Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Tot School Tuesday - Circle Time

We honestly did very little tot school this week as we spent lots of time in the car and are getting settled in back home after being away for 6 weeks.  One thing that I have tried to maintain every day since we've been back is Circle Time.  It helps organize the day a little and gets us off to a good start. 

Here is what Circle Time generally looks like in our home:



1.  We start with the song "Rise and Shine and Give God the Glory".

2.  Then we sing our days of the week song.  This is to "Oh my Darling" and you can find a video on the Homeschool Creations Blog.  We do sing it a little bit differently:

DAYS OF THE WEEK SONG:
There are seven days, There are seven days,
There are seven days in a week.
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday,
Thursday, Friday, Saturday.

Today is Tuesday, Today is Tuesday,
Today is Tuesday, yes it is.
Yesterday was Monday,
And Tomorrow's Wednesday.

3.  We count on the calender all the way to the present date (ex: today we counted up to 24).

4.  We rip off a link on the "Daddy" chain.  This is our way of counting down to Daddy's return.

5.  We go over the seasons and practice signing each one.

6.  We run to the window and describe the weather using words and signs, then Mommy takes out two weather cards and asks which one most describes today.

7.  Every Monday we choose a different Biblical Character Trait.  Each trait has a Bible Verse that we work all week on memorizing. 

8.  We sing several "action" songs.

9.  I either read a book, tell a rhyme, or do a puppet story.

10.  Close with prayer.

The whole thing takes about a half hour.  What does your Circle Time look like?

Here are some other fun things we did this week:

LEARNING HOW TO RIDE TRICYCLE:
This is "M's" first time on a Tricycle (where she can actually reach the pedals).  She still goes backward most of the time but she is getting it.



FIELDTRIP TO THE ZOO:

"Where'd it go?"

"C'mon mom, go fast!"

"M" signing Lion.



The penguins were a big hit with the kids.  If you put your hand up to the glass they would swim down and "kiss" it.



2 comments:

Smileyhappychan said...

We do mostly the same things for circle time (we call it "calendar" at our house). The only thing we do differently is a daily schedule. I found that it really helped "N" know what to expect for our day. "A" still doesn't really get it. I like the idea of reading a book at this time. I'm going to try to work that it. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

Brandi said...

Love these ideas! In the fall I think we are going to start back up with Tot school, and will be doing a circle time. :) Have a great day!