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Virtual field trips allow us to take our students on adventures we never thought possible. We can take our students under the ocean, across the globe and

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David Engle's Pirate School: Virtual Field Trip

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CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website

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Virtual Tours and Activities

Dinosaur State Park - Virtual Tour Series - Exhibit Center Tour

Take a virtual field trip to see some of the amazing exhibits at Dinosaur State Park's visitor center - without having to travel to the center. Feel the excitement of this virtual tour hosted in Google Street View. Move around and zoom in to a favorite exhibit or look for something new you may not have noticed on a previous trip. On this virtual field trip, immerse yourself in the experience of walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs on the 200 million year old trackway - an adventure not typically open to the public.

Dinosaur State Park - Virtual Tour Series - Otozoum Activity 1 - The Mystery of the Otozoum

Have you ever seen an Otozoum track? These are the footprints of toe-walking dinosaurs and they can be seen on this one-of-a-kind virtual tour. Along with its main trackway of 200 million year old footprints, Dinosaur State Park has many other awesome trace fossils (fossils not made of body parts like bones or teeth). In this activity, investigate one of our favorite artifacts, the Otozoum rock slab. This rock slab was discovered in Portland, CT during the late 1800's and has been on display to the public for over 124 years at various museums in Connecticut. These features were discovered just a few years ago. . . which means that they were discovered by accident after more than 100 years of research! Can you figure out what these features are? What do you notice about the size or shape? Get ready to solve the mystery and visit the link above to help scientists figure out what these mysterious features may be!
Don your virtual science lab coat and find your science notebook to get ready to explore the same features that researchers are currently investigating through an interactive, high-resolution, 3D computer model of the slab.
Dinosaur State Park - Virtual Tour Series - Otozoum Activity 2- The Mystery of the Tiny Tracks

In Activity 1 we looked at some very small tracks at section 1 in our interactive 3D computer model of the rock slab found in Portland, CT in the late 1800s. These tracks located at section 1 could be made by a hopping mammal approximately 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic!

During your investigations, did you notice that large scrape between the two right most otozoum tracks? This feature is located at sections 3 and 5 in the 3D computer model. This activity will investigate that mysterious feature. So let's break out your science notebook and start our exploration!
Dinosaur State Park - GeoScience Activity Series - Geologic Timeline 1 - Time Travel Across Earth's Floor
Through interactive online games and activities, learn how the surface of the Earth has changed through time, and how plate tectonics form, destroy, and shape our world. With the Tectonic Plate simulator try you skill at making mountains, volcanic islands, and other awesome plate boundary features!
Dinosaur State Park - GeoScience Activity Series - Geologic Timeline 2 - Awesome Events and Explosions
After completing the online games of "Time Travel across Earth's Floor", test your knowledge of plate boundaries and awesome events that occur at those special places. Investigate volcano structure by making your own lava flows!
Dinosaur State Park - GeoScience Activity Series - Fossil Matching Game
Dinosaur State Park has a collection of fossils not often viewable to our visitors. In this fossil matching game, we have pulled out of our vault some of our most interesting fossils to share with you! As we know, fossils are more than just designs and patterns in rocks, they were once living creatures that lived in various climates and environments. So . . . are you ready to travel back in time to match the fossil to the animal it came from and the environment in which it lived?

Matching Game Directions:

1. Download and print the document.

2. Cut each item out.

3. Match the fossils with the reconstructed organism.

4. Then match the organism with its paleoenvironment.

5. Look up a few facts of your favorite fossil and share on our Facebook page!

Check your answers in the Matching Game Answer Key

Dinosaur State Park - Fossil Discoveries
Cambrian Period
Join Kira as she looks at a few fossils from the Cambrian Period that she found in Dinosaur State Park collections. She also discusses one of the top predators of the time. . . . you may be surprised by what it is!
Devonian Oceans
Take a trip back in time and learn a little about earth's ancient oceans during the Devonian period! Kira, a Naturalist at Dinosaur State Park, shares two amazing fossil from the their vault! Both fossils are from the Devonian period and are not normally available to view by visitors. This special presentation is the first in a series of videos to highlight other very special fossils at Dinosaur State Park.
Carboniferous Period
Kira brings out two fossils from the Carboniferious period. Similar modern relatives of the plants that made the first fossil can be seen around the wetland at Dinosaur State Park!
Early Jurassic - Part 1
Join Kira as she discusses the fossil that made Dinosaur State Park famous as well as the time period in which they were made. We have so many fossils that we needed to split the videos into two parts!
Early Jurassic - Part 2
This is Part 2 of the Early Jurassic series. Kira reveals what dinosaurs likely made some of the tracks we have at the Park.
DinoBites at Dinosaur State Park-Was T.Rex Really King of the Dinosaurs?
Was T.Rex really king of the Dinosaurs? Join Kira as she discusses who this dinosaur really was.

DinoBites at Dinosaur State Park-What Can Dinosaur Tracks Tell Us?
The tracks at Dinosaur State Park can tell us more than just what dinosaurs roamed CT in ancient times. Grab a plate full of sand and your favorite dinosaur toy and get ready to explore with Kate as we take a look at these tracks and try to answer the question "What Can Dinosaur Tracks Tell Us?" on this episode of DinoBites!
DinoBites at Dinosaur State Park-Mary Anning
With March being Women's History month, we decided to do our video on Mary Anning! Join Kira as she discusses who Mary Anning was and how her amazing discoveries affected our understanding of ancient life!
Content Last Updated October 2022

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CT.gov - Connecticut's Official State Website

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Virtual Tours and Activities

Dinosaur State Park - Virtual Tour Series - Exhibit Center Tour

Take a virtual field trip to see some of the amazing exhibits at Dinosaur State Park's visitor center - without having to travel to the center. Feel the excitement of this virtual tour hosted in Google Street View. Move around and zoom in to a favorite exhibit or look for something new you may not have noticed on a previous trip. On this virtual field trip, immerse yourself in the experience of walking in the footsteps of dinosaurs on the 200 million year old trackway - an adventure not typically open to the public.

