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ideaTo get the kids' attention I say "123 eyes on me" and the kids say "1 2 Eyes on You!" Works get and the kids love it.
1-16-01A great transition song that worked for my circle time when I needed the children to listen was Isty Bitsy Spider. We would do the song three times. First we would sing it normal then we would hum it still using the hand motions and then we would just use our hands with no singing or humming. Everyone was quiet and ready to listen. It worked great!!
12-27-00There are many songs that can work well for getting ready to listen... Here are a couple that I use... Only one can talk at a time I put my hands upon my head On my shoulders...On my face At my waist
and and at my side Then behind me they will hide I lift them way up in
the sky To get ready for religion or story time, have a little song to announce that special time. Here is the song I sing for religion
(melody: Brother john):
9-26-00I teach in a bilingual nursery school and here is a song that we sing while going to circle time in Spanish: (to the tune of Where is
Thumbkin) Translation for the "Estoy Esperando" song in Spanish. I am waiting I am waiting
8-23-00Circle Time... (Row, Row, Row Your Boat)
8-21-00I use the tune to If You're Happy and You Know It for two transitional songs: first from clean-up to sitting down for story - If
you're ready for a story find a seat; Second for waiting till everyone is seated so all can start snack at the same time: Put your
hands in the air, in the air;
7-14-00Bubbles Bubbles Bubbles!! We love them, my preschoolers love them and they make a great cool down activity after a great hot recess outside. We simply come inside put on some music (soothing works best) and settle down while blowing bubbles. There is definitely something special about bubbles!
7-13-00Whenever we need to make the transition from center time to circle time, I use the Greg and Steve song version of Zipadeedoodah......the children know when they hear this song, it's time to clean up and move to the circle time area. When we are making the transition from center time to lunch time, I play the Greg and Steve song, Three Little Pigs....we call this the pig stomp.....the children love it and it helps to get their wiggles out before we line up for lunch.
7-10-00I have found that this song settles the children quickly without effort. Sung to the tune of (Pierre Jacques) It is ring time, It is ring time,
6-8-00I work with 4 and 5 year olds. Whenever they become very frigidity at circle time, I tell them it is time to "shake those ants out of their pants". We stand up and I begin to sing to the tune of "wash that gray right out of my hair". We're going to shake those ants out of our pants, we're going to shake those ants out of our pants, So let's dance! We do this at least four times ending the song very slowly and softly, and then I say, now sit down.
6-2-00de-fusing the "rowdies". When there is a lot going on in the classroom and I need everyone's attention, I call out loudly "Everybody say ONE...TWO....THREE" while clapping my hands. Then in a normal voice say the same words while lightly slapping my knees. Finally whisper the words while rubbing the palms together to make a "whispery" sound. By the second week of school, just about every child joins in the chant, and is quiet at the end of third, whispered round.
6-1-00An idea that I came up with to solve behavior problems is that I always start my circles with lots of movement. It seems to settle the children down a lot. I found that the wandering bean bag really gets the children in my class motivated and ready to learn because they want to play it over and over again. It is on the same version as the wandering ball but the children are less likely to bounce it off the wall. I am always down at eye level with my class and am constantly getting silly with them. If you get silly with them and do the movement activities with your class than they will show you more respect.
5-25-00This is a song I made up for coming to a group time. It is to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it". Put your legs in a box, in a box. Put your legs in a box, in a box. Put your legs in a box and a bubble in your mouth, Put your legs in a box, in a box. Put your hands in your lap, in your lap.... Put a bubble in your mouth , in your mouth,......... It can be changed into any words that you use for a similar situation. When I start singing the song the children know it's time to sit down and listen!
5-18-001,2 You know what to do. 4-29-00I work with 3-5 year olds and have found a way to silence the room in seconds! I call it the quiet game. We try to see who can stay quiet the longest. There is no talking, laughing, or any kind of vocal noise. On the count of three we all zip our lips and start the game. The kids love it and beg to play it during transitions. I have also found that follow the leader works well for walking to the playground or other long distances. You can include marching, hopping, skipping, etc... When the children get to far ahead or you want them to stop, just pretend you are pausing them with a remote control. They love it!!!
ideaThis is a pretty easy and fun way for kids to transition from clean up time to circle time. After the kids have cleaned up, put in the tape Kids in Motion and let them move around to Animal Action or Body Rock. Or any of the other fun songs. This way, they will get some of the wiggles out before sitting down.
Date: 4-1-00I keep theses items handy in my 4's/5's classroom to help with transitions: flashlight to play find the shape or color tennis balls to roll, bounce and play in small groups of 2 to 3 a beach ball to play keep it going --- I like to retell a story and put a lot of emotion in it. My favorites are the Bear in the bathtub, and A Kiss for Little Bear.
Date: 3-28-00For transitioning from active to passive time, I use a march song. The words are "We are marching, marching, marching, in our room. Marching, marching, marching, in our room. We're marching and we're having fun, as we sing a marching song. Marching, marching and now our song is done." The tune is a sing-song. You can change the activity to hopping, skipping, clapping, crawling, etc. to match a theme or to give additional verses.
Date: 3-28-00Transitions can be difficult. A favorite finger play of my students is "Open, Shut Them". Instead of singing it the traditional way, I sing "open" very slowly , holding the last syllable as long as possible and holding my hands open. This really gets the children's attention. Then when I sing "shut them", I sing it very quickly and quickly shut my hands together. Then we repeat "open" very slowly and "shut them" very quickly. By the time I sing "open" for the second time, almost every child is watching, smiling and joining it. They think it is so funny. Then we go on to the next part of our routine with smiling faces.
Date: 3-28-00My children like to Hap Palmer "Hello" song. We use it as an opening song for our circle time. Sometimes when the children are really wiggly and having a hard time settling down, I turn the speed on my record player (yes a few of us still have those relics) from 33 to 45 so it is much quicker. Then we sing it very fast. The children love it! They laugh and join in and get many wiggles out before we get going. Some days I ask them if we should sing "Hello" fast or slow and they decide. As Martha Stewart would say, "it's a good thing!"
Date: 3-5-00I use my digital camera to take a photo of each child. I have used them for the following purposes: 1) I printed two of each child for a game of concentration. 2) Transition activity at the beginning of the year: lay one photo of each child face down in the middle of the circle. When a child selects a photo, they say the name of the child in the photo. Good get-acquainted activity.3) I put two photos up each day. These are the children who sit by me all day. That ended a lot of arguing about who would sit by me. Works really well and I use them in alphabetical order.
1-20-00Here's a song I sing to get the kids to quietly for group time Sit criss cross applesauce hands in your lap I cannot describe the tune just make it lively :o)
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