I recommend you close your day with a story and some songs, and as the first person noted, this would be an excellent time for children to share with you and their friends what they’re going to do that evening or perhaps in the coming days. I often heard children say they were going to have a play date with a classmate or that they were going somewhere special with their mom or dad. Having worked as a preschool leader in a multi-age classroom, we always ended our days with stories and songs. It was a nice way to conclude our day and get the children ready for their parents to arrive.

After being a preschool teacher, Director for over 15 years and parent of two children myself, there are lots of answers that come to mind.

At the end of the day, circle time should be a relaxing time, a transistion to going home. As one reader said, you can go over concepts learned earlier in the week/ day. If your theme was Animals, do animal songs, animal guessing games; etc.

What animal am I. I have four legs and I allways carry a trunk? ( an elephant )

I have feathers and can be found in the barnyard, but I don’t lay eggs? ( a rooster) etc. etc.

Talk about pets, etc. Read an animal book, have the children tell the story by looking at the pictures together. What do they think is happening. Use a familiar story, one that you have told already earlier in day or during the week. Sing some animal songs, Animal Fair, Old MacDonald, etc.

For quiet transistion times, do some quiet large motor activities like yoga with the children.

Down on the ground like a snake, sitting in a lotus position like a butterfly breaking out of it’s cocoon on a spring day. a cat pouncing in the grass, a monkey walking, a lumbering bear, a prancing horse at the circus, a playful puppy, etc. Children are very imaginative.

a High energy game / song that children love to do in circle time is the song, Going on a Lion Hunt, Bear Hunt, improvise and make it what ever kind of animal you want. If you are not familiar with this favorite children’s song, go to a bookstore or your library and get a copy of this children’s book, or look online and copy the words or download it from your computer. Children love this game/ song, It is full of hand movements, singing rhymes and repeating whatever you say. Children will be laughing and having a good time.

You can also use Circle time for sharing, passing around show and tell, or use it as a guessing game, like I spy with my little eye. and have the child describe something they see in the room and other children guess what it is. Some 3 year olds are better at this and others are not ready yet and don’t get the concept as well.

It is also a great time to play a cassette tape with music and childrens songs so children can do large motor skills, Raffi is a good choice and there are many more out there as well.

You can do fingerplays, use puppets, just about anything you can do at the beginning of the day, you can do at the end of the day. I like to use a beginning of higher energy, and transistion to quieter times so they will be relaxed and ready to leave when parents, guardians arrive to pick them up.

I loved doing Circle times, I collected hundreds of childrens books, theme units, circle time books over the years full of ideas to use with children. Go to your local libray when they have a circle time or storytime group for children , usually on a Saturday and watch how they do it, and what activities they use. Look for good books, there are many many great books full of ideas that will never have you wondering what to do again! Good luck, and wish I could trade places with you and do group myself!

as the answerer here said, children at this age like repetition… i have an idea: why not bring a funny puppet every day to circle time… give it a funny name, and make it like the stupid character that doesnt know anything…after greeting the children the puppet has always some story to tell that includes something wrong”something he has done or seen…etc” let the puppet say some wrong things concerning what the children has learnt during the day… let the children have fun correcting him(oh they love it when they correct a dumb person) .. like this you will have an opportunity to go through what the children have learnt during the day in a very funny way!… i dont need to tell you about the faces you can make when the puppet starts messing up ; )

You could do the calendar – counting and making patterns for the days – ABA, ABBA pictures. You can do the weather, ask specific questions like is it sunny outside … and the kids must answer in full sentences like .. Yes, it is sunny outside. As the last poster said give the kids a chance to talk a little on a specific topic. Like what is your favorite animal at the zoo. Or read and have them memorize nursery rhymes. None of our kids seem to know any of the classics. Sing songs and make up little dances to go with the songs. Or simply read to them because more than likely their parents work and no one reads to them either. Hope this helps a little.

Like most answers you have already received you can use this time as a share time we usually use this as a science time in our class. Like weather or bugs or insects. Share a little of what you know about these things with the children. Sometimes we use it to introduce things like the color purple what two colors of paint can you mix to get purple. Then show them what happens when you mix different ones. Something simple and repetition is always best and they won’t get bored of repetition. Trust me it is the best way for them to learn. Hope you have been able to come up with some helpful ideas.. Good luck

at my preschool we do 3 circles…first circle say hello to students by talking and showing them their name so they can begin to recognize their and friends names in print. we also do an exercise song, pick a special friend for the day, special friend then chooses what shape poem they want to read as a class that day, and pick from a song chart which song to sing

second circle is a literacy circle…read story, talk about it, may make a graph on favorite pizza, a t-graph on if an apple will float or not-depending on what are unit is that month

ending circle for my 4 year olds we learn a new letter each week and talk about words that begin with that letter, three year olds we say our poem of the month, count the days on the calendar and say goodbye.

a close by Methodist church close to me has a quilting circle that meets as quickly as a week, there are approximately 20 women human beings all engaged on an analogous duvet. I have not have been given any ida how long this takes to end yet i understand they sell raffle tickets as quickly as a year and have that duvet as a prize..tickets are $5.00 each and each, and the money is given to the church to help those in want. Having seen and offered tickets i will inform you at a brilliant gamble to win a sort of alluring quilts..tickets sell like hearth.

I teach two year olds and this is what I try to include in our circle time.(My circle time usually runs fifteen minutes. If something doesn’t get done we do it at the beginning of our circle time the next day)

Calendar(Days of the week, months, year, seasons, and weather), A book or two about our current theme of the week, name recognition(their name on a piece of paper), numbers, colors, shapes, songs, and fingerplays.

Dancing, games, anything with movement. My kids love the Chicken Dance.

I use the end of day to recognize outstanding behavior and all children who havent had to change their chart (use your behavior chart) for a behavior problem. I give out tickets to put in the prize drawing box with their’ names on the back. I make sure not to single out any who have not earned one, but take the time to call up each one who did earn one and thank them for doing a great job that day. At the week’s end we have a prize drawing with the names out of the ticket bucket.

It is a real motivator to those who wouldn’t ordinarily behave; it gives them something to compete and work for positively.

Yes children this age do thrive on some consitency, but they do like variety too.

Things we use to do with our preschoolers during circletime is:

Puppets

Songs

Fingerplays

books that go with the themes you are working on

bring in an animal

share favorite toys

get up and dance to songs.