FunShine Tells: Setting Up Learning Stations

While every day in a child’s life is one of learning, and everything around them is part of that, providers can offer safe and constructive learning opportunities with “learning stations.”

Learning stations are designated areas of the classroom where children play freely, with little to no direction about how to use materials, while having playful and engaging interactions with the adults around them.

The way learning stations are organized and the materials offered play an important role in inspiring imagination, learning, and play. There isn’t just one way to set up and organize learning stations, but I can offer some guidance to help you get started.

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Curiosity and Lifelong Learning

Children are naturally curious. They ask “Why?” and “What’s that?” several times a day, they take things apart, they wonder how things work, they are drawn to new things, and “messes” seem to find them within a matter of minutes. What a wonderful, exciting way to spend a day! Imagine having the natural desire to learn, explore, discover, and understand. Children have this drive. Curiosity can be sustained throughout life, leading to a lifelong love of learning. Here are a few things you can do to nourish children’s curiosity:

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