The kindergarten discussed in this article is part of the college preparatory program of a K-12 school. The school focuses on a wide variety of developmental skills and cognitive challenges to ensure the mastery of skills by each child/student at every grade level along the way. All teachers emphasize skills development. The kindergarten curriculum requirements include handwriting and the use of phonics workbooks to practice specific skills. The author feels pressured to have the kindergartners reading and writing on a first grade level by the end of their kindergarten year. The author feels conflicted because as an early childhood professional, she knows from her graduate school courses Play and Creativity and Educational Research that relying on worksheets and workbooks is not developmentally appropriate for kindergartners. Hands-on activities are more effective ways to support their learning. The author shares how developing learning center extensions help her achieve her goal of engaging children who were off-task and those who finished their work early.