Dinosaur State Park - Virtual Tour Series - Otozoum Activity 1 - The Mystery of the Otozoum

Have you ever seen an Otozoum track? These are the footprints of toe-walking dinosaurs and they can be seen on this one-of-a-kind virtual tour. Along with its main trackway of 200 million year old footprints, Dinosaur State Park has many other awesome trace fossils (fossils not made of body parts like bones or teeth). In this activity, investigate one of our favorite artifacts, the Otozoum rock slab. This rock slab was discovered in Portland, CT during the late 1800's and has been on display to the public for over 124 years at various museums in Connecticut. These features were discovered just a few years ago. . . which means that they were discovered by accident after more than 100 years of research! Can you figure out what these features are? What do you notice about the size or shape? Get ready to solve the mystery and visit the link above to help scientists figure out what these mysterious features may be!
Don your virtual science lab coat and find your science notebook to get ready to explore the same features that researchers are currently investigating through an interactive, high-resolution, 3D computer model of the slab.
Dinosaur State Park - Virtual Tour Series - Otozoum Activity 2- The Mystery of the Tiny Tracks

In Activity 1 we looked at some very small tracks at section 1 in our interactive 3D computer model of the rock slab found in Portland, CT in the late 1800s. These tracks located at section 1 could be made by a hopping mammal approximately 200 million years ago during the Early Jurassic!

During your investigations, did you notice that large scrape between the two right most otozoum tracks? This feature is located at sections 3 and 5 in the 3D computer model. This activity will investigate that mysterious feature. So let's break out your science notebook and start our exploration!
Dinosaur State Park - GeoScience Activity Series - Geologic Timeline 1 - Time Travel Across Earth's Floor
Through interactive online games and activities, learn how the surface of the Earth has changed through time, and how plate tectonics form, destroy, and shape our world. With the Tectonic Plate simulator try you skill at making mountains, volcanic islands, and other awesome plate boundary features!
Dinosaur State Park - GeoScience Activity Series - Geologic Timeline 2 - Awesome Events and Explosions
After completing the online games of "Time Travel across Earth's Floor", test your knowledge of plate boundaries and awesome events that occur at those special places. Investigate volcano structure by making your own lava flows!
Dinosaur State Park - GeoScience Activity Series - Fossil Matching Game
Dinosaur State Park has a collection of fossils not often viewable to our visitors. In this fossil matching game, we have pulled out of our vault some of our most interesting fossils to share with you! As we know, fossils are more than just designs and patterns in rocks, they were once living creatures that lived in various climates and environments. So . . . are you ready to travel back in time to match the fossil to the animal it came from and the environment in which it lived?

Matching Game Directions:

1. Download and print the document.

2. Cut each item out.

3. Match the fossils with the reconstructed organism.

4. Then match the organism with its paleoenvironment.

5. Look up a few facts of your favorite fossil and share on our Facebook page!

Check your answers in the Matching Game Answer Key

Dinosaur State Park - Fossil Discoveries
Cambrian Period
Join Kira as she looks at a few fossils from the Cambrian Period that she found in Dinosaur State Park collections. She also discusses one of the top predators of the time. . . . you may be surprised by what it is!
Devonian Oceans
Take a trip back in time and learn a little about earth's ancient oceans during the Devonian period! Kira, a Naturalist at Dinosaur State Park, shares two amazing fossil from the their vault! Both fossils are from the Devonian period and are not normally available to view by visitors. This special presentation is the first in a series of videos to highlight other very special fossils at Dinosaur State Park.
Carboniferous Period
Kira brings out two fossils from the Carboniferious period. Similar modern relatives of the plants that made the first fossil can be seen around the wetland at Dinosaur State Park!
Early Jurassic - Part 1
Join Kira as she discusses the fossil that made Dinosaur State Park famous as well as the time period in which they were made. We have so many fossils that we needed to split the videos into two parts!
Early Jurassic - Part 2
This is Part 2 of the Early Jurassic series. Kira reveals what dinosaurs likely made some of the tracks we have at the Park.
DinoBites at Dinosaur State Park-Was T.Rex Really King of the Dinosaurs?
Was T.Rex really king of the Dinosaurs? Join Kira as she discusses who this dinosaur really was.

DinoBites at Dinosaur State Park-What Can Dinosaur Tracks Tell Us?
The tracks at Dinosaur State Park can tell us more than just what dinosaurs roamed CT in ancient times. Grab a plate full of sand and your favorite dinosaur toy and get ready to explore with Kate as we take a look at these tracks and try to answer the question "What Can Dinosaur Tracks Tell Us?" on this episode of DinoBites!
DinoBites at Dinosaur State Park-Mary Anning
With March being Women's History month, we decided to do our video on Mary Anning! Join Kira as she discusses who Mary Anning was and how her amazing discoveries affected our understanding of ancient life!
Content Last Updated October 2022

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Virtual Field Trips for Elementary | Classroom Resources Folder from PBS LearningMedia

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Inspire your students with thousands of free teaching resources including videos, lesson plans, and games aligned to state and national standards.

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Written by: Krys Warstillo

Indoor recess, am I right? As a teacher, those two words either make you groan or smile. If you take a look at the comments in our Facebook Groups it seems like most teachers are on the groan side of the spectrum. No matter how you feel, having indoor recess plans is necessary - and depending on where you live - can be something you have to think about for months out of the year. So here's a list of 11 fun indoor recess ideas broken up into two categories (student-led & teacher-led) to make your life a little easier:

Student-Led Indoor Recess Ideas

For this list, I'm going to categorize an activity as student-led if you can sit down and enjoy a cup of coffee or catch up on a few emails while your students are engaged in an activity.

1. Cup Stacking

There are a ton of fantastic indoor recess toys and games you can buy but honestly, it can add up quickly. That's why this is the first tip on this list. All you need is one of those big packs of party cups. You can grab about 100 of them for less than $10! There are some great videos teaching kids what speed stacking is and if you want to get fancy you buy official stacking sets. However, in my experience students just like building castles and walls and forts and any other structure! So cheap, simple, and open-ended.

