Feb 25, 2015
Greeting Songs for Circle Time
Circle time in Early Childhood settings is usually a daily occurrence. Young children love to learn the greeting song. With repetition and rehearsal, they can sing along with the greeting and feel a sense of belonging and familiarity. Following are a variety of welcome songs for preschool or daycare.
Song #1 To the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb
Who came to school today? Johnny did, Johnny did.
Who came to school today? Johnny did!
Song #2 To the tune of She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain
Oh the greeting train is coming, all aboard (toot toot)
Oh the greeting train is coming, all aboard. (toot toot)
Oh the greeting train is coming,
The greeting train is coming
The greeting train is coming, all aboard
And it's hello to (child's name), get onboard
And it's hello to (next child's name), get onboard
ETC.
Song #3 To the tune of Happy Birthday
Good morning to you, good morning to you
Good morning dear friends
It's nice to see you
Good morning to (child's name) good morning to (next child's name)
good morning to (another child's name) it's nice to see you
Song #4 To the tune of Where is Thumbkin
Where is (child's name) where is (child's name)
There she is. There she is.
How are you today (child's name)
(Child's name) is feeling fine
You're here today, you're here today.
Song #5 Chose a tune
Hello, hello, hello and how are you
I'm fine, I'm fine, and I hope that you are too
Song #6 (or chant)
Our circle time is starting
I'm glad to see you hear
Hello to everybody
Let's give a great big cheer! Hooray!
Song # 7 To tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb
Another day at (name of preschool), (name), (name)
Another day at (name of preschool or daycare)
I'm glad that you are here
Further Resources:
Using the Felt Board for Circle Time Transition
Circle Time Basics Workshops with Circle of Ideas
Feb 20, 2015
The Importance in Creating a Calm Environment for Young Children
The choices a teacher makes in his/her classroom send a message. "The environment contributes to setting the tone of the school day for both the children and the teacher. An organized, attractive, clean and warm setting results in more positive behaviors and attitudes." (Eliason&Jenkins, 34) Visual presentation of artwork, posters and lessons for learning easily fill preschool and primary school classroom walls becoming a busy collection of colors and images. Clutter in young children's school environments is common and for many students may not be an issue. But, for some students the visual chaos, particularly on the walls, truly affects their learning and overall success. For some students these busy walls simply add to the activity and disorder they are experiencing inside their bodies and minds.
Children Who are Affected by Busy Walls and Clutter
Scanning The Classroom
Tips on Setting Up a De-Cluttered Walls and Space
- keep some wall space completely free of items
- choose an organized technique when displaying art with equal spaces in between to help create a visual flow
- avoid hanging artwork from the ceiling
- current items on walls should be relevant to the season and topics
- sometimes less is more
- consider paint on walls and choose a soothing background color
- when displaying the student's artwork, select pieces that are less busy and have similar patterns, for instance, handprints versus finger painting
- store away papers, books and such in closed compartments to limit visual clutter
- pick adjectives to describe your ideal room and try making the environment match those words
An organized, de-cluttered, calming and welcoming room is not only going to help the children with sensory and behavioral challenges, but the rest of the classroom and the teacher will benefit from this space as well.
Source: Eliason and Jenkins, A Practical Guide to Early Childhood Curriculum, 6th Ed., United States: Merill Publishing, 1999.
Jan 15, 2015
Valentine's Panda Bear Craft
Valentine's Panda Bear Craft
Traditionally, Valentine preschool crafts involve red and pink hearts. For variation, this activity involves different shaped black and white hearts. With the shapes, the preschool children can create their very own panda bear or as a gift for someone they love.Depending on the age of the children, the preschool teacher could prepare the different shaped hearts before hand. Alternatively, older preschool children could attempt to cut their own hearts (or circles) which fosters fine motor skills. Either way, a template of different shaped hearts helps with the preparation. Half a heart template works well with this age group.
This particular preschool craft could be demonstrated ahead of time at circle time to help the children with the steps. This art process encourages young children to follow direction, a skill that is important to develop for their success at school. At the same time, there is always room for open ended art...for the children to create their own creations with the material, wonderfully illustrated in the following photo taken from
Luv Pre-K
From Luv Pre-K Heart Art |
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