1. Emmaline Hollingsworth Perceptual Motor/Puzzles
Learning Centers
Project
Emmaline Hollingsworth
Lisa Martin
Sarah McElroy
Texas A & M - Commerce
Perceptual Motor/Puzzles
Language Games
Mathematics Games

2. Classroom Hints Every center should be age-appropriate.
If computers are available, it may be necessary to set time limits for math games and other activities.
Every center should be age-appropriate.
Allow
children
the option
of working
at their
desk.
Organize materials
by subject matter
for easy access.
Be sure everything is accessible to special needs students.
Classroom safety is key, so remove anything that could be harmful.
Be sure to define the difference between inside and outside voices.

3. Helpful Hints
At the beginning of the school year it is important to describe the uses and rules connected to each station to the entire class. This allows students to pay complete attention to instructions. When teacher is confident that students understand the stations, split them into groups and rotate them through Center Time.

4. Perceptual-Motor/Puzzle Manipulatives
Multi-color Bright Buttons, $4.99
(Though buttons can be found online, it’s much more economical to search junk stores, resale shops and dollar stores and/or pick buttons up from clearance bins.
“Children need a lot of hands-on experience with diverse materials designed to challenge their abilities to perceive similarities and differences in many dimensions (Textbook, pg 138).
The first educational outcome we would like to work towards falls under general fine motor skills. Children should be able to demonstrate increased precision and control with their fine motor skills, having few, if any, false starts. This includes sculpting with dough; pounding nails with accuracy; and using a computer keyboard with increasing skill (pg. 372).
Provide a balance of open-ended materials (pegs, Legos, sewing cards), self-correcting materials (wooden cylinders, puzzles, nesting boxes), collectibles (bottle caps, buttons, seashells), and games (lotto, concentration, and cards) (textbook, pg 138).
2 n’ 1 Wooden Workshop $29.99
“Comes with pounding pegs, bolts, differently shaped screws, building slats along with a hammer, screwdriver and wrench to put it all together.”
Lakeshore Manipulative Library $149.99
Including: Slot-a-Shape Builders, Waffle Builders, Star Builders and Acrobat Builders.

5. Perceptual-Motor/Puzzle Manipulatives
“Fine motor skills are fostered in settings in which the tools, children’s experiences, and cultural expectations are supportive (Bredekamp & Copple, 2009)” (textbook, p. 370).
The third educational goal our students should reach is in the realm(s) of cut and paste/graphic tools. Hopefully, at this stage, students will be able to: cut on a curve; cut out interior or geometric shapes; and exhibit good control of a pencil or marker (textbook, p. 372).
Scissor Scoops (set of 4), $9.99. Great for use in the sand table!
Jumbo Eyedroppers with Stand, $16.95.
Vinegar - $1 – Found at: DollarTree
Krogerbaking soda, jumbo container, $2.19,
Equate food coloring in assorted colors, $2.49
Found at: Wal-Mart
Cafeteria lunch trays (free use)

6. Perceptual-Motor/Puzzle Manipulatives
“The activities and gaming experiences children encounter in the math and manipulatives materials center guide them toward an increasingly complex organization of motor behavior, perceptual development, and mathematical concepts with appropriate language and symbols (Textbook, pg 138).
Colander $1
Found at: DollarTree
Chenille Stems, $1.89 Found at: HobbyLobby
The second area of cognitive improvement we would like to see as a result of manipulative play is in targeting. Students should be able to lace with ease; insert increasingly small objects with ease; and use pattern cards successfully (pg ).
Large Colored Beads and Laces (set $34.99, extra beads and laces $24.99). String the beads and match patterns with this set includes 108 beads (¾") in six colors (spheres, cubes and cylinders), two 36" laces, and 20 pattern cards. 
Toilet Paper Tubes – Free (Crowdsourcing)
Bamboo Skewers (trimmed of sharp edges), $1 OR
Tweezers - $1, both found at: DollarTree
Colored Pom Poms - $1.29, Found at: HobbyLobby
Construction Paper - $2.99, Found at: HobbyLobby

7. Perceptual-Motor/Puzzle Manipulatives
The teacher’s role is to deliberately select materials and to structure sequential experiences that enable children to construct concepts and to forgo less mature intuitive thinking (textbook, pg 138).
Child-Sized Cutlery Set, $ Practicing with real flatware (death to the spork) is a critical skill that most children are not able to practice enough. Teaching children how to eat properly is part and parcel of teaching independence.
Dressing Frames, $59.99 (set of 6)
The third educational goal we would like our students to achieve with the use of perceptual-motor manipulatives falls under the category of self-help/self-care. By this age, children should be able to organize and take care of their personal possessions; mostly manage their own clothing and but may need help with fasteners and shoelaces; and do simple cutting with a table knife.
Giant Dental Care Model, $ Many local dentists would be delighted to visit a classroom to demonstrate the best way to brush.
Toothbrush - $1, Found at: Dollar Tree

8. Perceptual-Motor/Puzzle Manipulatives
“Rotate items from the storage area to the display area regularly. Intentionally select some materials that challenge children’s thinking, as well as more familiar tasks (textbook, pg. 138).
Chickyboom, $ “The purple chickens, hay bales and wagon wheels all weigh different amounts with the challenge being removing pieces without making the perch fall!”
Go Fish/Crazy 8’s/ Monster Match/Old Maid (4 pack) $15.66
Perfection, $ Players must get all the pieces into the puzzle before the buzzer sounds and the pieces pop!
Lakeshore Creature Builder, $59.99.

