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I know it’s late in the school year to be writing about this, but i’ve had a lot of questions recently about starting centers in kindergarten. How do I introduce centers and give my students choice in their centers?
{You can read more about how centers in kindergarten look once they’re up and running here.}
Introducing the Classroom Library
I start by introducing our classroom library the first full week of school. I start with this mostly because I want to give my students plenty of practice handling books correctly, and I also want to give them a place to go if they finish work early.
We talk about how to be a book lover and treat books with respect. We also talk about how to read using the pictures.
Introducing Basket Centers
The following Monday, I introduce basket centers (these are our word work type centers). Each of my students has a color. Those colors are used to differentiate the groups, and students will change colors throughout the year.
I introduce these first because 1. there are enough baskets for each of my students to practice at the same time and 2. baskets are a choice every day for every group during centers so I want to make sure we have this routine down solid.
To introduce students to their colors, I have them wear a name tag with their name written in the correct color for the first week:
Instead of taking the name tag part out, I wrote on the plastic with a permanent marker. That way I can easily take it off with hand sanitizer or a dry erase marker and then reuse them.
When showing students how to use the basket centers, I gather them all around our centers shelf. I try to make this as entertaining as possible!
I demonstrate how to pick out a basket that’s the right color, how to carry it, and how to put it back in the right place. I also demonstrate doing it the wrong way – and allow them to correct me, which always gets a laugh but helps them remember what to do!
You can grab the labels for the basket centers here.
Our literacy centers in kindergarten the first week or two are very simple and play-based to get students excited, but I do not put in just toys like blocks or stem materials. I know that goes against a lot of advice, but I want my students to understand that centers are fun, but they are also work to help us learn how to read! Not toys to play with.
I love the popsicle match center pictured above for back to school! I also like these alligator alphabet match toys and these dinosaur alphabet match toys. They’re fun, but they are still literacy-focused.
I also use my own literacy centers. If its a matching center, such as alphabet puzzles, I will only put a few matches in a basket so that students don’t become overwhelmed.
We practice for just a short amount of time the first day, maybe 10 minutes, so that they can feel success.
All week, I slowly increase that time as we practice just basket centers. Towards the end of the week or the next week, I will begin introducing 1-2 of our second choice centers each day.
Second Choice Centers
As you can see from the chart at the top, my students have a choice of 2 centers for the day. That always includes basket centers and then at least one second choice center.
I introduce 1-2 of these a day as we are practicing centers. The exception is library because we learned that before we even started centers.
Bookshelf is one of our second choice centers and it is separate from the classroom library. I chose to have it separate so that students would have access to books on more days. The bookshelf features books that fit our theme, so they’re special because they change every so often. The books in our library stay the same.
Magnetic letters is another second choice center. Students have the choice of matching letters to an alphabet chart, using matching mats, or building sight words.
Our writing center is another second choice center. I use my thematic writing center packs so that the activities stay the same, but the pictures change every so often.
I start the year with only 2 choices in the writing center (labeling and writing paper) and then I slowly add in more choices as we learn how to write. I don’t want my students to be overwhelmed with choices or learn how to use them wrong.
As we learn these centers, my students basically have free reign. By that I mean, they can go to any centers during these days so long as they’re working.
Once we have introduced all the centers, then I introduce the center rotations chart shown above and show students that they have 2 choices for the day.
I hope this post was helpful for you! Again, if you want to see what centers in kindergarten look like once they’re up in running in my room, you can check out this post.
I love the idea of allowing students voice and choice in what they work on and when in reading. Two questions…how long do you typically have students working in free flowing centers when it is just a normal day in the classroom (especially mid year once the routine is down solid and students have work to gain reading stamina). Also how do you know if students actually completed their assigned work work buckets? What system do you use to hold students accountable do make sure they are completing that differentiated work that is so valuable to helping them progress within their reading skills. Thank you so much for sharing this! I have wondered how to implement a “must do, may do” style approach in Kindergarten and this helped to clarify so much for me!
Hi! Once we have the routine down, our centers time is about an hour to an hour and 15 min. For completion, I used to have students turn in their work and you definitely could do that. However, I found that I never had time to check it. Instead, I just observe how students are working. Center activities should be review for students and cementing skills they’ve already learned. The new learning will be going on at my small groups table at this time.
