A Teacher’s Perspective: First Day Circle Routines for Montessori Elementary
The first day of school is very exciting for both students and teachers. I always look forward to the first day when I am able to greet students and establish our routines and expectations. As the students arrive, I invite a returning student to give the new students a tour of the environment. They show the new students where to put backpacks, coats, lunch boxes, etc. and where they will find things such as pencils and erasers. Once all the students have arrived, I begin our time together with a circle. To start, I light the peace candle. As this is the first circle of the year, I explain the candle’s purpose to the students. I tell them that we light the peace candle at the beginning of circle time to signify peace and reverence. This means that there should only be one person speaking at a time and we show respect to the speaker by sitting silently and respectfully. Then, I ask the students to brainstorm other expectations for our circle times. Circle Time Routines and Expectations ...