Greeting and Meeting Time:
These are brief blocks of time
that may take place one or more times during the day.
The children and teachers meet together to talk and
share. Conversation may focus on preparing or planning
for a special event, sharing a personal experience,
laying the foundation for the day’s activities,
answering the “Question of the Day”, or group resolution
of a classroom issue.
Planning Time: Children
break into two or more groups to develop their Interest
Area “work plan” for the morning or afternoon. Teachers
use different strategies to help children come up with
plans. Sometimes children draw pictures of what they
will do and dictate their plan to the group leader.
Other times they may record their plans into the tape
recorder. Having a plan gives purpose and direction to
children’s play.
Work Time: During this
large block of time, children carry out their plans in
the Interest Area of their choice. Teaching staff move
among the children, asking open-ended questions about
what they are doing, encouraging them to expand their
work idea, or helping “jump start” a child who seems to
be floundering.
Clean-Up Time:
Children learn about their
responsibility to help maintain and care for their rooms
as they put materials they have used back where they
belong. This activity also promotes pre-reading and
organizational skills because all storage places are
labeled with pictures or drawings of the items that
belong there.
Recall Time:
After cleaning-up, children
break-up into small groups to review their work
accomplishments. The group leader may use an activity
such as drawing a picture, recording their explanations,
an experience chart, or inventive writing to guide
children in the sharing of the plans they carried out.
Large Group Time:
These are short periods in the day
when the whole class is involved in an activity, often
times involving gross motor skills. During Large Group
Time, children may be asked to crawl like a baby, march
to the music, or parade around the classroom playing
musical instruments.
Small Group Time:
This period of the day revolves
around a short, teacher-directed activity that
introduces a new concept, piece of equipment, material,
or game. Children have supervised time to work with and
explore the material, equipment, or game.
Story Time:
Teachers make themselves available
throughout the day to read with individual or small
groups of children. Story time enables the teacher to
introduce new vocabulary, expand listening skills,
stimulate expressive language , and promote higher order
thinking skills by asking open-ended questions about
pictures, predictions, the order of events, and
reactions to the book’s theme or message.
Children’s Day
Nursery and Family Center,
104 Jefferson Street,
Passaic, NJ 07055
