Monday, June 15, 2015

CIRCLE TIME PLANNER WINTER- 2015

CIRCLE TIME PLANNER WINTER- 2015
This is what I do to start Morning Circle Time with our children:
Stock a large basket with everything needed for the day’s circle-time activities. To signal little ones to join you in the circle-time area, grab your basket and sing the following song.

Gathering Verse:
(sung to the tune of “A Tisket, a Tasket”)
A tisket, a tasket,
Mummy has her basket.
It’s time for all my little ones
To join me on the carpet.

Prayer:
God be in my head, and in my understanding.
God be in my eyes, and in my looking.
God be in my mouth, and in my speaking.
God be in my heart, and in my thinking.
God be at my end, and at my departing.

Candle Lighting Verse:
In the dark, cold days,
There shines a light
To make my heart
So pure and bright!

Opening Verse:
Kind hearts are the gardens
Kind thoughts are the roots
Kind words are the flowers
Kind deeds are the fruits
Take care of your garden
And keep out the weeds
Fill it with sunshine
Kind Words and kind deeds.

OR
My Heart I am strong,
I am brave, I am valiant and bold.
For the sun fills my heart with his life giving gold.
I am helpful and truthful and loving and free.
For my heart's inner sunshine glows brightly in me.
I will open my arms to the sunbeams so bright;
I will warm all the world with my heart's inner light.

Seasonal Verses:
O Winter King-
O Winter King! Thy crown silver and bright Snowdrifts spiral from your cape 
O Winter King! Thy robes blue, purple, white Long beard curls at the chin 
Give us light! Wisdom and sight! O Winter King

The Ice Fairies-  
On frosty eves, when crickets cheep,
Their watch the winter fairies keep,
And by the light  Of moonbeams white Weave silver laces while I sleep. 
Yes, when the daylight comes again,
I find they’ve worked with might and main; 
For frills and stars And crinkly bars Make curtains on my window pane.  

Winter-
A little child went walking
One lovely winter day.
He saw a little rabbit
That quickly ran away.
He saw a shining river
Go winding in and out,
And cold, cold fishies in it
Were swimming all about.
Then in the cold snowy forest
He stopped to take a rest,
And there among the tall trees
He saw a squirrel’s nest.
He heard the sleepy bears snoring,
Tucked snugly in the cave.
He saw the icy patterns
That Jack Frost came and made.
He saw the winter birdies
Across the treetops fly.
He saw the fluffy snow clouds
Sailing ‘cross the sky.
He heard the cold wind blowing
And tightened up his hood.
How wonderful, the child thought,
To walk in winter woods!

Seasonal Songs:
Oh- Where do you come from you little flakes of snow,
Oh- falling softly falling on the earth below.

On the trees and on the bushes
On the mountains so far
Oh- snowflakes do you come from where the angels are?

A-sleddng-
A-sledding we will go,
A-sledding we will go,
Just hold on tight And sit just right,
And down the hill we’ll go- Wheeeeeee!

Polly, put the kettle on-
Polly, put the kettle on,
Polly, put the kettle on,
 Polly, put the kettle on,
We’ll all have tea! 
Sukey, take it off again,
Sukey, take it off again,
Sukey, take it off again,
They’ve all gone away!

This Little Light of Mine-
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine!
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine!
This little light of mine,
I’m gonna let it shine!
Let it shine, let it shine,
let it shine!

Sally go round the sun-
Sally go round the sun
Sally go roound the moon
Sally go round the chimney pot on a snowy afternoon
Whoooosh!
( go around in a circle then all move in to center on whoosh!)

Old Jack Frost-
Oh, Jack Frost is a merry, merry elf;
And a merry, merry elf is he.
 He calls for his coat,
And he calls for his brush,
And he calls for his paint pots
one, two, three,
And he calls for his paint pots three.

Three Little Kittens-
Three little kittens, They lost their mittens, And they began to cry, Oh, mother dear, We sadly fear Our mittens we have lost.
What! Lost your mittens, You naughty kittens! Then you shall have no pie.
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow. You shall have no pie. 

