Early childhood is a time full of curiosity, exploration, creativity, enthusiasm and rapid development. During these formative years, children develop attitudes toward education that will stay with them for the rest of their lives (Kostelnik, Soderman, & Whiren, 2011). High-quality early childhood education programs and highly effective and passionate teachers or caregivers will not only promote the development and academic success of young children, but will also foster a lifelong passion for learning. ECE programs and educators use learning centers to help young children acquire literacy, numeracy, creative thinking, problem solving and motor skills as well as a number of other skills and knowledge (Jarrett, 2010). The benefits of learning centers are numerous. Learning centers teach important concepts, spark interest, integrate material, and enable inquiry (Jarrett, 2010). These well-organized and defined areas of interest provide children with choices, hands-on learning, meaningful progression in skill acquisition, autonomy, and the ability to make connections (Kostelnik et al., 2011). essential learning tools for four year oldsWorking as a preschool teacher with four year olds, I would especially like to have a language center, a math center, a multisensory center and a dramatic play center in my class. These four centers will promote essential skills in language, mathematics, movement, sensory processing and integration, problem solving, creative thinking and social interaction. Such skills will be essential not only in early childhood education, but throughout each child's education and life. Language skills emerge and progress at different rates for students at this age. Well developed...... middle of paper ......ool. Retrieved April 28, 2011 from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/earlychildhood/articles/learning.htmlJarrett, O. (2010). “Inventive” learning stations. Science and Children, 47(5), 56-59. Retrieved April 28, 2011, from ProQuest Education Journals. Kostelnik, M., Soderman, A., and Whiren, A. (2011). Developmentally appropriate curriculum: Best practices in early childhood education (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson. Mendoza, J. and Katz, L. (2008). Introduction to the special section on dramatic play. Early Childhood Research and Practice, 10(2). Retrieved April 28, 2011 from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v10n2/introduction.htmlNAEYC. (2009). Developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood programs serving children from birth to age 8. Retrieved April 19, 2011 from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/position%20statement%20Web.pdf