Things to Consider when Setting up Preschool Circle Time
When planning out circle time for your preschool classroom, set-up of your space is a key component. Read on for more!
I finished my school year up about 3 weeks ago and no matter how hard I try to take a little break from school. My mind always seems to go to next year. It is like my teacher brain just can't shut off! {do ya know the feeling?}
I thought..maybe... you might be looking to the future too and thinking about next year, but if you are not - PLEASE pin this post to read later - for when you are ready. Teachers deserve a break #takeitgirl
So... planning is like one of my favorite things. Planning vacations, planning lessons, planning my year, planning for well...anything!
Time and time again I use my summer to plan out my year. It just makes me happy.
Are you a planner too?
Circle Time Set-Up: the environment
One thing I did last year is sit down and plan out my circle time set-up. I was in a new room and wanted to get the set-up right the first time. So, I drew myself a little sketch of where in the room I wanted my circle time to be. I knew that I needed to keep in mind the number of students I had to fit in the space and the number of distractions the space had. I sure didn't want my kiddos watching out the door while we were trying to do some serious learning together! I also didn't want my kiddos squished like sardines (can you hear the 'he touched me' whining that would be going on?). After lots of consideration, I put my circle time in a corner of my room. It actually worked out perfectly last year.
Circle Time Set-Up: the board/wall
Another thing I did in regards to planning out my circle time set-up was creating a sketch of where things were going to go on the board. I absolutely hate running out of bulletin board space just because I didn't take the time to think it all through. I split my circle time activities into 2 groups. 1- skills I wanted to cover the whole year (calendar, weather, counting) and I called these CORE SKILLS. 2- skills I wanted to cover for a short time or when children mastered the skills (colors, shapes, estimation) and I called these ADD-IN SKILLS. I knew that I needed room on my bulletin board space for items that were going to last the whole year (core skills) and a place for items to come and go (add-in skills).
Of course while planning I made little sketches and some notes in my notebook. But, I love to create things for other teachers... so I created a 'Circle Time Set-Up' mini-workbook (if you will).
This mini workbook provides you with ideas and things to consider when planning the physical space for your circle time. It also gives you space to sketch it out!
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