Fall-themed centers bring the excitement of the season into the classroom, making learning feel like play. By incorporating pumpkins, leaves, apples, and other fall elements, children can relate to the activities, making them more enjoyable and memorable. These centers also help in building foundational math and literacy skills through hands-on, thematic learning. Creating fall-themed math and literacy centers for kindergarteners is a fantastic way to celebrate the season while boosting essential skills. The colorful backdrop of autumn makes it easier to design activities that keep children engaged and enthusiastic about learning. In this blog post, we’ll answering the most common questions we get about centers.
How do you get started?
Be sure to read through this whole post before you get started to help you plan. There are three simple steps to get started.
- Pick your centers – I LOVE thematic centers. But, I also include non-thematic centers so I don’t have to change them as often. You can find my favorite Year Round Math Center Bundle HERE.
- Create your groups-If you have a chatty group, I recommend doing partners, to reduce the chatter. I have groups of two and three this year. I have 23 students, so I have 10 rotations. These rotations will last me all month. Keep reading to learn more about how I manage 10 rotations.
- TEACH the centers- I am surprised at how many teachers skip this step. This is supposed to be INDEPENDENT. If you don’t teach your students HOW to complete the centers, they will not be independent at them. They will be interrupting your small group consistently, and you will probably HATE doing centers. As I said above, I change my centers once a month. At the beginning of the month, I show students how to complete all of the centers. Then, the next day, I will walk around and check on students in their groups. I will typically do this a second time during week 2. Yes, this means I miss 2-3 days of pulling my groups for intervention, but by taking the time to teach the centers, I have fewer interruptions when i am pulling groups.
When do you have time for centers?
I do centers during my intervention block. We have a 30 minute intervention block for both reading and math. My students complete two centers a day, one math, one literacy, while I pull small groups. I set the timer for 12 minutes to allow for transition time.
How do you pick your centers?
When picking my centers, I look for activities that students can do independently. These activities should be skills you have previously taught, not new skills. I do heterogenous groups for both my math and literacy centers. That way, students can help each other while I am pulling small groups. I love thematic centers. I think kids get very excited when they see these come out each month. You buy my Thematic Kindergarten Math and Literacy Center BUNDLE here. I like a variety of centers. I try to include hands on manipulatives, such as dominoes or unfix cubes. I want my students to be engaged in their activities so they do not interrupt me. (Do you see a theme here?)
How do you organize your centers?
I use a rolling cart to organize all of my centers. The drawers are labeled 1-10. I set the cart up at the beginning of the month, with all the necessary materials inside each drawer. Students take the entire drawer out and go to the designated spot (drawer 1 goes to where I placed a number 1 in my classroom). I do have activities that need to be done at a pocket chart. They take their drawer to the pocket chart, complete it there, and put the drawer back when they are done. These drawers did come from Michaels. I took the silver knobs off. Every 2-3 months, I tighten the bolts on the side so it doesn’t become wobbly. They will do one drawer a day for word work and one for math everyday. By the end of the month, they will have done each center twice. I shared these FREE Drawer Labels in my newsletter last month, but if you missed it, you can get them here.
Why do you do centers?
A little background- This is my 19th year teaching. When I started teaching, centers were all the rage. Students did centers, while teachers ran guided reading groups. This took up most of my reading block. As we learned more about the Science of Reading, we learned that we HAVE to have solid whole group instruction to provide DIRECT instruction. I am a better teacher because of this shift. However, there is still a place for math and literacy centers.
- Centers provide students with independent practice.
- It allows time for students to work with their peers, and develop problem solving skills.
- It gives teachers the time to pull small groups for intervention.
Fall-themed math and literacy centers offer the perfect blend of fun and education. With these easy-to-implement activities, kindergarteners will enjoy learning essential skills while embracing the season. Whether they’re counting pumpkin seeds or building stories with fall characters, children will love these engaging fall centers. I shared these FREE Acorn Letter Clip Cards in my newsletter a few weeks ago, but if you missed it, you can get them here. Did you know I share a brand new free resource at the beginning of each month? Be sure to sign up HERE so you don’t miss out.
Do you want a year of centers? Check out this Math and Literacy BUNDLE. It includes some of my BEST SELLING activities. You will SAVE 50% when you buy the bundle. Enjoy!
