At my school, we are fortunate enough to still have time built into the day to let our Kinders have Discovery time at the end of the day. This time allows the children to interact socially with each other; to learn how to share, ask for items they would like to use, and how to use their imaginations (and many fine motor skills).

We are 30 days into the school year and this system has worked great!!

Our Discovery Center choices are:

Puzzles & Games

Sensory Tub

Promethean Board

Library

Science

Hex Bugs

Marble Run

Computers

Playdough

Home Living

Loft

Markers/Watercolors

The pockets were laminated and I added a picture of each center so they can see what center they are choosing. I stuck them to the wall with the 3M Command Hook strips (those stick to EVERYTHING!!)

I have sticks for each of my students with their name written on it.  I store their sticks on a magnetic board just to the left of these pockets.  Each morning, when my students come in, they get unpacked and then they make their Discovery Center choice for the day.  There are two small magnets that hold each stick to the magnetic board.  At the end of the day, I have a student put the sticks back on the magnetic board so they are ready for the next day.

This is a quick way to help my students recognize their names! If they want to go to a Discovery Center, they need to be able to find their names.  You will see a few sticks have stars on them.  These were to help my ELL students recognize their names, because many of them had not ever seen their names written before.