It must be tummy time!

As we gather around our big blue carpet for various large group time activities, I always ask my students to find a spot on the edge of the carpet and then have a seat on their bottoms. But on most days, especially in my three and four year old classroom, large group time (or circle time) often turns into tummy time…

As the children start to inch their way up closer to me while I am reading a book…

Or reposition themselves from their bottom to their knees…

Or begin to shift where they are sitting to get a better view…

Or begin to find a relaxed position on their tummy…

I just keep going. If the children’s natural changes in position are not upsetting the flow of our conversation, becoming a major distraction to our story, or derailing our group time activity then I don’t want to stop the flow, create a major distraction, or  derail the group time activity either…

But there are times we all need to take a step back and start over but once again, the children naturally begin finding a position or a spot that is most comfortable for them and it doesn’t take long before they all move in closer to me…

I want my group times (both large and small) to be all about building community and in my mind, building community is all about being close together, being engaged in the process, being aware of each other as needed, and making any necessary adjustments as we go along…

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