“We are all joined in a circle of stories.” – Linda Joy Myers
The human mind – to all observers – presents a remarkable biological phenomenon, the site of thought, learning, and intelligence encased in the cranium. It remains a subject of ongoing scientific investigations and has enthralled generations with its power, capabilities, and potential. By all accounts, the human mind can be trained and conditioned at various points of human lifespans, and early education presents an opportune window to train young minds through circle time discussion. This is essentially an educational/training device that finds incorporation in crèche routines and activities; it is also known as group time and “refers to any time that a group of people, usually young children, are sitting together for an activity involving everyone. Circle time provides a time for listening, developing attention spans, promoting oral communication, and learning new concepts and skills.” Hence, educators and teachers can invest in designing various structures and editions of circle time discussion using connected diagrams, such as flowcharts.
- Benefits of Circle Time
Observers note that circle time discussion offers “fantastic ways to improve communication skills between classmates and build relationships between students by finding common ground and learning more about each other.” Readers may view this as a form of recreational activity, a method that promotes bonding among early learners, and an educational technique that assists young minds to gain familiarity with their immediate environments. Therefore, designing activities such as singing rhymes and reciting poetry as the primary themes etched in flow-based diagrams, would prove effective. The value of such planning gains heft when teachers/educators design multiple versions of circle time discussion appended to timelines built into school hours. In addition, the illustration may indicate the participation of teachers as initiators and facilitators of such activities.
- Participation is Key
The active participation of students remains a central aspect that ensures success in circle time discussions. Bearing this in mind, it would help to devise connected diagrams that portray a multitude of learners attending said activity; students from different grades of Kindergarten can come together to ensure lively discussions. Teachers, on their part, may participate as moderators that steer group activities and spur discussions at various points of such routines. Therefore, flowcharts can serve as key enablers in the conduct of circle time discussion; these diagrams can also empower teachers to fashion innovative techniques of communication – in the form of oral-centric games built into these routines. Subsequent versions of the connected diagram can help trainers/educators to record their observations and comments. These records may help refine the structures and content of the subsequent activity.
- Expanding Scope of Activity
Certain forms of physical activity – when incorporated into circle time discussion – can amplify outcomes. Teachers and educators may incorporate elements of play, such as locomotion in circles, into discussion activities. The hop-skip-and-jump routine can also be included, thereby attracting young children to join and participate in discussions. Readers may view physical activity as an enabler, promoting friendship among children through shared activity. These ideas can be etched pictorially within the spaces of flowcharts, allowing interesting techniques of early education to take shape. These etchings can include hand-drawn illustrations, graphics, text, and commentary on outcomes. This theme can enhance the idea of circle time discussion to include tiered activities and other forms of shared participation among multiple groups of children pursuing early educational attainments.
- Developing Myriad Talents
Basic musical instruments, sing-a-song sessions, and rendering musical compositions in pairs – these activities can enrich the quality of performances in circle time discussion. In tune with this, readers may design flowcharts to depict these activities within discussions; small segments of flowcharts can be grouped to denote different stages of circle time discussion. This technique allows clear visibility into the range of activities, allows teachers to plan phases of activity, and marks a record of the various aspects built into circle time discussion. Lines of improvisation could be included in the diagrams, allowing for a flexible structure to take shape. The subsequent surveys of illustrations could enable school administrators and policymakers to appreciate the expanse of such activities and their impact on the growth of early learners.
- Importance of Oral Narratives
The art of story-telling represents a shared heritage of humankind – hence, it stands to reason to include exercises in simple narration in the structure of circle time discussion. In this instance, young minds may volunteer (or be encouraged) to narrate short stories they have learned in classrooms, or from grandparents. Story-telling encourages children to communicate with groups of peers, practice their presentation skills, build elements of suspense into oral narratives, interact with the human components in school environments, etc. A flowchart can help teachers envisage the rhythms and flows of such activities, enabling young children to develop skills beyond textbooks. Diagrams can also be instrumental in encouraging children to co-author oral narratives for the benefit of the group. Story-telling can also enrich the quality of circle time discussion, encouraging children to participate in informal group activities.
- Queries Boost Levels of Engagement
Versions of the diagrams described above can be interspersed with additional lines of activity – such as asking questions to expand the existing scope of circle time discussion. Questions can spur mental activities in children, encourage them to respond to the human elements in environments, and encourage them to think on their own. For instance, groups of children listening to an oral narrative can ask questions on the color of flowers, animals, and shapes that may find mentioned in narratives. This stance encourages learning activity and allows for greater interactions between learners and peers. Additionally, the circle time discussion may feature an activity wherein, individual learners generate multiple answers to questions. This promotes a greater degree of cooperation among young minds, allowing them to acquire skill sets that can sharpen their minds and make them receptive to future learning.
- In Conclusion
These explorations of circle time discussion spotlight the utility of deploying connected diagrams in devising methods of early education. Readers, educators, teachers, and instructors could develop different activities – and fashion the structures therein – through the agency of flowcharts. These individuals could also embark on voyages of collective ideation with connected diagrams; for instance, they may work to elevate the quality of circle time exercises through innovation and implementation of interesting departures from convention. The different days of each week could contain a new variation in these exercises; this stance allows young learners to acquaint themselves with a variety of collective learning and participatory activities.
Further, inputs from experts and specialists in education could diversify the structure and contents of circle time discussion. These inputs may recommend the inclusion of school curricula designed for the attention of early learners. In this scenario, the circle time serves as a learning platform, the full structure of which could find a detailed description in diagrams. Teachers and instructors, on their part, may develop multiple modes of instruction to guide circle time activities to fruition. The flowchart could prove instrumental in such development, enabling subsidiary projects of upgrading the nature and expanse of such initiatives. Flowcharts could also provide the visual canvas for converging the structures of different projects or experiments. In enabling such scenarios, flowcharts can fuel growth in current models and methods of early education.