Full & Fast – Circle Time needs to be full of child-centered activities to develop skills in Body – movement, fine motor; Mind – attention span, factual knowledge, memory, direction-following, problem-solving, listening, comprehension, and possibly math, science, and social studies; and Spirit – self-concept, self-esteem, self-regulation, using words, conversation, social cues, empathy, respect, and turn-taking – all in less than 15 minutes max!

In Reality – a good Circle Time will automatically and naturally contain all of these things and it should not be rushed, but must be carried out with attention to developmentally appropriate attention spans.

Ignition! – The best way to introduce a unit or topic of study is with a book, an activity that is ACTIVE and hands-on, or a question, problem, or challenge.  This is what I call the Catalyst, abbreviated here as the Cat. It is the spark that ignites interest in the information. The Cat may also be presented in the form of a Challenge of the Day (COD) or for older children, the Challenge of the Week (COW).

Let’s Just Swim with the COD – The COD may be related to a Strength Expectation (specific skill objective), a unit of study, the planning of an upcoming community event, or even an immediate situation or issue in the community.  It doesn’t have to be presented at Circle Time, but this does seem to be an opportune time for it.

Using a good, relevant, child-centered COD that peaks interest, encourages curiosity, and motivates children to move from thought to action (or Circle Time to Center Time) is an example of an excellent Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP) and a wonderful catalyst for optimal learning.  The point of issuing a challenge is to encourage development of cognitive and expressive skills on a higher level than mere memory.  

The teacher introduces the challenge and the children brainstorm solutions.  All solutions are accepted and respected.  To use the COD, teachers need to train themselves to present facts and to ask open-ended questions.

Make the COD relevant and ‘doable’ so there is big interest but little frustration. We need to try not to answer every question a child has, but challenge him to research, experiment, and think for himself.  We need to ask questions about experiences so children learn to recall and restate; to ask why and how questions so children learn to use logic and reasoning; to ask “how else could we do it?” so children learn invention and creativity; and to ask “what do you think will happen next?” so children learn sequence and how to make sensible predictions. 

CODs are not restricted to Circle Time. Here are some CODs to try to catch:

A Whole School of CODs

One day I subbed with a very good teacher, Miriam Gabra, who had a class of 4’s with WAY TOO MANY BOYS, and her challenge for the day was to “see if you can use your words ALL day and not your hands, feet, or elbows”. It worked. Genius.

Fish or Moo Every Day!! -The learning from CODs and COWs is ENORMOUS AND IMPORTANT.  It crosses over and interrelates into every Learning Area, every General Strength Expectation, and every Specific Strength Expectation.  Even Infants and Babies can take on nonverbal challenges (problem-solving learning experiences) such as putting ‘barriers’ of safe objects in front of them, briefly hiding toys, or requesting a verbal or sign language gesture before immediately granting a request.  As always, developmental appropriateness is the watchword.

Next blog:  Circle Time Part Four: Brainstorming, Word Walls, & Selection