Circle Time

Circle time should be fun!  It should be interactive!  It should be about engaging the children and exciting them about learning.

It should NOT be about children sitting around “criss-cross-applesauce hands in your laps”.  It is NOT about them sitting perfectly quiet listening to you.

If you want to get children to come to circle, make it fun and active!  If you want to get those 3 year olds to come sit down, don’t ask them to sit!

Start circle with something like Head-Shoulders-Knees-and-Toes, do it fast, super fast, backwards, and finally, really quiet.  This will get their wiggles out and then tone it down to a calmer level.

At this point, ask them to sit, and move to something else a bit active, but not too active.  I like the dinosaur song where they ROAR really loud and then the dinosaurs go to sleep.

It is very active and loud, but it then ends on a quiet note. 

Then keep the tone a bit quiet.  Slowly pull out the book and introduce it.  Allow the children to read along with you if they know the words.

It is all about participation at this age!  If they are not allowed to participate and are expected to sit quietly and attentively, then they will not do it!

Circle time should be loud, fun, and engaging!  It’s not about the teacher being on stage…it’s about the children LEARNING and, most importantly, learning to ENJOY learning.

So, if you want a three year old, four year old, two year old to come to circle, you need to make it fun and engaging…stop setting the expectations for the preschoolers at a level that you would expect from a 5th grader!

What is your favorite way to get the children to circle?  What is your favorite circle time activity?  An even better question is, what are your children’s favorite circle time activity?