How is circle time going for you? Are the kids engaged? Do you all look forward to doing it each day? Could it use a little tweaking? Would you like to make your time literacy-rich? If so, I’ve got some great tips and resources for you. Circle time activities are a great way to build community and build early literacy skills.
Building a Literacy-Rich Circle Time
Before we add any literacy-rich activities into our circle time, we need to check to make sure that what we are already doing during circle time is effective and working. I like to think of it as a little circle time audit.
What is Working and What Isn’t Working?
Think back to your last circle time. What activities worked well and had the kids super engaged? What didn’t work so well? Now, think about why. Could it be the kids already know the days of the week and therefore don’t need to recite them over and over again? Could you more authentically do the weather outside at recess? Is circle time lasting too long?
A quick but thorough audit of circle time will help you find areas that you can tweak or areas you can add in some literacy-rich circle time activities.
What Circle Time Activities Are Best For Kids?
There are some concepts and skills that work especially well for circle time. Here are some of them. Later in the post we will talk about hands-on activities to work on some of these ideas.
TODDLERS
- Notice print in the environment
- Can find books and name them (not necessarily exact title)
- Recognize some letters in their name
- Identify and categorize familiar sounds in the environment
- Listen for rhyming words
- Begin to recognize name
- Listen to stories for enjoyment and respond to simple questions
- Describe details in pictures of books
- Develop oral vocabulary
PRESCHOOLERS
- Understand that writing and reading convey meaning
- Develop awareness of concepts of print
- Recognize environmental print
- Begin to name and write alphabet
- Aware of gross motor differences
- Listen for rhyming words
- Hear sounds in words
- Orally segment words
- Read and write name
- Listen to stories and gather meaning
- Practice listening and speaking
- Develop oral vocabulary
KINDERGARTENERS
- Strengthen concepts of print
- Name and write the alphabet
- Listen for and generate rhyming words
- Identify sounds in words (beginning, middle, and end)
- Orally segment words
- Blend and segment onset and rime.
- Use phoneme manipulation
- Identify grade-level sight words
- Gather meaning and details from a story
- Practice listening and speaking
- Build oral vocabulary
Best Call the Kids to Circle Time Songs
I like to use a signal song to call the kids to our circle time. For years, I used the Oklahoma song, “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.” Recently I created a Spotify song list of music that would also work well. You are welcome to access that list for free.—>SONG LIST
Best Literacy-Rich Circle Time Songs and Chants to Build Literacy Skills
Songs are a great way to build fluency, memory, vocabulary, and sequencing.
Greeting Song
A good morning song is a great way to welcome the kids. Here is a free one that you can print and use. It’s great for helping kids learn the names of everyone in the class.—>GOOD MORNING SONG
For even more greeting songs that also work on name recognition, check out these other songs.—>7 Circle Time Welcome Songs for Preschool and Kindergarten
Nursery Rhymes
Nursery rhymes pack a literacy punch. I like to keep a cup full of song sticks handy. While we wait for everyone to gather, we can pull a few and sing together.—>GET THE SONG STICKS
More Literacy-Rich Songs
I also have 35 other songs and chants that will build literacy skills. They cover the alphabet, phonological awareness (rhyming, beginning sounds, syllables, etc,) name recognition, vocabulary and more.—>I WANT THE 35 CIRCE TIME SONGS AND CHANTS TO BUILD LITERACY SKILLS
And, check out our newest volume of circle time songs called Circle Time Songs and Chants (Month by Month) Vol. 2.
Best Circle Time Books
All books are not created equal when it comes to finding the best books to share at circle time. You want to seek out books that have the following features.
- Short
- Big Bold Pictures
- Repetitive Text
- Character Voices
- Sections to Act
- Rhythm and Rhyme
- Class Favorites
Here are some favorite books for circle time.—>CIRCLE TIME BOOKS
Circle time is also a great time to introduce poetry to kids. Here are some of my favorite poems and poetry books to use.—>POETRY FOR KIDS DURING CIRCLE TIME
Get kids moving and grooving during circle time with this fun and active list.—>MOVING AND GROOVING BOOKS FOR CIRCLE TIME
Funny books are always a hit.—>TRY THESE FUNNY KINDERGARTEN READ-ALOUDS FOR CIRCLE TIME
Books that engage children are important.—>TRY THESE SING-A-LONG BOOKS
Favorite Literacy-Rich Circle Time Activities
Fingerplays
It’s so important the kids are engaged during circle time. Fingerplays are a great way to get that engagement and build skills.—>TRY THESE PRESCHOOL FINGERPLAYS
Seasonal Circle Time Activities
A fun way to spice up circle time is with seasonal content. Check out these circle time activities for each season.
Chinese New Year Circle Time Song
Christmas Circle Time Songs and Activities
Circle Time Themes
Alphabet Song
Spice up the traditional alphabet song with these six activities.—>6 WAYS TO USE AN ALPHABET CHART (includes a free printable chart)
Name Songs and Games
Build community, name recognition, and learning to spell your name with these engaging ideas.—>Name Games and Songs
More Nuts and Bolts Circle Time Help
Circle time should be an enjoyable active learning time. If it’s not, here are a couple of problem-solving questions to help.
- Is your circle time lasting too long?
- Are the circle time activities engaging? Do the kids have a chance to be interactive?
- Would some of the portions of circle time be better suited to other times of the day?
- Do your kids have room to move? Can everyone see?
What questions do you still have about circle time? Leave a comment below and I’ll try and help.
P.S. Don’t forget to grab a copy of 35 Circle Time Songs and Chants HERE.