I love free flowing centers! It works so well for my kindergarteners! But now I teach prek and kindergarten combined. Do you think this system would work for prek as well? Im finding that the choices are overwhelming sometimes for prek. This is my first year teaching a prek/ kindergarten combined class and I am having a difficult time with centers.
I definitely think it can work in Pre-K, but it will take more modeling upfront. If the colors are overwhelming, you might change them for student pictures or separate them more by creating a separate area for each groups activities – for example, all red groups activities are on one shelf and all green groups activities are on another. If your kids struggle with knowing what areas they can go to (for example, baskets and library), you might give them a lanyard name tag with pictures of those two areas to wear during centers. They can look at it to know where they can go. Again, this will take some practice upfront.
However, you may also choose to have all areas open to everyone and that’s okay too! If you choose to go this way, I would just have your word work activities that are for prek and then your word work activities that are for Kinder or students who are ready for them clearly separated in different parts of the room.
Hi! I love the free choice center idea! How often do you need to change the basket centers? Very 2-3 weeks? Once a month?
I change our half of the centers each week, so for the next week half are new and half are old. Sometimes that just means moving an activity from one color to another color group! (And honestly sometimes I go 2 weeks without changing anything and it’s fine!)
Hi there! Sorry to comment again on a second post of yours this week, but I’m trying to wrap my head around free-flowing centers. If you designate 2-3 second choices for each group, doesn’t that mean you have to have set timed rotations? I was hoping to avoid a loud timer interrupting my groups and having to manage the transitions, but I’m not sure how my 1st graders will be able to manage their time responsibly. For example – say a student starts at their second choice but loses track of time and never goes to baskets? Even with an accountability sheet, I’m not sure my students would know when it’s time to move on to fit it all in.
I’m playing with the idea of having all centers be open to everyone with a must do/may do model, but students have to track where they’ve been for the week and some stations will be limited (ex. computers 2x a week). Do you think this is too much of a free-for-all without timed rotations every day?
Hi! I don’t rotate them at all. They can do baskets the whole time, do the second choice center the whole time, or go back and forth. I do set limits if the center is too small for everyone, like my writing center. Then they can do one activity and then have to give someone else a turn if they want it. That being said, I think your must do/May do idea is also a great option! My motto is that you have to find what works best for you and your classroom. No model with be perfect for everyone. If the idea of fully free flowing stresses you out, then having some structure with a must do May do could be helpful!
I am new to kindergarten this year and have been struggling with rotations. I love the system you have described and think it would work really well for my very differentiated class. I was wondering, though, within each basket color group, is there a different activity in each tub? For example, if the red group has 5 kids/tubs, it is not the same activity 5 different times? Related, if they are different activities, students can stay at their tubs and just swap with someone else, right? Also, are students allowed to work with a partner from their group on a bucket or is it all independent work, for volume’s sake.
Thank you so much for sharing these great ideas
Hi! Yes, each tub has a different activity. If students choose to, yes, they can stay at the tubs the whole centers time and just swap with someone else. It always depends on the class if I let them work with a partner! Most of the time, yes, if they can stay focused then I am perfectly all right with them working with a partner.
I want to try this system, but when do you find the time to introduce the new buckets when you change them out? Also, how do you find enough activities to do put in them?
Hi Tisha! I try to choose activities that are very self-explanatory or use predictable centers that follow the same format, so I don’t have to explain too much. If I do, I either introduce it quickly before we start or walk around the first few minutes and show a few students how to use it. They can then show others.
I have way too many centers! But I often repeat activities; so some groups could have the same activity, or similar activities but different skills.
You can also make it less prep by not having so many options. I have all of the color groups differentiated, but if you just want to start free flowing centers with less work, you can give students the choice to choose from ANY of the activities. That means that you’d have to prep less.
I hope that helps! If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at [email protected]
Hi! I was just wondering where your shelving is from for your center tubs.
I’m afraid I don’t know. They came with my classroom. But most likely discount school supply or a similar retailer.
Can you link the black pocket chart? I was going to do a center wheel like TKS but I like your pocket chart better!!!
Hi! I used different pocket charts depending on the year (sometimes this tabletop one and sometimes a mini one on the wall). But this is the tabletop one I used: https://www.amazon.com/Small-Double-Sided-Table-Pocket/dp/B0785DGHSV/