2. Free Art Time

All classes have those kids that just like drawing or coloring and when given the opportunity to do something artistic they jump at it. I've found using indoor recess as free art time makes a lot of my students happy. Try using:

Coloring Books - cheap coloring books can be found at places like Dollar Tree or you can find free-to-print pages online

Minibooks (my students love making these)

Watercolors - these can be messy but with good procedures in place I've found them to be a wonderful indoor recess activity

Directed Drawings - printable pages with step-by-step direction make these easy for students to complete independently or you can project the videos included in the bundle to make it a whole class activity.

3. Indoor Recess Ideas - Building Toys

Most experienced teachers have baskets or buckets of "indoor recess" toys. If you're looking to add more to their collection or if you're just starting a collection of your own try these:

Keva Planks- These are basically simple wooden building blocks that students can use to build whatever they want.

Legos- They're an old standby for a reason. Kids love them. If you don't feel like spending a lot on Lego sets you can buy off-brand sets at Dollar Tree or Amazon or search your local Buy Nothing group for parents who are ready to let them go!

Magnatiles- These are so cool! Translucent plastic blocks with magnetic edges that kids can use to build rainbow-colored masterpieces. They can be expensive but are sturdy and long-lasting.

Tinker Toys, K'Nex, Straw & Connectors- All of these are wonderful building toys that keep your kids busy and using those engineering brains!

4. Math Manipulatives

If your students are anything like mine, the phrase "these are tools, not toys" is often repeated during math instruction. Rulers become helicopters, unifix cubes become swords, metric weight sets become cities, and pattern blocks become mosaics. It's cute but not on-task behavior. This is why students in my class are offered the chance to explore math manipulatives in a creative way during indoor recess. If it happens during lessons I can always say, "you can do that during our next indoor recess but for now, let's stay focused."

5. Desk Drumming

This activity comes highly recommended by a lot of teachers in our Facebook community. All you need is some pool noodles and the ability to project videos for your class. There are tons of playlists of videos on YouTube dedicated to cardio desk drumming. Check out these routines created by Mr. Hamilton PE or watch the video below for a sample. It's so fun and gets the kids moving while you get the chance to sit back and take a break.

6. Dance Videos

If you haven't had the chance to try out the GoNoodle Indoor Recess videos, take a look. If you're feeling a little burned out on GoNoodle videos there are a lot of great dance routines for kids on YouTube. The GoNoodle videos are great because they're a mixture of smaller videos in compilations of different lengths. This makes it easy to select one that is the length of your recess.

Teacher-Led Indoor Recess Ideas

For this part of the list, you'll need to be a little more involved. This means you'll be the one running the activity or you'll just need to be up and monitoring your students to make sure everything stays indoor friendly. There are a lot of classic teacher-led activities like Four Corners and Heads Up, Seven Up that are wonderful but aren't on this list because most of us already have the rules of those games burned into our brains from childhood. (Hey! Stop peeking at people's shoes!)

7. Hide The Flag

This was a Facebook recommendation from Jen T. It sounds so fun and costs nothing!

"You just need a small strip of fabric. One student gets to hide it somewhere in the room making sure that a small piece is showing for students to see. The other students have their heads down during that time. When the student is done hiding it they step away from the location they hid it, and then the other students open their eyes and search for it! My rule is they have to look with their eyes until they see the fabric then they can grab it! They cannot use their hands to move things out of the way. That way they aren't ripping your room apart looking for it! The flag can be anywhere in the room. The person who finds the flag gets to hide it again! If two people find it at the same time then they do Rock, Paper, Scissors for it! Everyone loves it!"

8. Night At The Museum

This game is a spin on red light, green light. One student is the museum guard. Everyone else has to pretend to be a statue in the museum. If you want, you can give them a theme for their statues. To begin the game have all the "statues" spread out and freeze. Once they've all chosen their first pose, have the museum guard walk around the classroom. Statues must remain frozen when the guard is looking at them. When the guard isn't looking they should move. If a guard catches them moving, they're out. The last statue standing wins! Ms. Goss does a great job explaining the game in a bit more detail in the video below.

9. Knockout

This is a math game but it's a game that students seem to never get tired of. You can check out Erin Water's post all about it by clicking here. Students are broken into two teams and they race to answer math questions as quickly as possible. It gives them an opportunity to move while building math fact fluency and valuable sportsmanship skills.

10. Theme Days

This suggestion comes from one of the awesome members of the Lucky Little Learners team. (thanks Lynda!) She uses theme days to keep indoor recess from getting too repetitive. Grab her slide deck here to take a look at the themes she uses in her classroom!

11. Morning Tubs

Have you heard of morning tubs? This idea is morning tubs with a twist! Have students use the hands-on intervention tubs from the Literacy & Math Intervention Kits! They think they are just playing, but teachers know better!

Indoor Recess Ideas

Too hot, too smoky, rainy, foggy, snowy, hail the size of golf balls- whatever may be the cause, indoor recess is an inevitability of school. Don't let that "rainy day schedule" announcement ruin your day! Use the ideas on this list to give your students (and YOU) new and fun ways to give those hard-working brains a break.

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Here's a list of both teacher and student-led indoor recess ideas for the elementary classroom to make life a little easier when the weather is too extreme to get outside.

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Unless you live in Norway (or northern Minnesota), where they say, "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing," chances are extreme weather will occasionally result in what is the bane of some teachers' existence: indoor recess.

And while it may throw off the regular rhythm of the day and deprive kids of much-needed running-around time, indoor recess can actually have some benefits. Playing in the classroom can help kids build social skills like teamwork, cooperation, and sharing. It can give them time for creative play and free choice (which, in the course of a regular school day, may not happen very often). And it can also teach kids to choose appropriate activities and use their time wisely.

Here are 45 fun indoor recess ideas, some new and some tried and true.

(Just a heads up, WeAreTeachers may collect a share of sales from the links on this page. We only recommend items our team loves!)

Indoor Recess Ideas-Arts & Crafts

1. Paint, color, draw.

No instructions necessary-most kids know exactly what to do with free art time. All they need is lots of paper (you can even retrieve some from the recycling bin), colored pencils, crayons, markers, and paint.

