How-To Set Up Center Routines

16 August 2020 - Leave a Comment

Has this ever happened to you? You spend forever figuring out the fun and creative ways that you can keep students engaged during centers and two minutes into the first round Joey cuts Sarah's hair, glue is all over the listening station (why is it over there??) and your classroom sounds like a college football playoff game. You go home disappointed and vow to do better tomorrow. Right?

Setting Up Center Routines is the Key to Success

Go slow to go fast......have you ever heard that expression? It is my favorite kindergarten quote because it is SO true! You can not get to the true learning until you have all of your routines in place and our center time is the most important part of the day. Getting these going is crucial.


Step 1: Create YOUR System

There are a million (yes....one million) ways to set up centers. I think I have tried them all! There is really not one way that is better than another but the most important thing to remember is to make it YOUR system. Don't copy something you saw on Pinterest because it was cute. Create a system that works in your room for you and your students.


Color coding-This was one of my favorites for a long time. I had a wheel with these colors on it and rotated kids through the centers by colors. Turn the wheel....instant new center. Easy peasy.


This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!

Numbered Bins- This is a good option if you want a lot of different choices for students. The bins (left) were used as math stations. The drawers (right) were used as partner stations.
 

This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!

Free Choice-These centers include plenty of choices that students can go to throughout the week. They can pick a paper center or hands on center (like building words with tiles). This system works well with a Daily 5 philosophy.

This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!

Step 2: Go Slow

Go slow to go fast. You will want to introduce every single fun thing imaginable the first day but that won't work....trust me on this one. Introduce one center the first day. Just one! I use super simple alphabet mats from the dollar store that take zero prep from me. I buy about 12 of them and that way every single student in that round is doing the same thing. The other 12 are working on Lexia with me. Then we switch. That is all day one but it allows me to teach them how to get their materials, choose a spot to work, and stay there the whole time. We introduce the chimes that tell us center time is over and how to clean up. That is it. Materials are simple but the routine we are implementing is very complicated!


This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!

Step 3: Add in New Options

After the first day you can start adding in some options and also take the time to teach them about making a good choice. Our rule is you have to stick with the same center the whole time so picking the right one is really important. Over the course of the next week or so we add in lots of alphabet activities that take little to no direction. These activities are both included in this set of Alphabet Centers.


This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!


Step 4: Be Consistent

Don't let anything slide. You don't have to be mean about it but don't let them slide on any of the expectations you have set up. If they are expected to put away all of their materials make sure they put away all of their materials. If you ask them to walk to and from the rug to centers (and golly I hope you do) make sure they do it every single time. It takes SO MUCH TIME to set up but you will reap the rewards about week 3 or 4 and it will feel wonderful.


Quick tip: We take pictures of our students following the rules and post them as reference as much as possible.

This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!


Step 5: Fight Boredom

We work REALLY hard all week long and if we stuck to this routine 180 days out of the year we would go crazy! So don't be afraid to shake it up one day a week. I have done Wacky Wednesdays where I switch out all of the centers to go along with our science unit. We love Fun Friday where we have all kinds of free choice centers that the students enjoy while I do all of my progress monitoring. If you have your systems in place you can literally do ANYTHING with them.


This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!


Don't Give Up!

Those are the 5 Essential things you must do to get your center routines in place. Don't give up! The number one frustration for teachers in the primary grades (probably all grades) is classroom management. This is the biggest piece of your management. If you keep those kiddos engaged your problems will be cut in half or cut out all together!

Need Ideas?

Here are a few of my favorite alphabet and math centers to start out with at the beginning of the year. Easy to prep, simple for students, but oh so engaging. Plus some rules and procedures that I use to get everything running smoothly in my classroom. Click on the links to see them in my TPT store.


One more thing!

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This blog post is a perfect how to on setting up centers in a preschool classroom, pre k classroom, and especially in kindergarten. If you are in a small classroom that doesn’t matter. What matters is the way you introduce your expectations and routines. Make sure you get them set up from the start with these 5 tips from a teacher who has tried it all!


 
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