Circle Time Prep

Aidan and I have begun some of our preschool activities, but our actual Letter of the Week curriculum is starting next week. I am so incredibly excited about the lesson plans I've put together and the wonderful things we are going to learn about!

One of our activities every day will be circle time. This is something done in all elementary classrooms, whether it be called Circle Time, Rug Time, Group Time - whatever - it is an opportunity for the teacher to work with the class together. We are going to use this as the opening of our school time, which will range from 2-3 hours a day, not including any time outside of the "classroom".

As a visual aid for our Circle Time, I created a traveling board. I made it movable in case we decide to take our Circle Time outside of the classroom - maybe downstairs, outside, or over to Grandma or Nana's house. Having the option to move outside of the classroom allows us to be creative!

The tools I used for this are as follows:
A cardboard tri-fold
Scrapbook paper
Tape
Cricut and cartridge of your choice
Cricut straight edge
Print out's from the "Letter of the Week" program by Confessions of a Homeschooler (link below)
Calendar (mine is missing)
Laminator
Lamination sheets

To begin, I purchased a cardboard tri-fold from Walmart for a couple bucks. It was pretty plain and I wanted one with a colorful background, but this is what they had.

When I was ready to create the board, I started by printing out the items I wanted from the "Letter of the Week" program, which you can purchase here: http://www.confessionsofahomeschooler.com/letter-of-the-week. I used the "What Season Is It?" item, the "My Personal Information" item, the "Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" item, and the "What is the Weather" item. I printed them, cut them out, and laminated them so they would hold up well. Then I backed them with a piece of scrapbook paper to add a little pizazz.

 

The laminator I use is the Scotch TL901, which can be purchased at Office Depot. I purchased mine from my neighbor for $10! SCORE! I use the Scotch Thermal Laminating Sheets with it.

Next, I used scrapbook paper to cut squares for decoration behind my Letter, Shape, Number, and Word of the Week section. I then used my Cricut to cut out the words.

 

Months ago, I found scrapbook paper with letters and numbers! It was perfect for this. I cut the paper into squares to make it easier to run through the laminator. I then cut each letter and number out individually to use for the letter and number of the week. I have flashcards I will be using for the shape and letter of the week.

I am still looking for a calendar to fit the space I left on the board. I will post a picture once I have that added. Until then, happy Circle Time Board making!