Setting Up Learning Centers in the Toddler and Preschool Classroom

I've been asked many times to share what centers we set up in our classroom and how we manage them. In this video, I take you through our classroom and show each center, as well as give tips that have worked in my 19 years of teaching this age group.
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[@1chumkib]

Very well designed corners in the classroom. Children can form small groups and indulge in different centres. Easy to manage them as well.

[@Homesteadymommaforjustatime]

Love how you have your centers set up

[@MsJanet-vm6yg]

Love this, thank you! I teach 4- and 5-year olds, but after years of trial and error, I too have found that letting them choose their own centers and be where they want to be is the absolute best!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

I’m so glad you’ve seen the benefits of free choice centers! I have never desired it any other way.

[@myjoyintheordinary7710]

Love this video and what you have to share! I teach 3 year old Preschool and I find you incredibly inspirational! Thank you for these ever-so-helpful tips!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

* MyJoyintheOrdinary * I’m so glad you have found them helpful!

[@lifewithcalm4774]

I am a preschool teacher this year and I’m adjusting my classroom to have more play base learning and I am extremely motivated to continue working towards creating such a wonderful environment as you have ! Thank you for the inspiration ❤️🙏🙂

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

I’m so glad my resources have been helpful. Thank you for appreciating the value of play! Your children will love the environment you create.

[@brainbuilderspreschool5179]

I loved when you mentioned a good teacher observe their children then make arrangements inside of the classroom to meet their needs

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Yes, it’s so very important! I am always observing how my students are interacting in our classroom environment, noticing which areas might need some tweaking or complete changing!

[@brainbuilderspreschool5179]

@@Teaching2and3YearOlds same here ❤️ thanks for sharing

[@michelem6600]

Great ideas. Love your centers!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Thank you! ❤️

[@jenniferhawes9296]

Love this video! You gave great tips and gave me ideas of how centers can run smoothly!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Jennifer Hawes - Happy to hear this! 😊

[@jeanshimpeno45]

I love your videos. I set my room up like yours and it works well. The table toys and play dough are their favorites.

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Jean Shimpeno - Thank you! I am so glad you find them helpful!

[@symonehowell4774]

Love your classroom, great tips!!!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Thank you, Symone!

[@ConcreteAngelx3]

yes yes yes, love what you are saying. And I love your classroom! I love how inviting it is and not overwhelming with color but just enough to be fun and exciting

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Thank you!

[@charlottedelamor7812]

You are simply wonderful and all your activities look so fun! Thank you for sharing and inspiring!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Thank you, Charlotte! ❤️

[@portiamonama811]

I like what , I see thank you very much for your time.

[@sylvienayman8441]

thank you! that was so helpful

[@taneshathomas6500]

This video was so helpful. We are in the process of changing to center base learning and I too was a little sceptical in the beginning but this video gave me hope! Thanks!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Tanesha Thomas - I’m so glad it was helpful! Make sure to check out my centers Time post on the teaching2and3yearolds.com website, too!

[@caririvera8604]

I have the same light table and I absolutely love it!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

It came with the classroom when I moved. I've had a few different ones but this one has held up the best!

[@zacris00]

Where did you buy it?

[@katebotts7669]

Thank you!

[@tarchilleBelle-sr5hy]

Great ,thanks for the ideas

[@arunakarim7898]

Thank you for wonderfully explaining each and every important aspect of classroom. Excellent classroom

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Thank you for watching!

[@nothanks1443]

I just found your channel I love it I teach first, second and third K I this video is so good thanks for the help I've been straggling with learning corners and this will help me a lot to put in practice in my classroom thank you

[@sgsumiran7463]

This video is helpful. Has lots of ideas that I can use in my learning hub. Thanks for sharing 😊

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Happy to hear this! Thank you!

[@littlehooman452]

Such a greate video for my presentation thank you

[@ButtonNose3]

Motivating video and helpful. I'm a Toddler teacher and thinking about rearranging my classroom. 😁

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Athina Lewis - Thank you! My classroom got a facelift since this video, too! 😊 you can see it in the newer videos. Have fun rearranging!

[@angelindehkee]

Thanks it's awesome

[@symonehowell4774]

That sensory table really caught my interest. I like it, I would incorporate in my classroom.

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

I absolutely love that sensory table, too!

[@matts4363]

love it

[@amybraun7286]

I LOVE YOUR HOUSE AREA!!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Thank you, Amy!

[@sravanisangam]

Such an informative video!! Thank you for this great help. I have a question- do we require any kind of higher qualification to teach young learner's and to set a Montessori play school using PBL pedagogy.?? From India ☺

[@zacris00]

Congratulations!!! Where did you buy the squares tables?

[@kaliehall-to8im]

My favorite subject was book reading in Sharon Anderson and friends to my name is Heather birthday for the school Christmas play

[@sunnypatchpreschool]

I love your kitchen set so pretty! The boat is a nice touch too - Did you make your own light table?