2. Bust out the Play-Doh.

Who doesn't love that squishy, funky-smelling stuff? Add fun, easy-to-find accessories like cookie cutters, letter stamps, and shape molds and watch students get busy.

3. Set up a makerspace.

The popularity of makerspaces has introduced kids to the possibilities of using a variety of everyday supplies, such as pasta, yarn, wire, paper tubes, plastic lids, and pom-poms, to create original works.

4. Fold some origami.

There are numerous books and videos that teach students the ancient art of folding paper into whimsical shapes. Have a few resources available, along with a supply of fresh paper.

5. Learn to weave.

Weaving is a simple pleasure and results in really beautiful pieces of art. Here is a simple tutorial video for weaving with yarn or string. And here is a video that teaches paper strip weaving. Once students are introduced to the process, they can do it independently, whenever they have time.

6. Make button jewelry.

One craft supply that's fun to stockpile is buttons. Buttons come in so many interesting sizes, shapes, and colors. Kids can string them into necklaces or bracelets or glue them onto paper to create colorful mosaics. Check our big list of button activities and crafts for even more ideas.

7. Try directed drawing.

Give kids who like to draw a step-by-step tutorial, and you'll be amazed at how focused they become. Check out our list of 25 free directed drawing activities! Also, visit your school library for learn-to-draw books-usually some of the most popular check-outs in their inventory.

8. Make collages.

Keep a collection of old magazines that kids can use to find and cut out images to piece together into colorful collages.

Coloring mandalas is a super relaxing activity. It can be the perfect way to reset your students' energy levels before getting back to work.

10. Layer sand art.

Have on hand a number of containers with different colored sand, empty Mason jars, and small funnels. Teach kids how to layer different colors of sand into the jars, using toothpicks to create striations, for a gorgeous take-home project.

11. Create tissue paper mosaics.

Have a healthy supply of colored tissue paper and a bottle of Elmer's glue available. Give students a piece of heavy card stock. Cut or tear small squares or random shapes from the colored tissue paper. Overlap pieces so that no white shows underneath. Designs can be random, or you can sketch out a design ahead of time and fill it in with tissue.

Indoor Recess Ideas-Physical Activity and Movement

Boomwhackers are colorful plastic tubes that are designed to make gentle musical tones when tapped against hard surfaces. Let students tap into their inner Mozart and compose their own musical arrangements.

So many teachers count on GoNoodle, specifically the indoor-recess channel, as their go-to for indoor recess. The videos are fun and engaging and get kids up and moving.

14. Practice a little yoga.

Cosmic Kids Yoga is a great source for 10- to 15-minute videos made just for kids. They use stories, music, and characters to make yoga fun.

15. Have a dance party.

Put on Dance Dance Revolution, Just Dance Kids, or any kids music channel and boogie away your recess.

16. Express yourself with a little ribbon dancing.

Use cardboard paper towel tubes and crepe paper to create ribbon sticks. Put on a little music and let kids dance to their own beat.

17. Toss around scarves.

Silky scarves are a great tool for encouraging creative movement. Kids love to dance, twirl, and juggle with them. (They're also great for creating impromptu costumes and forts.)

18. Stack cups.

Cup stacking helps develop dexterity and speed. Kids can set goals independently, work as teams, or have a little friendly competition as they practice their skills.

19. Play indoor hopscotch.

Use painter's tape to create a hopscotch grid on the carpet or tile. Substitute stones with crumpled-up paper.

20. Follow the Wellness Way.

Check out this free set of printable posters that'll get your kids up and moving. Kids can follow any of the three color-coded paths, move, recharge, and mood.

21. Play Simon Says.

Clear a corner of the classroom and play a good old-fashioned game of Simon Says. Let students take turns being the leader and encourage them to include lots of physical movement in the game.

Indoor Recess Ideas-STEM Exploration and Challenges

22. Create with colorful pipe cleaners.

For some reason, most kids are fascinated by these fuzzy, flexible art supplies! The possibilities for creating bendy sculptures are limitless-from jewelry to accessories, like hats and purses, animals shapes, and more. We've got a list of pipe cleaner activities to get you started.

23. Build popsicle-stick contraptions.

Keep a supply of large and small popsicle sticks and let kids build creative contraptions, using Play-Doh as joints.

24. Devise tower challenges.

There are so many easy-to-find materials kids can use for building towers and structures. Think straws, spaghetti, painter's tape, toothpicks, marshmallows, and Wikki Stix, to name just a few. For tower challenge ideas, check out Tinkerlab.

25. Construct with egg cartons.

All kinds of things have been built out of recycled egg cartons. (Of course, checking for egg allergies first is a must.)

26. Free build.

There is no end to the creative play kids can engage in with building sets like K'EX, Magna-Tile, LEGO, and many more. True, store-bought building supplies can be pricey. Some suggestions? Shop secondhand stores or garage sales, ask families that may have outgrown their supplies for donations, or ask for money on DonorsChoose. Check out this blog for some popular options.

27. Put together puzzles.

Puzzles help kids develop spatial reasoning, hand-eye coordination, memory, and recall. They also encourage teamwork, cooperation, and sharing.

28. Create a kinesthetic sand town.

Kinesthetic sand is a favorite with kids of all ages. Challenge a small group of students to create a small town, perhaps incorporating action figures and using paper to add in roads and signs.

Indoor Recess Ideas-Games

29. Board games

The old standby in most classrooms. Kids can't seem to get enough of board games. Check out our list of best board games for the classroom, including Guess Who, Scrabble, Blokus, and more. Tip: Keep your eye out for board games at garage sales and thrift stores.

30. Card games

Quick and easy to set up, card games are a great opportunity for kids to learn about taking turns, strategy, and following rules. Some perennial favorites: Uno, War, and Go Fish. You can also sneak in some language arts and math card games that teach kids skills while they play.

31. Checkers and Chess

Funny how these two games have stood the test of time. Here's a good video about getting to know the game of Chess by Kids Academy.

32. Beanbag toss

Here is a desktop version of Corn Hole, using disks instead of beanbags, for just $10.

33. Jenga

This fun game combines logic skills and cooperation. This mini version is a perfect fit for the classroom (and doesn't make as big of a racket when the tower falls).