The three little kittens, They found their mittens, And they began to cry,
Oh, mother dear, See here, see here, Our mittens we have found.
What! Found your mittens, You darling kittens! Then you shall have some pie.
 Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow. You shall have some pie. 

The three little kittens, Put on their mittens, And soon ate up the pie;
Oh, mother dear, We greatly fear Our mittens we have soiled.
What! Soiled your mittens, You naughty kittens! Then they began to sigh,
Mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow, mee-ow. They began to sigh. 

The three little kittens, They washed their mittens, And hung them out to dry;
Oh mother dear, Look here, look here, Our mittens we have washed.
What! Washed your mittens, You're such good kittens. I smell a rat close by!
 Hush! Hush! Hush! Hush! Hush! Hush! Hush! I smell a rat close by.

Action Verses/Songs:
Ten Fingers -Eliza Follen
I have ten little fingers
And they belong to me.
I can make them do things,
Would you like to see?
I can shut them up tight,
Or I can make them wide,
I can put them together,
Or make them all hide,
I can make them jump high,
I can make them jump low,
I can fold them quietly,
And hold them just so.

My Hands-
Upon my head my hands I place,
On my shoulders, on my face,
On my waist, at my side,
Now behind me they will hide,
Now I’ll stretch them way up high.
Make my fingers swiftly fly,
I’ll hold them up in front of me,
And quickly clap them, one, two, three!

Five Little Snowmen-
Five little snowmen
On a winter's day
The first one said,
"Wake up, let's have a play.
The second one said,
"Let's stomp upon the ground."
The third one said,
"Let's roll all around."
The fourth one said,
"Let's run, run, run."
The fifth one said,
"Oh dear, here is the sun"
"Oh dear!" cried the snowmen,
As they looked toward the sky.
And the five melting snowmen
Waved a fond good-bye
Goodbye dear snowmen!

Icicle-
I'm a frozen icicle hanging in the sun. (pretend to hang over while standing) 
First I start to melt, then I start to run. (drop body lower like melting) 
Drip, drip, drip, drip. (go lower and lower) 
Melting can be fun!! (sink or fall to the floor)

Snowflakes-
Snowflakes, snowflakes, dance around (dance!)
Snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground (touch the floor)
Snowflakes, snowflakes, on my nose (touch your nose)
Snowflakes, snowflakes, on my toes (touch your toes)
Snowflakes, snowflakes, twirl around (spin around)
Snowflakes, snowflakes, touch the ground (whispering, fall to the ground)

Finger Plays For Winter Fairies -
What do I see under the moonlight
Why it is winter fairies in the winter night..
How many are there? Let me count!
One (finger up) for the Frost Fairy freezing the dew
Two (fingers up) for the Wee Blue Fairy, oh so cute
Three (fingers up) for the Mossy Elf, wrapped in wool
Four (fingers up) for Snowflake who never gets cold
Five (fingers up) for Brother Wind who blows and blows (put five fingers up to face and blow thru….)
One fairy runs away, two fairies fly (one finger runs, other hand shows 2 fairies flying)
And all the others….say good bye! (wave hands then open and shut goodbye)

Winking Stars-
Four little stars winking at me
One shot off and then there were three.
Three little stars with nothing to do,
One shot off and then there were two.
Two little stars afraid of the sun,
One shot off and then there was one.
One little star not having any fun,

It shot off and then there were none!

Hymns:
Use our home Hymn Book for selections this season

Poetry:
Silver the snowdrift-
Silver the snowdrift
Green-tipped the pines
Crystal the icicles
Purple the skies
Mist on the hillside
Clouds grey and white
Winter good morning
Autumn goodnight

Old Tale-
The sky is dull and grey,
Piercing and chill the blast,
Each step resounds on the frosty ground,
Winter is come at last. 

