| Author | |
lovebeingamom
Forum Pro
Joined: June 05 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 191
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 1:22pm | IP Logged
|
 |
|
Does anyone utilize *circle time* in your home with toddler/preschooler? How does it work for you? What do you do in circle time (i.e. how is it organized)?
Also, can anyone recommend a really great preschool song or silly song CDs?
All suggestions welcomed! TIA!!!!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
JennGM
Forum Moderator
Joined: Feb 07 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 17702
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 1:43pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Elizabeth linked to these plans which are very nice.
__________________
Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
lovebeingamom
Forum Pro
Joined: June 05 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 191
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 1:48pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Wow ... thanks Jennifer! Do you know if Elizabeth has post or will post any other months (other than Sept. - Nov)?
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Mackfam
Board Moderator
Non Nobis
Joined: April 24 2006
Location: Alabama
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 14656
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 2:13pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Just to clarify...those aren't Elizabeth's posts...Elizabeth linked to them on her sidebar. Tracy at Pinewood Castle posted those circle time plans.
For song time we use:
Sing a Song of Seasons
Our Musical Year Level I which is available at Emmanuel Books
I don't do a formal "circle time", but I do have a morning basket I restock each week. This will sound ridiculous and obvious, but we do our morning basket work...in the morning.  I have a nature story in there, a devotional story, poetry time, song time, a picture book, some coloring pages, and we work on a latin prayer. I freshen it weekly.
Don't know if this is helpful at all...I know others here have much more formal and probably well thought out morning time/circle time ideas. I try to keep mine pretty simple and able to accomodate a variety of ages.
__________________
Jen Mackintosh
Wife to Rob, mom to dd 19 , ds 16, ds 11, dd 8, and dd 3
Wildflowers and Marbles
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
SuzanneG
Forum Moderator
Joined: June 17 2006
Location: Idaho
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5465
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 2:15pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Threads from the archives :
circle time?
Hates Circle Time
__________________
Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
SuzanneG
Forum Moderator
Joined: June 17 2006
Location: Idaho
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5465
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 4:31pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Here are all the Circle Time Posts at Pinewood Castle.
__________________
Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
lovebeingamom
Forum Pro
Joined: June 05 2009
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 191
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 8:48pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Thanks! I found all the circle time posts on Pinewood Castle AFTER I posted my question. Silly me ... I should have looked before I typed!
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
violingirl
Forum Pro
Joined: Nov 27 2008
Location: Missouri
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 219
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 8:49pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
We have a circle time, though DS1 informed me a few weeks ago that we should really call it triangle time since a triangle has 3 sides and there are 3 people in our "circle"!
I have 2 boys, 3 1/2 and 2 years. For our circle time we:
Pray
Each boy picks a song to sing
Sing or say our current song, fingerplay, or poem (usually a new one each week)
We talk about the weather and mark it on our weather graph.
We do something together like a puzzle or matching work.
From there we go into our Montessori work. I like starting together, then having some individual work time, then back to working together for something artistic like painting or clay.
__________________
Erin
DS (2005) DS (2007) DD (2012)
Mama In Progress
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
motherly loving
Forum Newbie
Joined: Sept 11 2008
Location: North Carolina
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 48
|
| Posted: July 22 2009 at 9:08pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I don't have much experience yet with circle time, but I love the Wee Sing cds for childrens songs, nursery rhymes, finger plays etc.
This is a link for a set of 2 books and 4 cds that is wonderful from amazon.com, but I got mine for much less on ebay.
Wee Sing 4 cd set
__________________
Robina
Mother to son Pumpkin (3) & daughter Peaches (1)
and part-time veterinarian
Motherly Loving
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
LucyP
Forum All-Star
Joined: Aug 05 2007
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 791
|
| Posted: July 30 2009 at 1:56pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I don't know if what we do counts as circle time or not. But after morning prayers, we go to the dining room where we do our table learning, and sit on the floor. My children are DS 5.5yo and DD 2yo. We sing a couple of action songs, work on some scripture memory, do calendar and clock work, and usually play some sort of game - either based on counting patterns, or Simon Says, rolling balls etc. Sometimes we also do something like saying numbers in french or a simple conversation in French. And we have a family song which we sing and dance to together.
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
TracyFD
Forum Pro
Joined: July 22 2006
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 313
|
| Posted: Aug 11 2009 at 1:49pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
Tracy at Pinewood Castle here - I seem to have missed seeing this thread! I check in somewhat regularly here.
I have posted fall and advent circle time plans and almost have winter plans ready to go.
These plans are what have evolved in our home over the last two or three years. I just thought I would type them up for my own use and share while I am at it. 
Let me know if you have any questions!
__________________
Tracy
Mom to 3 girly girls,
1 absent-minded professor, and one adorable toddling terrorist.
Pinewood Castle
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
CandaceC
Forum Pro
Joined: June 03 2007
Location: Tennessee
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 413
|
| Posted: Aug 11 2009 at 2:43pm | IP Logged
|
|
|
I am in the middle of working on some new-to-me circle time plans and I'm very excited! 
Preschoolers and Peace has had a Circle Time theme going on recently...lots of GREAT posts! (she even links to Tracy's posts too!)
Preschoolers and Peace
Something I am excited about is an idea I came across on Hubbard's Cupboard (I'll post a link below) and it is called a Calendar Notebook. I did calendar with my girls a few years ago and got out of that habit. Now, I want to add it back with Caleb but am unsure how to go about it without the girls being bored and wanting to include this in circle time with ALL the kids.
So...I'm using some of these ideas to make a calendar notebook. It probably will evolve into a Circle Time Notebook...but I'm starting it with calendar stuff first.
Hubbard's Cupboard Math/calendar page
Then this is the website where I saw the notebook idea:
Calendar Math ideas
What I've done is create a little folder (3-hole punch) for each child. Inside this folder is:
*days of week
*months of year
*monthly calendar - 1 page per month
*Tally page
*Write Today's Date page
*weather graph
What we'll do is sing the days of the week song, months of the year song/chants and point to the word for the day/week each time.
On the monthly calendar, the children will trace the numbers over each daily number, then color each box a different color - making a different pattern each month with our colors.
The tally page we will put a tally mark for each day, practice counting by 5's with those.
A page to practice writing the date 2 different ways: August 11, 2009 and 8-11-09.
Weather graph - each day we will color a square on what the weather is like.
Ok...so back to Circle Time! LOL! Here is our current circle time routine, on the couch:
*scripture memory (one longer passage per month)
*one hymn
*discuss prayer requests
*pray together, take turns praying
*read short devotion from children's devotion book
*read a book that goes with our unit study of the week (FIAR book or other unit study picture book)
*read a poem from children's poetry book
I am going to add in our Calendar Notebooks probably after the prayers. Eventually I would like to add other things to our calendar notebooks...still figuring that out, looking for more ideas!
__________________
Candace - wife to David since 2000...mommy to Hannah (Feb. 2002), Emily (April 2003) and Caleb (March 2005)
His Mercy Is New
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
4Real Forums : Nurturing the Years of Wonder
Topic: Circle Time