34. Mancala

Mancala is one of the world's oldest games. It's easy to learn, fun to play, and super easy to make on your own. Simply use egg cartons and marbles, shells, or dried beans.

35. Minute to Win It

Create a mock-up of the popular game show. This Pinterest board has 431 pins for fun Minute to Win It challenges.

Generations of students have loved this whole-class guessing game. It's not only great for indoor recess, it's also a great time filler when you have five to 10 minutes between activities.

37. Silent Ball

Students sit on top of their desks and toss a squishy ball to other students, one at a time, around the room. The number one rule is to remain silent. If a student isn't silent, they are out and must sit on their chair or on the floor. They are out if they don't catch the ball. If they fall off the desk, they are out. You can throw in fun variations, like clap once or clap twice between tosses. You can also set rules, like no toss-backs.

Another fun whole-class game! You might have to cluster desks or tables together to make space. One player is chosen as it and stands in the middle with their eyes closed. The rest of the class is given a few seconds to choose a corner to stand in, then the person who is it calls out a number between one and four. The players in that corner have to step out of the game. Kids are encouraged to move quietly and cooperatively, as they know the student who is it is listening carefully. Play continues until there is only one student left in the game.

Indoor Recess Ideas-Old-School Favorites

39. Play Twister.

Silly, funny, and challenging, Twister is a favorite for everyone.

40. Stitch up a sewing project.

Put out scraps of fabric and needles and thread and let kids explore the lost art of sewing.

41. Introduce them to Tinker Toys and Lincoln Logs.

More building, this time with an old-school feel.

42. Spin some beautiful art with a Spirograph.

Remember those wildly colorful circles you created with the different sized discs on your Spirograph? Your students will love them as much as you did.

43. Introduce your students to Jacks.

Once a playground obsession, Jacks is a simple game that kids can play independently or with a partner. And if your students really get into it, they can even play tournament style.

44. String up a game of Cat's Cradle.

Another simple hands-on activity that's easy to teach and easy to play. All you need is a string, maybe a few YouTube tutorials, and your imagination.

45. Knit.

First, teach your students how to make simple yarn chains. Once they have developed those fine motor skills, introduce them to knitting with thick needles. Knitting is such a meditative practice; it can transform a chaotic free-for-all into a calm, cozy break.

What are your go-to indoor recess ideas? Come and share in our WeAreTeachers HELPLINE group on Facebook.

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Unless you live in Norway (or northern Minnesota), where they say, "There is no bad weather, only bad clothing," chances are extreme weather will occasionally result in what is the bane of some teachers' existence: indoor recess. And while it may throw off the regular rhythm of the day and deprive kids of much-needed running-around time, indoor recess can actually have some benefits.

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Summer Virtual Field Trips for Kids - The Educators’ Spin On It

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Get ready to explore these Summer Virtual Field Trips for Kids! Explore the ocean, amusement parks, outdoor adventures, springs and more!

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Since 2012, the American Egg Board has partnered with Discovery Education to bring modern egg farms into today's classrooms through Virtual Egg Farm Field Trips. Join America's egg farmers in exploring their farms!

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Virtual Egg Farm Field Trips - American Egg Board

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Explore egg farms around the nation with egg farmer guides. Students learn about animal care, environmental stewardship, and the complete farm ecosystem. Grade level K - 8.

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Virtual field trips are a game changer. Not only do they fill in for real field trips when budgets and other roadblocks prevent in-person options, but virtual field trips also open doors to educational experiences all over the country and the world, both past and present. No fundraising or permission slips required!

(Note: For anyone who needs it, YouTube offers a closed-captioning option. Just click the CC button in the bottom right-hand corner.)

Amazon Career Tours are free virtual field trips that inspire students to pursue careers of the future. Tour whenever, wherever on Kahoot! Each tour comes with a Teacher Toolkit that includes a facilitation guide and student worksheets.

2. The Zoo

There are so many amazing online options when it comes to zoos that we couldn't narrow it down to just one. Most zoos have live webcams in some of their most popular exhibits, such as the KC Zoo Polar Bear Cam and the Giant Panda Cam at Smithsonian's National Zoo. However, some zoos offer a more in-depth look. You'll definitely want to check out the San Diego Zoo as their site for kids includes behind-the-scenes videos and stories, as well as a variety of printable activities and online games. Check out our full list of virtual zoo goodness.

3. The Aquarium

It's a similar story with aquariums. You have your pick of live webcams, but our favorites are the Georgia Aquarium's Ocean Voyager webcam (wait for the whale shark!) and the "Jelly Cam" at Monterey Bay Aquarium (so soothing). The Seattle Aquarium even has a 30-minute video tour. Want more under-the-sea fun? Here's our ultimate list of virtual aquarium field trips.

4. The Farm

The classic preschool field trip goes online! You can have your pick of dairy farm field trips, but we like this one from the Dairy Alliance and this one from Stonyfield Organic. Farm Food 360 gives students the opportunity to immerse themselves in Canadian farm and food tours-from raising pigs to making milk and cheese. We're also loving these virtual egg farm field trips from the American Egg Board.

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5. An Art Museum

We found 20 art museums with virtual tours, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art's # MetKids and its awesome Where's Waldo? setup. And you can't miss the world-famous Louvre in Paris (no passport needed!). Check out the current virtual tours: Traveling Materials and Objects, the Advent of the Artist, the Body in Movement, and Founding Myths: From Hercules to Darth Vader!

6. A National Park

From webcams at Hawaii volcanoes to a virtual run along the rim of the Grand Canyon, you have tons of options here. Our top pick would have to be Yellowstone. The interactive maps are a great way to see the Mammoth Hot Springs and Mud Volcano, but we think kids will be psyched about the Old Faithful Geyser livestream and the opportunity to make their own predictions for its next eruption. Check out everything the National Park Service has to offer virtually.

7. A Planetarium

Through Stellarium Web, kids can explore over 60,000 stars, locate planets, and watch sunrises and solar eclipses. If you enter your location, you can see all the constellations that are visible in the night sky in your corner of the world.

