Circle Time: A Guide for ABA Professionals

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Circle time is a familiar routine for those who work in early childhood education, and it can be a valuable tool for ABA therapy sessions as well. Circle time can be used to introduce pre-academic skills, practice social skills, and practice leisure activities. Circle time can also be a fun and engaging way for children to interact with their therapists and build rapport. But how do you run circle time? In what order do you do things? There isn't necessarily a wrong answer, but, for learners for whom circle time is appropriate, this is how I usually approach it.

And, remember, circle time should be individualized to each individual child. Circle time may not be an appropriate or relevant goal to work on with every learner.

Here are some tips on how to set up and run circle time for ABA therapy sessions:

1. Choose a comfortable and inviting space

The space you choose for circle time should be comfortable and inviting for the children. It should be large enough for everyone to sit comfortably, and it should be free of distractions. 

2. Use visuals.

Visual aids can be helpful for autistic children to understand what is happening during circle time. You can use picture schedules, calendars, and other visual supports to help the learners understand the sequence of activities and what is expected of them.

3. Keep it short and sweet.

Circle time should be short and sweet, especially for very young children. How long circle time should last depends on the learner. I’ve had circle times that lasted as short as 4 minutes but, in general, I try to not go over 15 minutes. It all depends on the child’s strengths, age, and values.

4. Vary the activities.

To keep circle time interesting, it is important to vary the activities. This could include singing songs, reading stories, playing games, or doing a craft. It is also important to include a variety of sensory experiences, such as listening to music, feeling different textures, etc. 

5. Be patient and positive.

Circle time may be challenging for some learners. Be patient and positive, and offer lots of praise and encouragement. You should never force a child to sit through circle time against their will.

Materials needed for circle time:

Circle time can be an important part of early intervention programs. It is a time for learners to come together as a group, learn new skills, and socialize with each other. There are a few different materials you may need to run circle time with your learners. While you can do circle time without visuals, I find having visuals and manipulatives best imitate the school environment. 

Some examples of circle time manipulatives and visuals you can use include

1. Calendar 

A calendar can be used for a variety of purposes in circle time, including:

-Introducing the concept of time. Young children are still developing their understanding of time, and a calendar can be a helpful tool for introducing them to the concept. For example, the therapist/technician might point to the calendar and say, "Today is Monday. Yesterday was Sunday, and tomorrow is Tuesday."

-A calendar can be used to help children learn the names of the days of the week. For example, a teacher might point to each day of the week on the calendar and say, "This is Monday. This is Tuesday. This is Wednesday."

-A calendar can be used to help children learn the names of the months of the year. For example, a teacher might point to each month on the calendar and say, "This is January. This is February. This is March." If you want to be sure you are not blocking the board while teaching, you can always use these pointers.

-A calendar can be used to help children learn about special days, such as birthdays, holidays, and school events. For example, a teacher might point to a special day on the calendar and say, "This is your sister’s birthday. It's on Friday.

You can find my favorite calendars for circle time by clicking the images above or by clicking here.

2. Puppets

Puppets can be used to tell stories, act out plays, or introduce new vocabulary. I like The Puppet Company and Melissa and Doug for puppets.

3. Felt Boards

Felt boards are used to display pictures or objects that can be used to tell stories or can be used a visuals for songs. You can use these to retell a story for the book, or even sort by class, function, or feature.

4. Weather display and weather wheel 

Learners can use the weather wheel to identify the current weather and to learn about different types of weather. You can also make or purchase little characters to dress appropriately for the day’s weather. I like the frog one that you can find here as well as the ones in the images above.

5. Realia

Realia are real objects that are used to help children learn about the world around them. For example, a therapist might bring in a variety of vegetables to help children learn about different colors and shapes.

6. Velcro

Velcro is your best friend for circle time. You’ll want to use velcro so that the learners can easily attach and detach the icons for the calendar and other visuals.

7. Books for story time

Story time is an important element of circle time. Reading stories to children is highly important for literacy skills. It can also teach social skills, cultivate a love of reading, and teach important life lessons. I recommend re-reading the same story or having the children do a re-telling.

 Why do I recommend you re-read and/or retell the same book? This helps students develop a number of important literacy skills, including:

• Comprehension

• Vocabulary

• Language Development

• Memory

• Attention

• And More!

  You can find a list of my favorite children’s books here.

  Circle Time Schedule

  So, how do you run circle time? In what order do you do which activities? Below is a sample circle time schedule that you can use as a starting point.

  1. Welcome and Greeting

  Start circle time by welcoming the children and greeting them individually. You can sing a greeting song and/or ask the children to say their names. My favorite greeting songs are “Look Who Came to School Today”, and “Hi, Hello and How Are You?”.

  2. Calendar Review

  Review the date and the day of the week.  I like the “Days of the Week” song that goes along to the tune of “The Addams Family”. You can count each number (date) until you get to the current day. Choose a learner to put the number icon onto the calendar.

  You can also ask the learners: 

  “What day was yesterday?”

  “What day is it today?”

   “What day is tomorrow?” 

  3. Weather

  Sing the “Weather Song” and check the window to see what the weather is. Then have a learner use the weather spinner to indicate what type of weather it is. You can also take this time to “dress” your weather “frog” (or other character) on the board. This is a great time to call on learners to take turns choosing appropriate clothing items for the current weather.

  4. Story Time

  Read a picture book to the learners. You can choose a book that is appropriate for their age and interests. You can also ask the learners questions about the book as you read it and ask them to point out different things about the drawings (color, etc.)

  5. Rotating activity

  Do a rotating activity. This could be a craft, a game, or a show-and-tell. You can change the activity each day to keep things interesting.

  6. Goodbye

  End circle time by singing a goodbye song and saying goodbye to the children individually.

  Circle time can be a valuable tool for ABA therapy sessions, as long as the activities incorporated are developmentally appropriate AND relevant to your specific client. By following these tips, you can create a circle time that is both effective and enjoyable for children and their therapists.  Comment below if there is anything else you’d like to learn about circle time for young learners!

References

Benedict, E.A., Horner, R.H., & Squires, J.K. (2007). Assessment and implementation of positive behavior support in preschools. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 27(3), 174-192.

Bustamante, A. S., Hindman, A. H., Champagne, C., & Wasik, B. A. (2018). Circle time revisited: How do preschool classrooms use this part of the day?The Elementary School Journal, 118(4).

Glazzard, J (2016) The value of circle time as an intervention strategy. Journal of Educational and Developmental Psychology, 6 (2). pp. https://doi.org/10.5539/jedp.v6n2p207

Zaghlawan, H.Y. & Ostrosky, M.M. (2011). Circle time: An exploratory study of activities and challenging behavior in Head Start classrooms. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 439-448.