Mamma sits by the fire
Her little ones round her knees.
"How cosy we are, Mamma," they say,
"Tell us something, if you please." 
 
"Tell us about King Winter,
And about Jack Frost, his man;
 We'll not be noisy or naughty at all,
But as good as ever we can."
  
"Well then;" says mamma, "you, Jenny,
May knit and listen, my dear;
And Johnny may split up wood, to make
The fire burn bright and clear."
 
 King Winter dwells in the North;
Far away in the Frozen Zone,
In a palace of snow he holds his court,
And sits on an icy throne.
  
The King has a trusty servant,
Jack Frost is his name; his nose
Is raspberry red, his beard is white,
And stiff as a crutch it grows. 

Old Jack is a sturdy good fellow,
And serves their Majesties well;
He's here and he's there, and he's everywhere,
And does more than I can tell. 
 
Each year, as the day comes round,
The king and his royal train
Set off on a tour through the wide wide world,
 And sweep over mountain and plain.  

Jack Frost has a busy time then,
But he's helped and advised by the Queen,
That all may be right when the King goes forth,
And everything fit to be seen. 
 
That the King may have pleasant travel,
 And no stone hurt his royal toe,
His Majesty spreads all over the earth,
A carpet of downy snow.
 
Fine mirrors the King delights in:
None are finer than Jack can make:
And in matchless sheets of crystal clear
He lays them on river and lake. 
 
The trees, all naked and drear,
He robes in the purest white,
And with icicles shining with rainbow hues,
He makes their branches bright.  

These wonders wrought in a single night
May well excite surprise;
 Amazed is the sun when he returns at dawn,
And he stares with all his eyes. 
 
Then out come all the boys and girls,
Jack's handiwork to view,
And their noses and cheeks turn red with cold,
Some of them even turn blue.  

They pelt each other with snow,
 Roll it up in a mighty ball,
And shout and laugh and scamper about,
And heels over head they fall. 
 
King Winter laughs at the fun,
Cries "Bravo!" and claps his hands,
And calling for his man, Jack Frost,
He smiles upon the land.    

Again Mamma smiles on her darlings,
They run to her, kiss her, and say:
"Thank you Mama for that wonderful tale,
We hope King Winter will stay!"  

Scripture Verse:
The Weekly 24 Family Ways Verse (repeated from Breakfast)
Celebrate the Gospels – Use these books to prepare for next Sunday’s Mass

Catechism:
My Big Book of Catholic Bible Stories – one chapter
For Heavens Sake  
Treasure and Tradition-The Ultimate Guide to the Latin Mass (Lisa Bergman) A fantastic book we use for Latin Mass but it has so much explanation for why things are done this way
Stepping Stones to bigger faith for little Children

Stories/Books:
Enchanters End Game
The Festival of Stones- Autumn and Winter stories
Any seasonal or liturgical stories that may fit in with the day

Closing Verse:
Birds in the air (link thumbs together, mime birds flying in the sky)
Stones on the land (make fists and place on the ground)
Fish in the water (hands together, miming fish swimming)
I am in God’s hands (hands together like a cup, (then cup the childrens hands in mine and give them a kiss)
and snuff out the candle.

Or
My heart swells in joyfulness. (Hands crossed over heart)
My spirit dwells in peace. (Hands upraised above head)
My body rests in quietness. (Hands at side)
Our circle time has ended. (Hold hands and be still for a moment)
And snuff out candle

Game:
'Ticka Tacky
Nicky Nacky Nu
Dear little sultana where are you?'

Quiet Time (or bedtime)Verse:
Now the sun has gone to bed,
The stars are shining overhead.
In their nests the birds all sleep,
Into their homes the snails will creep.
Children now no more will roam,
 It’s rest time now and we’re safe in our home.

Come to bed my little lamb,
The time for play is gone,
The Sleep Night Queen beckons us to bed
So put your jammies on I can hear her gentle voice,
Come on now sleepy-head,
I've some happy dreams for you,
When you're safe in bed
 Blessings,
 

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