Science Center
Science centers emphasize a hands-on approach, featuring interactive exhibits that encourage visitors to experiment and explore. Students can observe, experiment, create, construct, classify, compare, and question. Students are natural born scientists. They are curious and eager to explore the world and everything in it! For young learners, science is just an extension of their everyday world. …
That’s why it’s so important to focus on working with early childhood educators to learn how to create amazing experiences that encourage discovery through play, asking questions, exploration and using creativity to solve simple problems.
- Color Sorting Cups: Children sort small objects into cups by color.
- Locks and Keys.
- Wind Chimes, Pinwheel, Prisms.
- Sand and Water Bottles: Children shake and watch the sand settle.
- Prisms: Use with flashlights or near a window.
Arts Center
An arts center is a functional community center with a specific remit to encourage arts practice and to provide facilities such as theater space, gallery space, venues for musical performance, workshop areas, educational facilities, technical equipment, etc.
The Art center is a place where students can go to express their feelings, ideas, and be creative! Every child is an artist in the Art center! It is a place that promotes high level thinking, problem solving, and is rich in vocabulary. Students can learn and develop skills in all learning domains (language, literacy, math, science, social studies, fine motor, gross motor, and social skills) through art. Through creative art, children may be able to represent experiences that they cannot verbalize. They may draw pictures out of proportion, exaggerating things that are important to them. When we value children’s creativity, we help them feel valued as people, raising their self-esteem.
Having a variety of materials and rotating materials is SUPER important!. These materials are: construction paper, white paper, grid paper, crayons, markers, glue, scissors, paint, play dough, stencils, dot markers, tape, paper shapes, paper/foam letters, feathers, tissue paper and trays.
Discovery Center
What better way to engage young minds in learning and discovery than by letting them lead the way through their natural curiosity and the opportunity to explore their interests. Sunvalley Kids Montessori is committed to child-lead programming, where children are encouraged to explore, experience new things, and express their curiosity through art, imaginative play, crafting, and building. Students are also challenged and encouraged to branch out and try new activities, and have the opportunity to take in new experiences during class time and on field trips. Free time, story time and active play, either outdoors or in the gym, are all incorporated into the daily schedule.
Recreation Center
This program is geared for tot with emphasis on fun and discovery in a safe ‘just for tots’ environment. A certified instructor is present to assist as they guide their preschooler in exploring the gymnastic equipment.
Roll, jump, throw, and more while being creative with various active play equipment. This gently structured class emphasizes exploration, movement, creativity, and imagination in a safe and encouraging atmosphere. The child’s rhythm, physical confidence and imagination are nurtured. It’s an excellent way to prepare them for ballet and modern dance. Climb up the climbing walls and cartwheel on our gymnastics floor! This combination rock climbing and gymnastics camp will introduce basic skills in both sports.
Literacy Center
We have seen that the Literacy Center is a great way to get children to actively participate in their Montessori learning activities. It starts with focusing on basic skills like staying in one spot, working independently and solving problems with peers and graduates to fun hands-on activities rather than boring worksheets. This center mostly involves manipulating the children’s curiosity to learn the use of vibrant materials that are specifically designed to promote reading.
It’s important that most of the centers are grounded in real reading and writing activities. There will be TON of really cute word work or sight word activities out there. But ultimately, the goal is to want the kids to be good readers and writers, so the independent work should reflect that.
- Predictable sentences are a great way for students to practice multiple skills: Concepts about print, sight word reading, handwriting, illustrations, and matching words to the picture
- Students explore classroom library. Listening to books is such a fantastic way to support ESL students and vocabulary of the students
- Sunvalley Kids Montessori has activities from beginning sounds… to word families… to thematic stamping
- Read independently (print books or e-books)
- Read and “sing” song lyrics of familiar songs
- Act out a book with a partner or small group
- Use puppets, felt pieces, or other manipulative to retell a familiar story
- Alphabet puzzles (for alphabetical order and letter recognition)
- Upper and lower-case letter matching puzzles
- Picture sorts (initial sound, final sound, medial vowel sound, word family, digraph, blend, etc.) – and then saying aloud the words with or to a partner
- Play “Sight Word Hide and Seek”
Montessori
- Each child learns at his or her own pace
- Children learn social skills, daily living skills, math, language phys-ed, and other traditional courses
- Children interact with others of different ages, creating an environment where younger students can learn from the older children, and older children have the opportunity to take the lead
- Students are guided by Montessori instructors who are trained in the Montessori philosophy.