Circle Time Activities - Ideas for Implementing Circle Time Across the Curriculum

Circle time (also called Morning Routine) has always been my favorite duration of the day in the Kindergarten Classroom. Here you can find a step by step overview of circle time activities in a very Kindergarten Classroom, circle time songs and learning activities per curricula area.
It's enjoyable to witness the socialization method that happens with songs and ideas during circle time! During the institution year it's fun to make note of the progress of youngsters who began kindergarten once reluctant to sing or shake hands using the strange child seated close to them. As they approach first grade, they are now saddened to sing their last circle time songs and shake hands using friends during the last time.
This is among the reasons that I love circle time and also why I think it continues to be important for kindergarteners to sing and participate in song.
When I was a fresh teacher, I was more controlling on the management of circle time: I chose who did what so when. As I matured in my understanding of building independence and responsibility, I began to consider more of a directive role and selected a circle time helper for that week to manage the activities.
To begin, model how circle time runs for at least a month ahead of the helper job begins. It will then function as the circle time helper's job to handle circle time within the same order. The teacher's role is usually to oversee circle time, make corrections and inquiries, put in a learning point, or introduce a fresh concept. It is amazing to find out how the students answer responsibility. They really take it seriously, and I never once suffered from to sit the helper down for misbehavior.
In the beginning of the school year, circle time can be a time-consuming task, but later within the year it moves faster and much more activities are added.
Start every morning with this song (for the tune of Skip to My Lou):
Hello, how are you? (Repeat twice)
How have you been today?
I'm fine, I hope you are extremely. (Repeat twice)
I hope you are fine today.
Turn to your neighbor and shake their hand. (Repeat twice)
Shake their hand today.
Starting circle time activities with our "morning song" or "hello song" can be a great routine to start the morning. I use the written words from the song on the chart being a shared reading text. I model conditions "pointer stick" to trace print from left to right, return sweep, finding punctuation marks and spacing.
Later inside year, as students become more proficient in reading skills, look for and circle sight words inside song and count the number of times we can find the words hello, I, are, you, today, etc. For more info about one time love - http://Onetime.love, check out our own website. We also learn that questions precede a response from this song. One year I even stood a class inquire what "I'm" meant and now we started a whole beginner unit on contractions (first grade curriculum). In the same way, I also use the Pledge of Allegiance like a shared reading text.
Then, sing the months of the year song. There are many versions of the song. I utilize tune of Ten Little Indians:
January, February
March and April
May and June
July and August
Then comes the month of September
October, November and don't forget December.
Each month is listed over a store-bought poster. We educate yourself on the order of the months, that you have twelve months in the year, what month was last and what month is next, what number of days are generally inside a month then when we get to 30 or 31, the month is finished, the summer season the month is at, that months always start out with a capital letter, the amount of months end within the letter "y", that there are three months that start with the letter "J" and a couple that start with all the letter "M". Writing the month becomes easier as time passes, particularly if we know where to find it within the classroom.
Now, students educate yourself on the days with the week. Again, sing a song from a store bought poster, contain the helper track print with the pointer stick and hold the students support their fingers as they count the quantity of days in the week (on the tune of Oh My Darling Clementine):
There are a week, there are seven days,
There are seven days inside week.
There are a week, there are 7 days,
There are seven days within the week.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Students learn that we now have seven days in a very week and that they, too, have an order. Again we practice spelling, capitalization, and what today, tomorrow and yesterday means. I make them learn an example of might know about did yesterday, what we will do today and what we should will do tomorrow. After awhile of practicing, students provides you with examples according to specials, or events. Learning the term, "day" becomes super easy and students are on their method to finding word chunks.
One fun activity which enables students discover the days of the teachers or work week involves investing in a Russian nesting doll. There are usually five inside, but check to be sure before purchasing. Print the days in the week on index cards. Each day, possess the student helper take one doll out with the nesting doll make onto the corresponding index card. This also teaches them counting down.
Using this doll is often a history lesson by itself!


Next, place it all together over a monthly calendar. Count down to special days, what day from the week the fourteenth with the month was, and the amount of Saturdays (as an example) will be in this month. Teach the main difference between numbers, for example 7 and 17. Teach odd and also numbers. Have the students write the date everyday and figure out how to date their papers at Writing Workshop.
Include counting to 100 by ones, tens and fives. Later in the year teach to count by two's and count above 100.
Also, teach students how you can make tally marks to 100. Start which has a blank poster-board that reads "Tally to 100" and model using tally marks (each day with the week gets one tally mark). This also reinforces learning how to count by fives. After the 100th day of school passes, either count beyond 100 or move the poster board to your math center for practice.

After that, keep track with the weather for every day of the college week on the graph and at the end of the month make summaries and comparisons. This is done having a large dry-erase graphing chart offered by office stores. Just take Prekinder's downloadable weather cards, laminate them and place them over the bottom of the graph. Print the date on the left column. The student's color in the box on a daily basis to represent the weather.
Also, keep track in the temperature on a thermometer and learn that higher numbers mean warmer weather etc. Children can also practice this concept in Science Notebooks. I photocopy blank thermometers, like those available from TeacherVision and instruct students to color with red crayon towards the specified degree. You can also use this template to blow-up on a poster maker and laminate to work with to keep track of the temperature.
This record keeping will permit students to visually see weather patterns in certain seasons.
At last, monitor who is here or absent on the "T-Chart." The chart has two columns with titles "Here" and "Not Here." Write names of each student inside class on clothespins and clip them to the "Here" side. The helper records that's absent in the class by moving the absent student's clothespin for the "Not Here" column. Then we count everything are here and never here and record the data on a post-it. This leads to accumulated and down on the number line and addition and subtraction later on within the school year. This is an extension of your activity through the Scotts Foresman Investigations Math curriculum.