Learning Center Format

In addition to the child-initiated curriculum, our children's classrooms use a special learning center format. Our well-designed classrooms have ample choices that invite holding, touching, pouring and transforming.

At Thomas Learning Centers, each learning center has a purpose:

• Language Centers: promote vocabulary, pre-reading skills, listening skills, writing skills, and cognitive versatility, reading enjoyment, book experience and word meaning.
• Math Centers: advance number recognition, number concepts, pre-math skills, sorting and sequencing.
• Science Centers: help the child to have a better understanding of their environment, seasons, weather, day/night, soil, water, and animals.
• Art Centers: further the child's creativity, small motor skills, eye-hand coordination, self-expression, and decision-making.
• Music/Movement Centers: support the child's sense of rhythm, large motor skills, music enjoyment, social skills, emphasizing a cognitive balance by teaching colors, shapes, numbers, sequencing and spatial concepts.
• Large Motor Centers: stress coordination throughout the whole body, balancing, eye-body coordination, basic exercise, and overall health. It is important to support children's natural love of activity to encourage them to enjoy exercise throughout their life.
• Small Motor Centers: promote eye-hand coordination, sorting, sequencing, pre-reading and writing skills, creativity, logical thinking skills, and hand development.
• Dramatic Play Centers: encourage social skills, cognitive thinking, vocabulary, reasonable thinking, problem solving, creativity, self-image, imagination and self-expression.

The Center choices contribute to a broad base of knowledge important to young children. When working through a balanced program that includes all areas, your child will gain a breadth of knowledge that expands with each new exposure.