9. Language Games Basic language skills which are advanced through
Language Manipulatives
for students aged 3 to 5
Speaking skills
Children should speak in complete sentences of four or more words.
Sing familiar songs and nursery rhymes.
Name colors, people, objects, and categories of objects.
Speak so that strangers can understand.
Use most speech sounds ( l, r, s, sh, h, y, v, z, and th, may not be fully mastered until about age 7) .
Use verb tenses correctly.
Use the pronouns “you,” and “me” and “I,” correctly.
Speak without stuttering or repeating words or syllables.
Listening skills
Children should understand most adult conversations .
Understand words like “above”, “under”, “big,” and “large.”
Recognize rhyming words.
Follow directions with at least two steps
Respond to a voice calling from a distance
Hear electronics at normal volumes.
Notice and respond to environmental sounds like a traffic, telephones, and music
Taken from: Get Ready to Read

10. Language Manipulatives Match-A-Sound! Phonemic
Awareness
Boxes
Complete Set
$115.00
These activity boxes create a fun way for Kinder kids to learn language. Each of the three boxes contains 30 manipulatives and ten activity mats, focusing on first and last consonants and rime and onset. The boxes and the 9” x 9” mats are color-coded for easy storage.

11. * Dollar Tree Version A less expensive Match-a-Sound Activity
can be created using Dollar Tree Flash Cards,
Cookie Sheets and peel and stick magnets.
Following the examples pictured in the item ad,
use a sharpie or paint pen to grid the surface of a $1 cookie sheet.
Attach a peel and stick magnet to the back of your desired flash cards
(or other illustrations),like the picture of a bee in the example.
Attach some magnets to various items such as keys, a toy tree, or dice
(found in the toy and/ or craft isles in the Dollar Tree).
Magnetic numbers can also be purchased for a dollar.
Kids can stick the magnetized items in the spaces provided as seen
in the ad.
5 cookie trays $5
2 sets of flash cards $ 2
3 Bags of miniature toy items $ 3
1 pack of permanent markers $1
1 plastic shoe box w/lid $1
Total $12
Peel and Stick Magnets $4.79/100 ct.
Total w/ magnets $ plus tax

12. Dollar Tree Version Find the ABCs Place a few bags of popcorn
seeds in a plastic shoe box. Bury
plastic letters in the seeds and allow
kids to dig them out with slotted spoons.
Kids can place their undug treasures
on a laminated card with letters
printed on it.
1 shoe box $ 1
3 bags popcorn seeds $ 3
5 slotted spoons $ 5
2 sets of plastic ABCs $ 2
Total Price $ 11.00

13. Launch & Learn Beginning Sounds Game Language Manipulatives $29.99
An exciting game help children learn
beginning sounds.
Children shoot letters from the dispenser,
putting them on the matching spots on
colorful mats.
The set includes letter dispenser,
48 round wooden letter tiles
and eight double-sided game mats.

14. Mathematics Manipulatives
Mathematics manipulatives increase students’
fine-motor skills
problem-solving skills
memory skills.
It is important to have consistent rules posted clearly where the children can view them.
Provide various levels of difficulty in the centers, from easy to challenging, to keep student brains active.
Keep items on lower shelves for easy access by younger children, and keep similar items grouped together.
To keep the children interested in the items, continuously rotate them, keeping some in storage so that even old learning items feel fresh and new to the students.

15. Mathematics Manipulatives
Be Creative with Your Lessons!
Discover ways to combine materials for use in several subjects.
For example:
Place Value Set + Jungle Animal Counters = Bar Graph Data = +
The place value set is designed to show the place value of the thousands, hundreds, tens, and ones,
but can be used in many creative ways.
The graph can also be used to show other data.

16. TOTAL: $49.89 Mathematics Manipulatives
Addition Hot Dots Flash Cards: $9.95
Place Value Activity Kit:
Two 14" x 17 1/2" write & wipe mats come with 100 unit cubes, ten 10-unit rods, ten 100-unit flats and one 1,000-unit cube, plus 2 markers.
$29.99
Subtraction Hot Dots Flash Cards $9.95
TOTAL:
$49.89

17. Mathematics Manipulatives
Addition Machine 12.99
Set of 60 Jungle Animal Counters
$24.99
Match It Numbers $11.95
Greater Gator
Set of 4 Answer Boards $19.95
Tanagrams Classroom Set: $28.95

18. References 2-n'-1 Wooden Workshop
Addition Machine
Chickyboom
Child-Sized Cutlery Set
Classroom Layout
Dressing Frames

19. References Get Ready to Read
Giant Dental-Care Model
Go Fish/Crazy 8’s/ Monster Match/Old Maid (4 pack)
Greater Gator
Jumbo Eyedroppers with Stand
Jungle Animal Counters
Kostelnik, M. J., Soderman, A. K., Whiren, A. P. Organizing Space, Material, & Time. Developmentally Appropriate Curriculum, 5th edition.  New Jersey: Pearson, 2011.

20. References Lakeshore Creature Builder
Lakeshore Manipulative Library
Large Colored Beads and Laces
Launch and Learn Beginning Sounds Game
Match-a-Sound! Phonemic Awareness Boxes - Complete Set
Multi-Pack Bright Buttons

21. References Peel-and-Stick Magnets
Perfection
Place Value Activity Set
Scissor Scoops
Tanagrams Classroom Set