From Bad to Fab

My puzzle center was in great need of a makeover, when an area in the classroom is cluttered or in disarray, it creates a chaos that cannot be described.  This is what was happening in my puzzle center, it is time for me to do something about it.  

I believe that organization is the key to helping children learn and motivates them to interact positively with each other.

 So to help children keep the pieces together I placed small basket with every puzzle on the shelf.

 The children grab a puzzle with basket.  When they dump the pieces they place them in the basket so that children in the area know which pieces are to their puzzle they are working on.  If a child is having a hard time putting a puzzle together then they know to just place the pieces in the basket and set the puzzle frame and basket back on the shelf. This way when another child choose that puzzle the piece are all together and not miss placed.

 We eliminated the floor puzzle boxes and placed each floor puzzle in a color tub with picture of puzzle taped to the outside of the tub.  We then placed one tub per shelf.  Puzzle boxes are saved in the storage area so that when we rotate puzzle they can be placed back in the box with the picture of the puzzle inside. 

If you are thinking of making over your learning centers in your classroom you might like using this classroom design workbook.  It will help keep you organized and on task as you work your way around your classroom in creating an effective learning environment that is without chaos.   

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