Grades: all grade levels welcome
Schedule: listed under each program below
Welcome to Circle Time, a series of 30-minute routine-based sessions, where we will sing songs and read stories while students participate virtually in the comfort and familiarity of their homes and/or schools. Circle Time programs have been created to support students with visual impairments, complex communication needs (CCN), and additional exceptionalities. Strategies for this include reducing visual complexity, providing visual contrast, embedding a variety of communication tools, and using appropriate instructional approaches.
Circle Time is designed to maximize flexibility in terms of scheduling and opportunity for participation. Participants will have opportunities to actively engage - they may take turns to say hello/goodbye, share their weather, identify the day of the week, and show & share objects that are important to them. Circle Time can also function well as a completely receptive activity for students. Students/school teams are encouraged to participate at their own comfort levels.
Students who attend the Early Birds Gang, the Leaping Lobster Club, and Camp Barracuda will be introduced to a core group of songs, activities, and stories, allowing them to build understanding and familiarity, to anticipate what is happening next, understand expectations, and build participation over time. The activities, songs, and stories are designed to be beneficial to support developing visual behaviors, promote movement, support concept development, literacy, and communication skills.
Circle Time - Early Birds Gang
The Early Birds Gang will have songs and stories geared towards a younger audience. Here is a sample agenda: Hello Song/Good Morning Song; Days of the Week; Weather Song (a shorter, simpler version than the other two groups), Peek-a-Boo game, show and share (e.g., lights, switch toy), short stories/nursery rhymes, Goodbye Song. Samples of activities and songs include: The Peek-a-Boo game, 5 Little Ducks/Frogs, Nursery Rhymes, short stories, Weather Song, What’s That Sound, and movement songs.
Schedule:
Monday – Thursday 8:45am-9:15am (AST)
Circle Time - Leaping Lobster Club
In the LLC, we will sing and talk about the days of the week, weather, and seasons. Additionally, we will sing songs, read stories, and do activities about letters and numbers, friendship, and routines.
Schedule:
Monday – Thursday 9:30am-10:00am (AST)
Circle Time - Camp Barracuda
In CB, the group will follow the same routine as the Leaping Lobster Club, with the Hello Song, Days of the Week and so forth. The songs and stories tend to be slightly longer. For example, Robert Munsch books, and camp songs that repeat longer lines (e.g., Herman the Worm).
Schedule:
Monday – Thursday 10:15am-10:45am (AST)
Circle Time programs consist of daily 30-minute sessions offered 4 days per week (Monday-Thursday). The three literacy focused groups (Early Birds Gang, the Leaping Lobster Club, and Camp Barracuda) will have slightly different content, however, the sequence, format, and routines will be similar. Registration for Circle Time makes it possible for students to join any of the scheduled programs. This allows for more flexibility as students may choose to join different groups/times, according to their preferences and school schedules on that day.