I am going to talk about the environmental set-up for circle time because it is incredibly important to the success of a group or circle time activity. Within set-up are a few key elements: seating, space, and distractions.
The first thing you have to assess is your space. Do you have enough space to accommodate "personal bubble" space for each of your kids? Do you have enough space to engage the kids in seated and active activities? If not, you may want to do some rearranging to give a little more space. The alternative is kids bumping and crashing into one another . . .and that's never fun.
What is "enough" space? My personal general rule of thumb is enough so the kids can sit an arms length from each other. I also like to have a good 6-8' in diameter of space in the center for movement based activities.
The next thing to consider is seating options. And when you do this, I will ask you to first think about your own job. If you have a teacher's desk, does it adjust up and down? Or could you use a box to give your laptop some height if you wanted? Could you get up and move around if you just needed a stretch break or were getting a little bored staring at the screen? I am betting the answer to one or more of these questions is yes. For young children, circle time is learning time and building in similar options (eg: flexible seating) can help them to attend longer.
Having flexible seating options is important for supporting students who experience disabilities but, it is also important for preschoolers in general. Preschoolers can get wiggly and bored. If you have a student who is a little wiggly, a cube chair or a wiggle seat can be an invaluable resource during circle time.
But . . . won't everyone need a wiggle seat? This is an option, as pictured below in the slide show. However, I typically don't use flexible seating in this way. When I introduce seating options, I spend some time talking about them. For example, I will say, "Sometimes, our body feels very wiggly and we can't sit on our spot" I will use myself as an example, "My body is feeling calm. I am sitting on my spot. I am ready to listen."
That said, I have had the experience of everyone deciding they were feeling "wiggly". We set up seats. (This took a long time). It was very crowded and when we regrouped and there was not enough time to play their favorrite game. We had an impromptu class meeting and decided as a group that: 1) you bring your seat to circle with you, and 2) you should only get a wiggle seat if you really need one. If you experience any similar issues, problem solve with your group and come up with some "class rules."
The next, and last topic on environments is distractions. If your classroom is like most preschool classrooms, your circle time area is multi-functional. It may also serve as your block area or your library area. The down side to this is that every time you go to circle someone is building a block tower, two kids are commenting on the block tower, and one or two more are telling you about the situation. So what do you do?
In my experience, two things work well. The first (and least common) is turning an entire shelf around. I have seen this done; however, this tends to be more time consuming and it in can also be harder on the body physically in the long run. The second, and the type I see most commonly used are sheets. Some teachers drape a sheet over the whole toy shelf and some (who have more sewing talent than I do) will cut a sheet and hem the edges so that it only covers the front of the shelf. The sheet is attached to the shelf by affixing velcro to both the top and bottom of the sheet and shelf. The sheet is put on during circle time when the center is "closed" and removed after circle when the center reopens.
Pro-tip: when you use sheets, position children near them who aren't curious about looking under them :-)
Next up: Keeping kids engaged: Incorporating a variety of activities circle time .
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