1. Listening through Circle Time: Workshop
Dr Hannah Mortimer
Educational Psychologist

2. Time to play! In this Workshop we will:
Think about how we can adapt a regular circle time to focus on ‘Listening’
Have a go at planning a session and practising some activities

3. How Circle time can help Children’s Self-esteem and self-confidence
Learning to recognise, name and describe feelings
Learning to understand others’ feelings
Learning to manage one’s own feelings
Learning to talk about feelings and be a good listener
Learning to set goals and solve problems

4. What happens in circle time?
Awareness – knowing who I am – and that I can be listened to
Mastery – knowing what I can do – listening and communicating
Social interaction – knowing how I function in the world of others
Adapted from Ballard (1982)

5. The power of the circle Sharing – listening and being listened to
We all matter – and can all be listened to
Eye contact
Relating individually and listening to each child in a large group
Being able to see how each child responds
Giving the children models of success

6. Starting out Getting into the circle Establishing rules Warming up
Signing on
The filling in the sandwich
Signing off

7. Getting into the circle
Share with your neighbour your best ‘tricks of the trade’ for getting the children into a circle ready for circle time

8. Establishing rules Teach turn-taking Teach looking skills
Teach listening skills
In circle time we take turns, watch each other and listen to each other
We respect and value what each one has to say

9. Tricks of the trade The talking bear Sentence completion
Supporting younger children or those with additional needs: e.g. musical interaction
Relationship play
Puppets and persona dolls
Props, photos and shared ‘talking points’

10. A musical circle time: a possible structure
Warm up and greeting song
Action rhymes
Looking and listening game
Talk time
Band time
Marching
Goodbye song

11. Your turn
Within this structure, plan one activity that will allow you to tune into and ‘listen’ to a child/group of children, based on everything we have covered today
And one to teach listening skills

12. And to finish
Be ready to share your activities with Hannah so that she can build them into a final Musical Listening Circle
Any problems with this (or need for back-up) – please let Hannah know
Have fun!