ENHANCING CENTER AREAS

With Real and Found Materials

Instructional goals can often be achieved with "found", donated or made items. These materials or supplies also add a "real" dimension to the instructional program and can be a cost saving measure. The following is a list of such materials to enhance the instructional centers and activities in pre-k classrooms.

Language and Literacy

• Brochures
• Carbon paper
• Brochures
• Carbon paper
• Cereal box books and other class-made books
• Cereal box word strips
• Clipboards
• Computer keyboards
• Coupons
• Date books or calendars
• Fast food logos-signs, books, word cards
• Felt/interfacing/dryer sheets characters/letters for flannel board
• Flannel board made by covering a piece of cardboard box with flannel
• Greeting cards
• Homemade puppets-socks, gloves, tongue depressors, paper bags, potholders
• "Junk" mail, envelopes, canceled stamps, magazine stamps
• Hotel note pads
• Magazines
• Mini-page from newspaper
• Misc. paper-receipt forms, order forms, counter checks, etc.
• Restaurant menus
• School supply catalogs
• Spiral notebooks
• Teacher recorded story tapes
• Typewriters
• Telephones

Math

• Acorns, seeds, beans, nuts in shells
• Bottle caps
• Buttons
• Clothespins
• Colored pasta
• Erasers (in various shapes)
• Ice cream sticks
• Hair accessories (barrettes, elastic/fabric, bands)
• Jewelry
• Mittens
• Noodles with holes for stringing
• Nuts, bolts, washers
• Paper clips
• Plastic/silk flowers cut from stems
• Plastic tokens or chips
• Silverware and a tray
• Seashells
• Socks

Dramatic Play

Appliance box (supervise appropriately) Backpacks Baby clothes Brief case and file folders Broom Camouflage shirts/vests Canceled stamps Canister set Canteens Cookbooks Coupons Costumes Clocks (digital, wind-up, wall, desk, etc.) Coffee pot Diaper bag Dinner plates (plastic) Dishcloths Dishes and utensils Disposable diapers Dustpan Eggbeater Egg timer Empty food containers Empty baby powder containers Empty seed packets Gardening gloves Grocery store advertisements Hats/caps Headphones Keys on key chain Lunch boxes Measuring cups Measuring spoons

Microphones Newborn baby clothes Old prom dresses, ties, hats, shoes, shirts, gloves, costume jewelry, pocketbooks, scarves, watches, wallets, etc. Old typewriters Pet dish Picnic basket Placemats Plants Plastic mixing bowls with lids Plastic baby bottles Plastic/silk flowers or plants Paper bags (grocery, shopping, lunch) Play money Potholders Telephones Pots/pans Receiving blankets Rolling pin Rolodex or address book Sale flyers/brochures Sports outfits (jerseys, helmets, shin guards, etc.) Sifter Steering wheels Stuffed animals Suitcases Teapot Toaster or any small appliance- cords cut off Walkie-talkies Wardrobe box from movers

Creative Art

Aluminum foil Balls of any size Beads Bits of wood and balsa Buttons Cardboard Cardboard tubes Carpet pieces Cloth, felt, rug, fur scraps Clothespins Coffee filters Colored tape Combs Computer paper Construction paper scraps Contact paper Cookie cutters Cotton balls Cotton swabs Dental floss Empty cans for cutters (cover cut edges with masking tape) Egg cartons Elastic Fabric scraps Fly swatter print Food coloring Golf tees Greeting cards Kitchen gadgets Liquid starch Magazines Masking tape Matchbox cars

Microphones Newborn baby clothes Old prom dresses, ties, hats, shoes, shirts, gloves, costume jewelry, pocketbooks, scarves, watches, wallets, etc. Old typewriters Pet dish Picnic basket Placemats Plants Plastic mixing bowls with lids Plastic baby bottles Plastic/silk flowers or plants Paper bags (grocery, shopping, lunch) Play money Potholders Telephones Pots/pans Receiving blankets Rolling pin Rolodex or address book Sale flyers/brochures Sports outfits (jerseys, helmets, shin guards, etc.) Sifter Steering wheels Stuffed animals Suitcases Teapot Toaster or any small appliance- cords cut off Walkie-talkies Wardrobe box from movers

Blocks