In this week's blog post, and for the next few, I am going to share information about visuals that can be supportive to all children in learning the rules of the preschool classroom. The focus for this week is on visuals that support managing learning centers in the classroom.
The first step to managing your learning centers in the classroom is to clearly define each area with boundaries. You can create a boundary with low shelving or furniture. Labeling the area with with a sign like the one below makes the purpose of the area clear and also creates opportunities to build in early literacy skills when you reference the sign and young children notice the letters on the sign.
Creating clear boundaries in an area supports classroom management, when combined with other strategies, by making it clear:
What areas we are talking about (as adults) when we say an area is open or closed or that there are too many kids in a specific area of the classroom
The next one, that works really well with clear boundaries for areas is setting limits for your your learning centers with visuals.
If you are setting a limit at a table, such as the sensory table, these types of visuals can work well. One shape equals one child and that is a concept that can be taught quickly and reinforced with visuals. For areas like the dramatic play area, it is also possible to use visuals but they need to be movable pieces paired with stations at each center.
The ones that I have seen work best in preschool classrooms are those where each child has a picture of themselves with a piece of velcro on the back. At each center, there would be a laminated sheet with 4 -5 pieces of velcro on it. When the sheet is "full," the center is full. For popular centers, it is a good idea to have a wait list. (Kids can write their own name to practice)
The last visual to pair with these two to manage learning centers is covers. The purpose of a cover is to indicate that an area is closed, and if you have a child that really struggles with certain areas of the classroom being closed, a cover is an effective way to place highly desired objects "out of site and out of mind" until it is time to use them again.
Practically speaking, a cover can be anything. Some toy shelves close, and this could serve as a cover. If you can easily flip a shelf around to face a wall, this could be a cover. Bulletin board can also be a cover or if you are handy with a sewing machine you can make a fancy one like the one pictured in the photo and affix it to your toy shelves with velcro. Whatever works best and is the easiest for you to implement as a teacher, is the best choice for you and your students. :-)
Next post: Jazz up your circle time with visuals . . .
Post 1 on visuals here
Comments