Circle Time Activities shared by other teachers will appear here. Please send your ideas to cokids@nauticom.net. As ideas are sent, they will be uploaded to this page where everyone can enjoy them. If you wish to receive credit, please be sure to include your name and email address (not required). Below you will find links to other sites with ideas for circle time.
Problem
Solving at Circle Time
Shared by Deanna Jordon
What I do in my room is role playing in circle time. We take an issue like not playing with certain children then we go around the circle and each child gets to voice an idea about how to solve that problem. If two children are in disagreement about something, I make sure that both kids have a chance to tell their side and then I ask them what should have happened or what else could you do. I make two or three suggestions and the kids decide which is best for them. I have also used my story time. We will get to a problem in the book (Berenstein Bears are great for this) and the kids talk about what happened and how it might be solved. We can then see what happens in the book.
When
the Warm Wind Blows
Submitted by Beth Conant
This is a less competitive version of "Musical Chairs" Children bring chairs to a circle. Game leader removes his/her chair and stands in the middle of the circle. The game leader thinks of a characteristic of the group that many share and says something like, "If you like..... (ice cream, sunny days, the playground, etc..you get the idea) change chairs when the warm wind blows." Everyone who likes ...... gets up and finds a new chair. The leader also tries to find a chair. The person left standing (there is one too few chairs, remember), is the new leader and thinks of a new characteristic to continue the game "When the warm wind blows."
This game is lots of fun and helps children get to know each other. You might want to talk about how children should move "when the warm wind blows" like walk, be polite and thoughtful, and talk about how to resolve the problem of two children reaching the same chair at the same time. This will solve many problems before they arise! Have fun!
I have used the following activity with children and adults who enjoy it equally. It is a great team buildling activity and good for talking about what helps and what doesn't when working together.
Hula Hoop - Everyone stands in a circle holding hands. Have two people break hands and put their hands through a hula hoop and rejoin hands again. The hoop must be passed the whole way around the circle without breaking hands. Sometimes it goes over and sometimes under...doesn't matter. It is also fun to time the first try without telling the kids. Tell them at the end after discussing what helped and what made it difficult. Then try to "beat" the first "time"...The kids in my third grade class kept the time and tried to continually improve over the course of the year. Fun!!!!
|
Giant Encclopedia of Circle Time and Group Activities for Children 3 to 6 This compendium of 501 circle/group time ideas contributed by teachers from all over the country is organized by theme and is linked to pieces of children's literature. A great reference for the new teacher or for the veteran who wants to add to his/her repetoire! |
 (click book to order) |
 (click book to order) |
Circle
Time Book (2's Experience Series) More circle time activities! |
|
Responsive Classroom meeting ideas Step-by-step guidelines for implementing each component Clear explanations of the purposes of Morning Meeting Suggestions for communicating with parents Questions and answers about problems which frequently arise 34 Greetings, 42 Activities, and many samples of News and Announcements Charts |
 (click book to order) |
The
following sites have been selected because they offer a wide range of
activities, some of which could be used at circle/meeting time.
Enjoy!
Back to Index
Back to Home Page