1. ) Teach the circle time rules at the beginning of the year. Use a visual. I will be posting some examples of ones I have used for on the visuals page. Feel free to use these, or just use them as inspiration to create your own.
Keep the visual posted throughout the school year and remember to review the rules regularly.
2.) Know your audience. Are your kids wiggling after 5 minutes of circle time? You might have to start with shorter circle times and gradually make them longer. Or, you might have to start a circle with some movement activities to get the wiggles out.
Note: Circle times for 3-5 year olds should generally not be longer than 15-20 minutes in length.
3.) Avoid lengthy demonstration or discussion.
4.) Give clear, simple directions.
For example:
Teacher: Today we are playing duck, duck, goose. Remember, we are using SOFT touches with friends and WALKING feet. What kind of touch?
Kids: Soft touch!
Teacher: Right. What kind of feet?
Walking feet!
Teacher: That's right! Let's play.
Something like this is short, engaging, and it checks for understanding quickly.
5.) Be prepared. Anyone reading this (who has recently hung out with a large group of preschoolers) knows it takes less than 30 seconds of searching for a song on a CD for the group to erupt into total chaos. And it takes a bit more than 30 seconds to bring everyone back. Have everything ready, or have some fun transition songs on the ready to sing . . . just in case.
6.) Use props. Props can be anything, and I will post a lot more on this later.
Props: Photo visuals, puppets, flannel board stories, cut out pieces for songs or poems that kids hold, game pieces, etc.
7.) If an activity you selected is not working out . . . move on.
8.) Have a back-up favorite on the ready, just in case.
9.) Position all children so that they have a clear view of the activity. Move around during circle time so that all kids have the opportunity to engage with you and the materials. This is a good strategy for getting face-to-face during circle time, an excellent strategy for working on engagement for children who experience Autism. (Video post coming later)
10.) And most important. Have fun! If you are having fun at circle time, the kids will too!
Comentarios