Center time can be one of the best times of the day in kindergarten! It is a time where students can practice important skills in interactive and hands-on ways. A lot of the time, teachers tend to change out their centers based on weekly or monthly themes. Although themes are great, this often means the skills being practiced in the centers are not being differentiated. During center time, students should be working on skills that they need. This led me to start doing free-flowing centers based on skills.
Organizing the Centers
My favorite part about these centers being based on skills and not themes, is that I never have to change them. I can keep the same centers all year long.
To organize the centers, I use the Ikea Trofast storage shelves and bins. Each bin is for one kindergarten skill/standard. Inside of that bin, I have 5-6 activities that focus on that skill. Each bin has a picture representing the skill on the outside, so that students know what they will work on in that bin.
Students Choose A Center
Each of the bins are color coded. I store the centers in these zipper pouches from Amazon to match the colors. For example, the bin that works on letter identification is red. All 6 activities inside of that bin are in a red zipper pouch. This color system makes it easy for students to know which activities they can choose from and where it goes when they are done.
Every student has a “goal” or one skill that they are working on at a time. So if their goal is letter identification, they know they can choose any activity from the red bin. Eventually they will have a new goal, which means they will be assigned a new bin.
Creating Independence
A common question I get is “How do you teach students how to do each center when you have that many?” If I have the opportunity during small group instruction, I try to pull some of the centers to practice with students first, so they know what to do during center time. But I also include “I can…” cards with each center. These are very helpful for getting students to be independent because they show students what skill they are working on and give visual directions for how to do the activity. So, instead of asking me what to do, the majority of the time they can figure it out on their own by looking at the card.
The best part about free-flowing centers is that each student can work at their own pace. Some students might spend the entire center time on the same activity and that is okay. Some students may finish quickly, which is okay too. When students complete their activity, they simply put it back and choose another one from the bin.
At the beginning of the year, it takes time to build up stamina. But once students understand the routine and expectations, this becomes one of the most peaceful and productive times of the day.
What Centers Are In The Bins?
All of the centers I use come from my Literacy and Math Centers By Skill Bundles.
When Do Students Move On?
Another big question I get about centers is “how do you know which skill to assign each student to?” As a teacher, I am constantly assessing my students. Each of my students has a skill tracking sheet. If they have been working on letter names for a while and I feel like they are getting ready to move on, I will quickly assess them on that skill. If they show that they have mastered it, I will have them move on to something else. The skill tracking sheets are an easy way for me to see which skills they have already mastered and which ones they are still working on. The sheets are included in my Kindergarten Assessment Pack, which also has quick student assessments to use for each skill.
Want To Learn More?
If you want to learn more about how to implement skill-based centers in your classroom and get 46 ready-to-print centers, along with TONS of other downloads…check out my Mastering Skill-Based Centers Course!
