School’s out for summer but continuing a circle time routine at home is beneficial to your child’s learning and development!  In a toddler or preschool classroom, circle time is a way for the teacher to unite students through song and rhyme and is typically the time of day where letters, colors, numbers and more are introduced. Implementing a circle time routine at home is a great way to reinforce concepts that were learned in school this past year.
 
Structuring your Circle Time:

• Start with some type of greeting or hello song.  This helps kids to “get in the zone” and sets the tone for your time together.
• Talk about the weather.  Ask your child to look outside and report back to you!  This may naturally lead into a discussion of what you will wear to go outside or what activities you can do today depending on the weather.
• Sing songs that review letters, numbers, days of the week or colors. In this video you will see both a days of the week song and a song about colors.  Youtube is your friend here!!! There are so many teachers sharing their magic!
• Read a story!
• Finish with a goodbye song or simply a big hug.

 
Tips for Success:

• Keep it short and sweet!  Follow your child’s lead and know when it’s time to move on; you can always do more tomorrow.
• Use stuffed animals as “classmates”. Facetime a family member and invite them into your circle time sessions. Including others will keep circle time fresh and new.
• Play with timing! You will need to find the best time of day for your child. While some kids do well with this type of structure in the morning, others may do better after nap time.
• This is not American Idol!  Your child doesn’t care what you sound like; sing it loud and sing it PROUD!
• Use visual aids. Letters for the ABC song, numbers for counting, household objects for identifying colors.  Usually kids need to see and touch things to truly understand.
• Don't expect your child to sit still the whole time. It's ok for them to move!  Moving supports learning!

 
Need a little more support? Use our Little Beats Clubhouse videos as a launching point and your will be leading an educational and fun at home circle time in no time!

Life with young children can become, dare we say it…repetitive. You repeat yourself over and over, feeling like your instructions are going in one ear and out the other. Your toddler also likely asks you to read the same stories and sing the same songs again and again. Maybe your child repeats the same action daily, like throwing food off their highchair to see what happens.  Though this can frustrate adults, it is critical for children as they learn best through repetition.  
 
Repetition is familiar and comforting to little ones.  When children feel comfortable with a song or rhyme, they will recite it more often eventually leading to mastery. Every time a book is reread to a child, they pick up on something different.  New words assimilate into their vocabulary and their confidence in using them grows.  All of us like to feel successful and kids are no different, thus performing tasks over and over to show they can do them independently!
 
There are many ways you can support your child’s learning through repetition:

• Say “yes” when they ask for “more” or “again”!
• Have a daily routine that your child is familiar with.
• Provide and environment that allows them to do tasks on their own.
• Talk throughout your day – explain what you are doing and why you are doing it.
• Repeat activities (art, science, physical) often to support development and building connections.

 
In an effort to support learning in youngsters, our Little Beats clubhouse meetings and our in-studio classes always start and end in a familiar way.  Check out our Youtube channel for activities you can do at home to support your child’s  learning and development.