What is Circle Time?
Circle Time is a foundational routine in early childhood education where children and teachers gather in a circle before formally beginning the school day. This routine creates a sense of community, encourages participation, and sets a positive tone for learning. Circle Time is not only a social activity but also a platform to integrate language, math, science, and social studies in a fun and engaging way.
Calendar Time: Learning Through Routine
Calendar Time is a daily routine that helps children develop important skills in math, language, and understanding the world around them. By using the calendar creatively, you can link numbers, dates, months, seasons, and even cultural events to your lessons.
Here are some ideas to make Calendar Time interactive and educational:
Daily Counting Fun: Keep a calendar visible and count the days with your students in playful ways. Try counting softly or loudly, high or low, squeaky or scary. Introduce the day of the week, the month, and the season. Connect these concepts to students’ birthdays or special events to make learning personal and memorable.
Learning Sequences with Movement: To practice sequences like the days of the week, sit children in a circle with their legs spread. Use a ball, yarn, or string. Give the first child the ball and have them say “Sunday” while rolling it to another student. The next child says “Monday,” and so on through the week. For older children, this activity can be extended to months of the year or seasons. This interactive approach combines physical activity with learning, reinforcing memory and engagement.
By incorporating Circle Time and Calendar Time into your daily routine, you create a structured yet playful environment where children can build foundational skills in a hands-on, memorable way.
Our Calendar
Hang the calendar
High on the wall.
See Winter and Spring days,
and Summer and Fall.
Play days and work days,
and warm days and cold.
Hang the calendar
High on the wall.
Today is
Tune: Frere Jacques
Today is ______________.
Today is _____________,
all day long, all day long.
Yesterday was__________.
Tomorrow is _________.
Oh what fun!
Oh what fun!
What to do?
-Present the cards in the pocket chart.
-Ask children to read the sentences.
-Invite children to complete the sentences using the day of the week.
-If you are working with older children let them choose the day, the month and the date.
-Choose one child per day to do the calendar work.
-The child selects the number card for the day's date and posts it on the calendar.
-When the work is done lead the class in reading the complete date for the day:
today is [day of week/month/day/year.
A New Day, a New Message
Why not starting the day with a special message from the teacher?
Then ask children to write a reply to the teacher. For example: Good day smarties! Today we have a big surprise in the literature corner! So children can write questions about the surprise as a way to reply the teacher's message.
I like writing greetings using different words such as:
Good morning/ afternoon
Howdy!
Salutations
Greetings
Top o the morning to you
Good day!
Hi friends!
Hello buddies!
Hey pals!
The Question of the Day (QOD)
Looking for a simple way to strengthen communication with your children? Asking daily questions is a fun and effective strategy to encourage conversation, practice language skills, and build stronger connections.
Try using one question a day, alternating between open-ended and closed-ended questions. You can ask about:
-
A special event in their day
-
Their favorites (food, color, toy, activity)
-
Their likes and dislikes
-
Seasonal or holiday-related topics
You can also design questions to practice different tenses, helping your children improve their grammar while sharing their thoughts.
Here are some suggestions to get you started:
Do you like to play inside or outside on a rainy day?
Do you have a hot or cold lunch today?
Did you wear a coat today?
Did you wear boots today?
Were you awake at 6:30 this morning?
Were you in bed at 9:30 last night?
Have you ever been to Walt Disney World/Land?
Have you ever gone fishing?
Are you going away during spring?
Are you wearing socks?
Greeting Time
Greeting time is a time for building bounds.
What to do?
Gather the children in the meeting area.Present the song you are going to sing.Explain the terms your children do not know.
Sing first and then invite your children to sing with you.
Enlarge photographs of your children on a copy machine.Use them as seat markers for the meeting area.Make extra copies in case you need them for extra activities.
Let children talk a bit about whatever they want.Ask them how they feel and what they would like to do.
Hello! Chant
There are many ways to say HELLO!
Wave your hand.
Nod your head.
Smile big or wink instead.
Blow a kiss.
Tip your hat.
Shake your hands.
Give a pat.
There are many ways to say
HELLO! HELLO!
Goodbye Chant
There are many ways to say GOODBYE!
Bye bye butterfly
See ya later alligator
Blow a kiss jellyfish
Take care polar bear
Time to go hippo
In a while crocodile
Toodle-doo kangaroo
There are many ways to say
GOODBYE! GOODBYE!
Attendance Time
Allow children to complete the attendance chart while singing a song or reciting a poem.
As you will be working on children’s self concepts during this curriculum, prepare a special chart for Girls and Boys.
Prepare clothespins with name tags (and photos if they are little children) and put them in one basket.
Add a label to the basket “AT HOME”. Let children pick up their clothespin and pin on the correct table.
Glad to see you
Tune:"Frere Jacques"
Teacher:
I'm Ms. (name), I'm Ms. (name).
That's my name, That's my name.
Glad to see you here.
Glad to see you here.
What's your name? What's your name?
Child:
I am (name), I am (name).
That's my name, that's my name.
I am glad to be here,
I am glad to be here.
At school today, at school today
BirthdayTime
Make a chart listing the months at the top of poster board.
Write the names of the children who were born during a particular month under that month.
This can be hung on the wall to help children recognize the months in which they were born and see which children were born in the same month.
At the beginning of each new month, check birthdays.
Prepare a small cake shape or a candle into the calendar pocket chart to remind you of these special days.
The children enjoy counting the days until a friend’s birthday.
Sing a song for birthdays. There are many variations of the traditional “Happy birthday song”
You can write or print the song on a piece of paper to use during the year.
Prepare a pocket or a resealable bag with name tags and numbers to complete the blanks.
Happy birthday little star
Tune: Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
Happy birthday goes this song.
It’s your birthday all day long.
Last year Ana was ____ years old.
This year Ana is ______ we’re told.
Happy birthday little star!
Now we know how old you are.
Weather is the condition of air that surrounds Earth and it affects everyone’s life every day. It affects what we wear, what we do, what we eat, etc.
Discuss with your children the many effects weather has on their lives in your country.
Complete the weather chart and keep a weather journal every day.
If you have a boy/ girl/ bear weather, let children dress it with clothing items according to the weather.
Invite children to talk about their favourite kind of weather.
Prompt questions such as..
· What’s the weather like today?
· Do you like cold weather?
· Do you like cold or hot weather?
· What’s your favourite type of weather?
Circle time is a powerful and engaging strategy for young ESL learners. It helps build a sense of community, cooperation, and inclusion in the classroom while giving each student opportunities to practice English speaking, listening, and social skills. During circle time, students can also share their cultural backgrounds and personal experiences, promoting diversity and creating a welcoming, inclusive learning environment. Incorporating circle time into your daily routine supports language development, social-emotional growth, and classroom engagement—making it an essential part of effective ESL teaching.
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