Preschool Circle Time: A Catalyst for Creativity

PreschoolCircle Time: A Catalyst for Creativity

Preschool education is the most beautiful lifetime gift a parent can give to his child as these elementary years is the critical period for setting the foundations of learning. Evidences show that high-quality preschool experiences can build dialogue skills both speaking & listening, numeracy skills, scientific temperament and environmental stewardship, all of which support later academic success. In addition, preschool can help children develop key socio-emotional skills regarding self-regulation and interpersonal interaction. 

Best practices adopted in preschool helps a child to bloom well in a tension free environment as well as generate thrust and love for learning at early years in a child. One of the best practices is Preschool Circle Time. Circle Time is a developmentally appropriate practice for preschoolers to get a sense of community with other kids of their age. Circle Time blends enjoyment with fruitful learning and pupils eagerly wait for the circle time to start the day.

Circle time has innumerous benefits in the development of skills:

• It enhances social skills that are learned in a preschool.
• It increases attention span of kids.
• It provides valuable opportunities for kids to practice speaking and listening.
• It helps in fostering creative, critical and collaborative skills.
• It makes kids accustomed to structured and scheduled activities.
• It gives them a feeling that every kid is special to their teacher and their opinion is imperatively valued.
• It builds strong trustworthy relationship between the child and the teacher. 
 
Each day the class must begin with Circle Time for kids in preschools. Circle Time needs about 15 to 20 minutes every day.

During Circle Time, teacher sits at the head of a circle or rows of children, either on the floor at child’s level or in a chair above the children. Children may have a specific spot on the carpet to which they are regularly assigned, or they may freely choose their seat each day.

Children are generally seated in very close proximity to one another, creating a need for them to manage their own physical activity carefully. If any child is not ready to sit in a particular manner, then the teacher should not put undue pressure on the child to sit as desired. Circle Time should be the time to engage kids in interactive conversation through questioning, showing things, giving them hands on experience, using different visuals etc. 

Every Circle Time includes activities that encourage the development of skills and has dynamic effect on social and emotional development of a child.

Various activities in a play way method can be planned and executed through Circle Time such as greeting one another, building vocabulary, taking attendance, learning names of months, updating the calendar, creative games, discussing the weather and updating a weather chart, singing songs with a social or academic focus, reviewing a morning message about the day to come, reading a book, and previewing the rest of the day’s activities.

Circle Time involves a commitment from schools to plan it appropriately. The degree to which children are productively engaged during circle time is depending on teachers’ planning, quality of instructional content and language used. For effectiveness of Circle Time, the teacher conducting Circle Time must evenly engage every kid and also elaborate on the construal or views shared by the kids during Circle Time rather just repeating the statements made by the kid. The Circle Time activities should be integrated and streamlined with the preschool curriculum.

To conclude, Circle Time is the best way of capturing the creative and innovative power that lies within the children at early years. Circle Time gives children experience and training in a wide range of cognitive and practical skills that will enable them to achieve pleasing, motivated and successful lives.