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Geraldine Ralph Studios Thank you! The light table was purchased, but I cannot find it anywhere. (I am often asked.) It was in the classroom when I arrived.

[@sunnypatchpreschool]

Teaching 2 and 3 Year Olds very pretty!

[@janellknudson4573]

I have alternating days of 2 and 3 year olds this year and I have loved diving into your videos! So far I have introduced the children to the different centers and made them stay together. I fear the centers wouldn’t look inviting if they are trashed. Do the really young ones clean up after themselves, or do you allow for one big cleanup later? Or do you not stress about it? 😂

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

For my 2 year olds, we do a group clean up at the end of centers time, but even then I don’t expect everything to be perfectly clean. I do a deeper clean once school is out. However, if I notice a child or small group of children dumping stuff during centers time, I most likely will have them right then put the materials away. One of the things I had to let go of right away - in my early years of teaching - was the expectation that every center would stay neat and clean. And that toys would not travel.

[@katebotts7669]

Love the carpet? Where did you get it! Thank you

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

I’m honestly not sure! Someone purchased all those carpets for the classroom before I took over the room. We’ve since changed them! 😁

[@cookiegirlnj]

during covid we are not allowed to have sharing sensory tables. But now things are lightening up maybe I can have one back and just spray lysol after each student uses it.

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

As of today (3/19/21) we cannot have rice, sand, water, or anything like that in our sensory bin, either. We have blocks in ours right now since they can be cleaned easily.

[@haileekroner6507]

Where did you get the light table ?

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Hailee kroner -Amazon

[@shahnazrani5100]

Nic

[@kidzparadisechildcare7900]

Where did you get the wooden trays?

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Montessori Outlet online - about 7 years ago.

[@lefille562]

I realize this was 3 years ago but do you have any penguin theme activities accessible? Free Printables please

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Yes! Here you go: teaching2and3yearolds.com/preschool-penguin-activities/

[@michcat4320]

Do you follow ECERS?

[@melissagelinas8008]

How many centers do you introduce and what rules do you establish in your centers>

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Hi Melissa! I talk about it here: teaching2and3yearolds.com/preschool-learning-centers/ (preschool); teaching2and3yearolds.com/toddler-center-time/ (toddlers)

[@danzbutrfly]

Wow how much of your time, effort and money go into all this....

[@shirleypiano8957]

How about the 2 yrs old classroom?

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

This is my 2 and 3 year old classroom.

[@emmacooper4286]

How do you keep them from dumping everything out? My class has a problem with dumping. I would never be able to put out a sensory bin or play doh like that, but I want to be able to do fun things like that with them!

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

It’s a constant work in progress, as that’s what this age group loves to do. We start right off working on keeping sensory bin items inside the bin. At the start of the school year I keep a close eye and when I see someone start to dump the contents onto the floor, I redirect them, showing how to dump it inside the bin. Then, if it continues to happen I will tell the child they have to play somewhere else, since they keep dumping out the materials. If it’s more than one child dumping, we close down the sensory bin for the day. But it’s first important to work on redirecting as soon as you see it happening. If I see a lot of dumping happening all over the room, I simplify what I have available. But, as I said, there is always some dumping happening, as well as taking items from one area and moving them to other areas.

[@saraelenaf]

Hi! How many students are in your class? I am so curious

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Because some are under 3, state licensing says our max is 10. That’s how many students I have.

[@largefamilychaos1837]

What do you do when the kids are all going wild and breaking things. Do you think that it's a classroom set up problem or what is going wrong?

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

There could be a variety of things going on, but the first thing is simplifying what we have out. Often too much is overwhelming, especially at the beginning of the school year when they are just learning how to use our materials and follow our routine. I also make sure they know how to use the materials. I observe how the toys are being used and assist. If specific toys seem to be an issue, even after we talk about how to handle them, then they are put away and we try again another time. The most important thing is to observe, assist, and then tweak what is available.

[@largefamilychaos1837]

@@Teaching2and3YearOlds thank you.

[@renuyadav-we6be]

Ma'am I want 2year course early learning

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

I don’t offer teaching courses - just videos helping other teachers. ❤️

[@shahnazrani5100]

What is in ur behind show me and tell how can u makeing

[@shahnazrani5100]

Show me ur class

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Shahnaz Rani - The majority of this channel is videos that give you a classroom tour. Feel free to browse!

[@marilynphan1622]

How many students do you have in your class?

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

Since we have 2 year olds in our classroom, we cannot have over 10 students per our state licensing. So, that's how many students I have.

[@janinenel1795]

my kids just tear books :(

[@Teaching2and3YearOlds]

janine nel - We start with board books and we model how to treat our books, over and over again. We don’t move to paper books until we feel they are ready. There will still be accidental tears from being a bit too forceful, but if I see that the paper books are being mistreated we move back to board books and start the process again.