
We have individual sized white boards leftover from my teaching days, and the girls love using them. They will sometimes play teacher with them, but usually they enjoy just coloring with the dry erase markers. Word to the wise...dry erase markers do not easily come out of clothing...consider yourself warned.
Scale and Weights
Another thing leftover from my teaching days is a scale.
This is the exact one that we have at the Hive. You don't even need to have specific weights to put in. Just grab anything you've got around the house: dried beans, rocks, etc and let the kids figure out how to play.
Fraction Tiles
These are fun to look at because they are so colorful! It's also a good way for kids to visualize how small parts make up a whole. You can get a set for yourself at...you guessed it...
Learning Resources.
Painting
You could put out water colors or even finger paints, but at our Hive we love...
love...
love our
Buddha Board. All you need is water! There is no mess, there is hardly any clean up, and the canvas never runs out! They are incredible and super entertaining (even relaxing!) to play with as adults too! Trust me...you will
not regret buying one of these. We have two, one original size and one mini size, and I'm already wanting to get another one!
Coloring
This is an easy one. Coloring books, plain paper, or even scrap paper and crayons. Who doesn't love coloring? You can even put out coloring pencils or markers depending on how well your child uses those.
Book and Magnifying Glass
My oldest daughter came up with this Center and I was proud of her for doing so! We have several "Look and Find" books that are similar to a "Where's Waldo?" just put these out and add in a magnifying glass and your kids turn into a detective with a case to solve. So fun! We got our
magnifying glass from Amazon.
Word and Letter Tiles
These are another leftover from my teaching days, but you can
find your own set here. You can put these out for your child to spell words out, match up letters, alphabetize, or identify.
Puzzles
Wooden puzzles seem to work best for us right now, but later on I can see how this Center would transition into a more difficult puzzle that becomes a little bit more complete with each rotation.
3-D Shapes
These are fun to build with and sometimes I incorporate them with the block Center at the same time. I have my set leftover from my classroom, but you can order your set from
Learning Resources.
Color Matching
This Center will cost you no money at all! Just go to your local paint supply store and pick up as many paint sample cards as you'd like...just make sure you pick up two of each color you choose. You could have them laminated if you'd really like in order to keep them for a long period of time, but seeing as they are free...you can just replace them as needed. I like to put out a stack of them and let the girls play on their own. Sometimes they match them up and sometimes they play memory with them and sometimes they put them in rainbow order.
Memory
You can use paint sample card for this Center as well, or if you have a deck of cards you can put them here. We have an actual Memory board game that the girls like to play with during this Center.
Water
Use a dishpan, fill with water, set out some measuring cups and spoons and let them have a blast! They have so much fun pouring and occasionally I'll add in little plastic fish or frogs to make it different. They request this Center quite often too. I like to put a towel down underneath the dishpan in case any water spills. But you know what I've learned? Anytime water spills...wipe it up with an old towel, and voila...you've mopped! Two birds with one stone.
We usually set up 5-7 activities each time we do Centers. I tell my kids which Center to start in and usually have them 2 or 3 Centers apart from one another. That way there's a decent amount of space between them and it cuts out the temptation of talking or arguing. (Also if you use the Buddha Board you'll need at least one activity in between it and the next person using it due to the board needing to dry for the next person.) I make it clear as to which direction our Centers run so that my girls know which activity to move to next.
I use a simple timer to keep the Centers running. We usually do 5-6 minutes at each activity. When the timer goes off you move to the next Center...no questions asked. Also we stay at the appointed Center until the timer goes off. Our rule is that you can stay in your activity or go to time out. I'm sure you can figure out which choice they make. :)
The girls really enjoy doing Centers and ask to do them on a daily basis. I don't do Centers everyday, though, so that we can maintain the attitudes of looking forward to it. I don't want it to become mundane and *gasp* boring. This has been a wonderful idea to pull out at any time, especially rainy days when we can't play outside, or if I need them to be busy about something while I am nursing the baby. In fact, on more than one occasion they have set up and run Centers all on their own. They think it's awesome when they get to choose which activities go in which spot. My oldest daughter, who is 6, knows how to run the timer, and will help her younger sister, who is 3, if she needs to be reminded of where to go next. I can't say enough good things about this activity!
Do you use Centers in your home? Do you have any suggestions for activities for us to add to our rotations? Let me know!
<3