Discovery Centers, based on age-appropriate activities in a child-centered fun environment, offer youth a chance to learn, create, play and connect.
Art Center –
o Children as individuals and at different ages differ in their interest in art.
o Art is a process that may or may not include an end product.
o Many children are content to explore their interest in the process rather than the product.
Blocks/Building Center –
o Children are able to explore a variety of mathematical skills and concepts through block play.
o Counting, the cornerstone of mathematics, is a skill that children can achieve through block play.
o Children learn how to recognize and create patterns using different types of blocks.
Manipulatives Center –
o Develop small muscles in children’s fingers and hands.
o Helps children develop eye-hand coordination.
o Increases their problem solving skills, cognitive development and creative thinking abilities.
Dramatic Play/Home living Center –
o Encourages a child to communicate his/her thoughts through the eyes of anyone he/she chooses. They mimic what they see the adults doing in their life.
o Learn the foundations of social behavior. By pretending they are someone else, they learn how other people feel and act.
o Learn empathy from dramatic play activities.
Science Center – Provides the chance for children to:
o Explore objects, materials and events.
o Raise queries.
o Make careful observations.
o Describe (including form, size and number) compare, sort, classify.
o Record observations.
o Identify patterns and relationships.
o Work collaboratively with others.
o Share and discuss concepts.
Music Center –
o From birth, youth listen intently to melody and rhythm and respond with movement and sound.
o Music feeds the body, the brain, and the soul. It is social and brings people together and sets them apart.
Book (Reading) Center –
o Reading and exposure to books helps to develop a young child’s brain.
o Reading opens the door to a child’s early academic success, imparts a love of learning and leads to higher grades in every subject.
o When children learn to read at an early age, they have a greater general knowledge, expanded vocabulary and become more fluent readers.
o Helps children to have improved attention spans and better concentration.
o Grow in self-confidence and independence.
o Early reading ignites the child’s creativity and imagination.