Preschool Circle Time Routines

Circle Time is a wonderful opportunity to share short and meaningful learning experiences with preschoolers. Preschoolers thrive with routines. When they know what to expect from the day they are more open to learning. A regular and routine preschool circle time is an essential part of any preschool program. Since you are dealing with short preschool attention spans it is important to keep circle time to no longer than 10 minutes. It should be filled with interactive activities and songs that will hold a preschoolers attention. Follow a standard pattern each day during circle time so that your preschoolers are not surprised by anything and as they learn what is included in circle time they are more likely to participate.

Go through the calendar, focusing on the month, day, year and day of the week. It is important to have a classroom calendar that is bright and has big numbers and letters that are easy for the preschoolers to see. Use some sort of marker to let the preschoolers know where you are in the month. Seeing a visual helps them to understand the passage of time and learn how we track time throughout the year. You can do this by either putting a sticker on each day or by putting the number of each day up as you go through the calendar. Have the preschoolers repeat as you tell them information about the date. You could say “Today is [day of the week], [month] [day of the month] [year]”. You can reinforce the concept of the days of the week by singing a simple song that will help preschoolers remember.

Days of the Week (sung to the tune of “Oh My Darling, Clementine”)

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday

Days of the Week (sung to the tune of the Adams Family Theme song)

There’s Sunday and there’s Monday. There’s Tuesday and there’s Wednesday. There’s Thursday and there’s Friday and then there’s Saturday. Days of the week (snap, snap). Days of the week (snap, snap). Days of the week. Days of the week. Days of the week.

Talk about the weather. It is helpful if you have some sort of a weather wheel. These can be purchased at most teacher or easily made using a brad and some paper with pictures of the weather. It is best if this is located near a window so the preschoolers can look out the window and observe the weather. Have the preschoolers each tell you something about the weather that day. Is it raining? Is it snowing? What did it feel like while they were coming to school? What type of clothes did they have to wear?

Have a short discussion about the current theme. This should be very short, preferably less than 5 minutes. Circle time should be fun for preschoolers, not tedious. Pick on piece of information that relates to the preschool theme and discuss it with the preschoolers. Ask them questions that relate to the information and get them involved in the conversation.

Alternative – If you do not have anything related to the theme or have extra time, you can sing a simple song with the preschoolers or use another short activity. The Alphabet Song is a great extra activity or used as an end to circle time. Singing it often helps preschoolers become familiar with their letters and is a valuable pre-reading skill.

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