Block Center and Dramatic Play are the most popular centers in my pre-k classroom. When it’s time to choose centers, those areas are the first to fill up. In a classroom with 22 students, there are always disappointments when dramatic play and blocks are full and a different center choice must be made. If I could add the light table and Magna-Tiles to my classroom materials, I could increase the number of students allowed in the block center because the light table and Magna-Tiles would add another option for the students to build. The National Association for the Education of Young Children released an article in 2015 in which block play is purported to promote problem solving, imagination, self-expression, mathematics, continuity and permanence, creativity, science, self-esteem, social and emotional growth, literacy, and language. I am eager to see what my students could create if they are provided the opportunity to explore with a light table and Magna-Tiles.
The students in my class are also drawn to the cars in the block center. I once worked in a Pre-K4 classroom where a garage really enhanced car play. The students were able to incorporate some dramatic play scenarios into block area using the garage. The garage would become a fire station, apartment parking garage, etc. I would like for my current students to have the opportunity create using the garage in their block play. A dramatic play table would complete the dramatic play center as well as serve as a seating area for meal times or another center.
About my class
Block Center and Dramatic Play are the most popular centers in my pre-k classroom. When it’s time to choose centers, those areas are the first to fill up. In a classroom with 22 students, there are always disappointments when dramatic play and blocks are full and a different center choice must be made. If I could add the light table and Magna-Tiles to my classroom materials, I could increase the number of students allowed in the block center because the light table and Magna-Tiles would add another option for the students to build. The National Association for the Education of Young Children released an article in 2015 in which block play is purported to promote problem solving, imagination, self-expression, mathematics, continuity and permanence, creativity, science, self-esteem, social and emotional growth, literacy, and language. I am eager to see what my students could create if they are provided the opportunity to explore with a light table and Magna-Tiles.
The students in my class are also drawn to the cars in the block center. I once worked in a Pre-K4 classroom where a garage really enhanced car play. The students were able to incorporate some dramatic play scenarios into block area using the garage. The garage would become a fire station, apartment parking garage, etc. I would like for my current students to have the opportunity create using the garage in their block play. A dramatic play table would complete the dramatic play center as well as serve as a seating area for meal times or another center.
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