Take your students on a virtual field trip of a recycling center and a modern landfill. Plus, there's a full-on curriculum that includes lesson plans, take-home handouts, and more.

Nickelodeon teamed up with two astronauts on the International Space Station to demonstrate how slime reacts to microgravity and had kids reproduce those same demonstrations back here on Earth. It makes for an amazing 15-minute virtual field trip.

The Nature Conservancy has a brand-new virtual field trip entitled "You're the Scientist! Citizen Science, Frogs & Cicadas." Check out their full library of videos on topics like climate change and water security.

Discovery Education hosts a variety of virtual events -each with a companion guide with hands-on learning activities. Current offerings include "Making a New Life: The Courage of a Refugee" and "The Future Is Now" (architectural and engineering innovations). Stay tuned for their upcoming civics virtual field trip, "The American Ideal."

This virtual field trip from Great Lakes Now has three components: coastal wetlands, algae, and lake sturgeon. Each video is a quick five minutes long.

Explore online exhibits and discover the history and evolution of play. Check out board games that changed play, sports video games that shaped digital play, and the making of Monopoly to name a few.

Kids can learn about the most recent Census and how census data is collected and used. This virtual field trip also features interviews with subject matter experts and an interactive challenge.

The "Museum of We the People," the Constitution Center serves as a "headquarters for civic education." Check out the Interactive Constitution section, and be sure to watch the virtual tour.

Houston, we have a virtual field trip. Three, actually. All with companion educator guides. The star of the show is the behind-the-scenes tour of the Johnson Space Center.

Boise State put together this fully interactive virtual field trip with text, photos, audio, and video about the history of music. The four featured music locations are: Vienna, Austria; New Orleans, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; and Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia.

This living-history museum provides a look into life in an early American community. The website offers five different webcams featuring areas such as the tavern and the armory.

This virtual experience of George Washington's home is incredibly well done. Enter the different buildings-from the opulent mansion to the chilling slave quarters-and click on different items for video and text explanations.

This virtual tour comes with a real tour guide! Blaine Kortemeyer is the Assistant Chief of Interpretation and Education, who lends his expertise on the building of this national monument. The 3D Explorer is also an excellent tool.

Take a visit to the National WWII Museum for "a cross-country virtual expedition to discover the science, sites, and stories of the creation of the atomic bomb." Don't forget to download the classroom guide!

For a look inside the iconic building, check out the 360° tour of some of the most historic rooms of the People's House, from the Situation Room to the Oval Office. Examine each room and check out the contents up close.

The National Museum of Natural History's virtual experiences are self-guided, room-by-room tours of permanent, current, and past exhibits. Be sure to send kids to the second floor Bone Hall so they can take a look at all different kinds of skeletons.

A collaboration with over 1,200 leading museums and archives, Google Arts & Culture is an incredible storehouse of monumental works of art. We recommend the Street View and Play sections.

Boasting the world's largest collection of 360° image videos, 360 Cities provides kids with the opportunity to see stunning panoramas across the globe, including their video of the ice floe on the Vistula River in Poland.

It's the official residence of the Queen of England, and boy, is it opulent! Get a peek inside the gorgeous Grand Staircase, White Drawing Room, Throne Room, and Blue Drawing Room.

See one of the wonders of the world with this amazing, thousands-year-old fortification system known the world over. This virtual tour has four scenes available (you have to pay to get access to all 14). The bird's-eye view of Mutianyu pass is a highlight.

Most of us recognize the giant stone statues of Easter Island, but what's the story behind them? Nova's online adventure "Secrets of Easter Island" delves into the mystery with a virtual tour.

National Geographic lets you explore the world's largest cave, located in Vietnam. Use the interactive map to enjoy the fully immersive experience (sound on!).

You don't need a time machine! Discovering Ancient Egypt has a ton of free resources, but it's the interactive pyramid map and 3D temple reconstructions that really give it a field trip feel.

Virtually visit Turn Back the Clock, a museum exhibit that ran for two years at the Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago. Through compelling personal stories, innovative interactive media, and pop culture artifacts, the exhibit takes guests through seven decades of history-from the dawn of the nuclear age to significant policy questions our leaders face today.

No, really! You can absolutely "go" to the red planet. With Access Mars, you can see the actual surface of Mars, recorded by NASA's Curiosity rover. Trust us-don't skip the intro. And if your kids liked that, check out this 4K tour of the moon. These may go down in history as some of the best virtual field trips your students get to experience.

Take a virtual tour of this historical battleship located on the Camden waterfront. This battleship has traveled more miles than any other!

No need to travel to Rome! Take in the amazing art and architecture located in the Vatican Museums with these 360-degree views.

Download the app and climb aboard the virtual tram line! Take a virtual walk through the Space Center Houston with informational stops along the way.

Virtually visit museum rooms in the famous Louvre located in Paris. Even check out The Louvre kids' site for student-friendly galleries and stories. You can't visit The Louvre without seeing the Mona Lisa, so check out their immersive Mona Lisa experience available in the app store.

This interactive tour of Ellis Island lets students explore places like the Baggage Room and the Stairs of Separation through short stories, historical photographs, videos, and audio clips. Students can also hear the stories of real kids who recently immigrated to the United States, explore colorful charts and graphs with immigration data, and watch a 30-minute movie that includes a Q&A with National Park Service Rangers who explain what coming to America was like for many immigrants.

38. Plimoth Patuxet Museums

Travel back to the 17th century with options for free, on-demand, digital resources or a live, 1-hour virtual school program led by a Plimoth Patuxet Contemporary Indigenous Museum Educator. Students explore Wampanoag daily life and history; discover the real history of Thanksgiving and the legend behind it; meet a 17th-century Pilgrim; get an interactive sneak peak into 17th-century wardrobes; and learn about simple machines and water power at the Plimoth Grist Mill. There are also options for virtual hands-on history workshops, including Wampanoag Pottery and Write Like a Pilgrim.

When you can't visit the museum in person, 3D virtual field trips to the Children's Museum Houston are the next best thing. All videos are produced and curated by museum educators and feature hands-on activities that can be done in the classroom. Topics include nutrition, math, states of matter, forces and properties of water, and more.

