Mindful Monday
This is where each Monday we are mindful of our pedagogy, slowly adjusting our lessons to match our theories.
There are some things that are universal among early childhood classrooms. One of those elements is circle time. While there is no real hard and fast rules for conducting circle time, there are several guidelines that could be helpful.
1. The first thing to think about is how long should your circle time be. If you are teaching infants or toddlers your circle time will look quite different from a preschool or kindergarten circle time. For the youngest children you want to let them come and go as they want. You may only be reading a book or singing a song for your circle time at this age. If they lose interest that is ok! As they age you can add a little time to your circle time. Three’s should be able to make it through a book, a song, and a game. Remember to include LOTS of movement, including moving around the room! By preschool and kindergarten they can sit through slightly longer books, but please continue to include movement!
2. Now that you know how long your circle time is going to be, think about what you are including. Here are some common elements:
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welcome song
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attendance
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weather
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calendar
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story
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game
What you include will depend on many factors such as your center requirements, if you are NAEYC accredited, if you align with ECERS and CLASS, your class composition, etc.
3. The last thing I always think about when it comes to circle time is how I can get the children moving! It is so important to allow their little bodies to learn through movement. Way too often we ask children to sit still “criss-cross applesauce, hands in your lap” and get mad at them when they cannot do it. It is not developmentally appropriate for them. That’s like getting mad at me for being clumsy. I just am. Deal with it. We need to learn to deal with littles who wiggle because that is what they are supposed to do!
I am thinking about doing a whole series on circle time. Is this something you would be interested in? I would include structured activity ideas, modifications for those that need them, a recommended schedule of events, and anything else you may want. Let me know what you think and what you want to know more about!