Why Circle time is important?
What is circle time?
Understanding what circle time is important for both practitioners and parents. The term circle time is used to describe a time in the day where children group together to join in a planned activity. Circle time is often carried out at nursery just after breakfast and then repeated again after dinner. Activities are carefully planned by practitioners incorporating a wide range of learning intentions such as turn taking, sharing, developing children's listening and attention, building self-esteem and confidence. Circle time activities are fun and involve the children's participation, encouraging them to feel valued and gain a sense of achievement.
Circle time is not a time when children are expected to sit for a long period of time. The quick activities should be tailored to the children's stage of development, not their age. Often practitioners can plan fantastic activities and forget about the stage of the individual child. At Daisykins Nursery In Rugby circle time is incorporated into our nursery routine. In our Toddler Room the children group together on the carpet after breakfast and await with anticipation. Simona, head of Toddler Room, has expressed that the children's favourite circle time activities are:
- Size concepts - Finding the small, medium and large teddy
- Shape recognition - Naming all the different shapes
- Finding and matching the missing part of the animal
- Animal sounds - The practitioner repeats an animal sound and the children are asked to find the picture of the animal
- Emotion sorting game - Matching the picture face cards to right emotion card.
Click here to download a size concept circle time activity.