Beyond the Battle Field is a virtual field trip for grades 2-8 hosted by Lauren Tarshis, author of the I Survived historical-fiction series for kids. Students will meet a museum educator as well as the museum curator, and explore artifacts and documents from the American Revolution. Plus they'll hear the stories of teens who served during the war. There's also a Classroom Kit available with a vocabulary list and discussion questions by grade level.

If you liked this roundup of the best virtual field trips and want more resources like this, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters.

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40 Amazing Educational Virtual Field Trips

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You can't always get there in person, but lots of places will let you "visit" online. These are the best virtual field trips out there!

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Virtual Aquarium Field Trips

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Did you know that you can take aquarium virtual field trips ... across the globe ... for free? Depending on the site, you may also access supplemental programs and resources designed for students, teachers, and families. Whether you're trying to supplement your lesson plans, or just give kids something interesting to look at, these aquarium virtual tours have a lot to offer.

For a complete field trip experience, head over to Seattle Aquarium's YouTube channel. There, you'll find a Dive Buddy in full scuba gear guiding the learning experience from underwater. It doesn't get more immersive than that! And kids can learn all about the animals and food web found in the Puget Sound waters.

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The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut has put some of their most popular programs online for kids to enjoy from anywhere! With specific content based on grade level-from Kindergarten through 12th Grade-this is a fantastic resource, especially for distance learning. Unlike some of the virtual aquariums on this list, this one requires advance reservations, so be sure to plan ahead!

You'll be absolutely captivated by the Georgia Aquarium which is based in Atlanta. This vibrant virtual aquarium offers a variety of live views including the Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef Webcam, Ocean Voyager Webcam, Jelly Webcam, and more!

You might not live in California, but you can still enjoy much of what the Monterey Bay Aquarium has to offer. There are many views to enjoy including the Open Sea Cam, Monterey Bay Cam, and even a Shark Cam. And, be sure to check out the virtual aquarium's narrated feedings (check the website for details)!

Take a virtual field trip over to the nation's capital for this adventure! Located in Washington, D.C., you can navigate the National Aquarium online through a View Map and explore scenes such as Alligators, Sea Turtles, Channel Islands, American Samoa, and even the Amazon River!

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago goes above and beyond to give kids a behind-the-scenes look at aquatic life. This YouTube channel is filled with fun lessons in biology (don't miss the beluga sonogram!), environmental facts, and adorable videos. This is a fantastic resource for learning more about animals, their habitats, and our beautiful planet.

Looking for some STEM-based activities to enhance learning (and beat boredom)? The award-winning education team at the South Carolina Aquarium offers virtual visits and nature challenges that are fun for the whole family! Become a digital explorer. Discover all of the complex habitats South Carolina has to offer and the fascinating animals that call it home.

Explore Ripley's Aquariums at home and learn all about the amazing animals of our world waters! Staff educators will guide you through live feedings, educational encounters, storytime, and much more. The site offers downloadable animal activities, crafts, and educational materials for Pre-K, Elementary, and Middle School students.

For more of a structured learning experience, head over to the Aquarium of the Pacific. They've created an Online Academy that offers educational activities through on-demand videos and scheduled interactive live programs with their educators. Plus, their live online courses for K-12 kids and printable certificates is a great way to engage and reward students.

Catch a glimpse of the unique (and luxurious) offerings at the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. Choose from three different views: The Main Tank, Underwater Zoo, and Shark Week Exhibit. It's not as extensive as some of the other virtual aquariums on this list. But, it's a great way to see something new for a few minutes!

Boston's New England Aquarium has created a virtual portal for sharing live presentations, new videos, and even activities you can try from home! Interested in checking out the daily presentations? The aquarium posts them on their Facebook page every day at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, the OdySea Aquarium has developed several online portals to promote learning. Kids will be fascinated by the Shark Live Cam and sink into the Virtual OdySea Classroom where they can learn more about penguins, jellies, and more!

They say that everything's bigger in Texas, which would explain why this aquarium's virtual tours section is so extensive! You won't grow bored with all of the views they offer. Find a tunnel view of the Caribbean Sea, up-close look at the coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico, and a cam that lets viewers mingle with flamingos!

Don't live in the Chattanooga area? No problem. You can visit the Tennessee Aquarium anytime with their wonderful live cams! Check in on their gentoo and macaroni penguins, witness courtship, nest building, rearing young, and even molting. Watch river otters scampering up and down a multi-tiered landscape. Lastly, venture into the saltwater exhibit, home to thousands of colorful reef fish, toothy sharks, and a rescued green sea turtle!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q9O1YIt3oo

Perfect for winding down at the end of the day, Virtual Aquarium shares the best freshwater and marine aquariums all in one place! Plus, with relaxing sounds of the ocean, waterfalls, and rainforests, you could leave this on as a screensaver on your television for a calming backdrop throughout your day.

Did we miss one of your favorite aquarium virtual field trips? Share them with us, and we might just add it to this list!

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15 Fascinating Aquarium Virtual Field Trips

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Stuck at home? Want to supplement classroom or distance learning? Take aquarium virtual field trips without leaving your couch!

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15 Aquarium Field Trips

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Did you know that you can take aquarium virtual field trips ... across the globe ... for free? Depending on the site, you may also access supplemental programs and resources designed for students, teachers, and families. Whether you're trying to supplement your lesson plans, or just give kids something interesting to look at, these aquarium virtual tours have a lot to offer.

For a complete field trip experience, head over to Seattle Aquarium's YouTube channel. There, you'll find a Dive Buddy in full scuba gear guiding the learning experience from underwater. It doesn't get more immersive than that! And kids can learn all about the animals and food web found in the Puget Sound waters.

[contextly_auto_sidebar]

The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, Connecticut has put some of their most popular programs online for kids to enjoy from anywhere! With specific content based on grade level-from Kindergarten through 12th Grade-this is a fantastic resource, especially for distance learning. Unlike some of the virtual aquariums on this list, this one requires advance reservations, so be sure to plan ahead!

