Guest Author - Jeanette Norman

Sometimes this center is also called the math center. In this area, children aster fine motor skills and finger dexterity that leads to writing skills. Puzzles, stringing beads, making patterns, matching and sorting games are all examples of the types of activities to include in this center.

This center is perhaps the easiest center to place in a preschool classroom. It is a busy center so it doesn’t necessarily need quiet space like the library. But it shouldn’t get so noisy that you can’t place it next to the library.

The workspace you set up for children is what you prefer. I like tables and chairs set up myself. One year we tried carpet squares for children to put their work on. The area seemed to get too cluttered with this method but try both to see what you like. Of course if your room is big enough, provide both.

The manipulative center might be an area where you will need plenty of plastic shoe boxes or tubs depending on the materials you provide. When trying to choose your working materials consider what skills your students have and those you wish for them to experience. Some children begin preschool being exposed to many different types of manipulative materials at home where others might not know the first things about putting puzzles together. Meeting the intellectual needs of all your children may seem challenging at first.

While purchasing all of your materials for this center may bet met by your budget, consider making some activities yourself. This center is perfect for:

File Folder Games

“Sewing” Cards – Make basic shapes out of poster board of various sizes. Hole punch around the shapes. Purchase shoe strings or yarn to pass through the holes in the shape.

Homemade puzzles - A puzzle can be made out of any type of picture. Try to have 2 copies of what the picture is to give the children a visual of what it should look like. Store in a container with each puzzle in its own zip lock bag.

Homemade Play Dough’s find a recipe for basic play dough here

Try to steer clear of any activities that include writing or coloring in this area. That should be saved for the writing or art centers.

Maintaining this area is pretty simple if the children keep materials together. One hint to keep puzzle pieces with the right puzzle is to number puzzles and write that number on the back of the pieces that go to it. Another way is to write the name of the puzzle on the back of its pieces.