You'll be absolutely captivated by the Georgia Aquarium which is based in Atlanta. This vibrant virtual aquarium offers a variety of live views including the Indo-Pacific Barrier Reef Webcam, Ocean Voyager Webcam, Jelly Webcam, and more!

You might not live in California, but you can still enjoy much of what the Monterey Bay Aquarium has to offer. There are many views to enjoy including the Open Sea Cam, Monterey Bay Cam, and even a Shark Cam. And, be sure to check out the virtual aquarium's narrated feedings (check the website for details)!

Take a virtual field trip over to the nation's capital for this adventure! Located in Washington, D.C., you can navigate the National Aquarium online through a View Map and explore scenes such as Alligators, Sea Turtles, Channel Islands, American Samoa, and even the Amazon River!

The Shedd Aquarium in Chicago goes above and beyond to give kids a behind-the-scenes look at aquatic life. This YouTube channel is filled with fun lessons in biology (don't miss the beluga sonogram!), environmental facts, and adorable videos. This is a fantastic resource for learning more about animals, their habitats, and our beautiful planet.

Looking for some STEM-based activities to enhance learning (and beat boredom)? The award-winning education team at the South Carolina Aquarium offers virtual visits and nature challenges that are fun for the whole family! Become a digital explorer. Discover all of the complex habitats South Carolina has to offer and the fascinating animals that call it home.

Explore Ripley's Aquariums at home and learn all about the amazing animals of our world waters! Staff educators will guide you through live feedings, educational encounters, storytime, and much more. The site offers downloadable animal activities, crafts, and educational materials for Pre-K, Elementary, and Middle School students.

For more of a structured learning experience, head over to the Aquarium of the Pacific. They've created an Online Academy that offers educational activities through on-demand videos and scheduled interactive live programs with their educators. Plus, their live online courses for K-12 kids and printable certificates is a great way to engage and reward students.

Catch a glimpse of the unique (and luxurious) offerings at the Dubai Aquarium & Underwater Zoo. Choose from three different views: The Main Tank, Underwater Zoo, and Shark Week Exhibit. It's not as extensive as some of the other virtual aquariums on this list. But, it's a great way to see something new for a few minutes!

Boston's New England Aquarium has created a virtual portal for sharing live presentations, new videos, and even activities you can try from home! Interested in checking out the daily presentations? The aquarium posts them on their Facebook page every day at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.

Located in Scottsdale, Arizona, the OdySea Aquarium has developed several online portals to promote learning. Kids will be fascinated by the Shark Live Cam and sink into the Virtual OdySea Classroom where they can learn more about penguins, jellies, and more!

They say that everything's bigger in Texas, which would explain why this aquarium's virtual tours section is so extensive! You won't grow bored with all of the views they offer. Find a tunnel view of the Caribbean Sea, up-close look at the coral reef in the Gulf of Mexico, and a cam that lets viewers mingle with flamingos!

Don't live in the Chattanooga area? No problem. You can visit the Tennessee Aquarium anytime with their wonderful live cams! Check in on their gentoo and macaroni penguins, witness courtship, nest building, rearing young, and even molting. Watch river otters scampering up and down a multi-tiered landscape. Lastly, venture into the saltwater exhibit, home to thousands of colorful reef fish, toothy sharks, and a rescued green sea turtle!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9q9O1YIt3oo

Perfect for winding down at the end of the day, Virtual Aquarium shares the best freshwater and marine aquariums all in one place! Plus, with relaxing sounds of the ocean, waterfalls, and rainforests, you could leave this on as a screensaver on your television for a calming backdrop throughout your day.

Did we miss one of your favorite aquarium virtual field trips? Share them with us, and we might just add it to this list!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
15 Fascinating Aquarium Virtual Field Trips

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Stuck at home? Want to supplement classroom or distance learning? Take aquarium virtual field trips without leaving your couch!

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Georgia Aquarium

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Open Today 9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Explore Ocean Voyager Built by the Home Depot

Find out more about Ocean Voyager, one of the largest single aquatic exhibits in the world.

Voyage Deeper Into Other Aquarium Experiences

Support Georgia Aquarium

Please consider supporting the Aquarium today so we can continue delivering amazing animal experiences for everyone.

Buy Tickets

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Ocean Voyager Live Webcam | Georgia Aquarium | See Whale Sharks

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Check out the live Webcam from our Ocean Voyager gallery, built by The Home Depot. Watch our whale sharks, manta rays and thousands of other species.

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Monterey Bay Aquarium Jelly Cam

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Jelly | Live cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium

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See our breathtaking sea nettles drift and pulse.

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Monterey Bay Aquarium Jelly Cam

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Jelly | Live cam | Monterey Bay Aquarium

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See our breathtaking sea nettles drift and pulse.

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Virutal Field Trip to Georgia Aquarium

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Open Today 9:00 am - 9:00 pm

Explore Ocean Voyager Built by the Home Depot

Find out more about Ocean Voyager, one of the largest single aquatic exhibits in the world.

Voyage Deeper Into Other Aquarium Experiences

Support Georgia Aquarium

Please consider supporting the Aquarium today so we can continue delivering amazing animal experiences for everyone.

Buy Tickets

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Ocean Voyager Live Webcam | Georgia Aquarium | See Whale Sharks

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Check out the live Webcam from our Ocean Voyager gallery, built by The Home Depot. Watch our whale sharks, manta rays and thousands of other species.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Welcome

Welcome to the Tar Heel Reader, a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches. Click here to learn more about alternative access methods.

You may write your own books using pictures from the huge collection at Flickr or pictures you upload. All books should be complete, edited, and revised to the best of your ability before publishing them to the site. While you are working on them, please save them as drafts.

Note the little well icon in the upper left corner of the page; clicking it will allow you to access the main menu. You can also click the settings icon to change settings on some pages.

Your browser is unsupported. The site should work for finding and reading books but you will not have switch access or the ability to write books. We recommend that you upgrade to a modern browser or install Chrome Frame.
You are in Classic mode. You will not have access to all of the features of the site but it may work better on older computers and web browsers. Click this text to leave Classic mode.
Ready to get started?

This site is also available in other languages. To help with translation, contact us.

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Welcome to the Tar Heel Reader, a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches. Click here to learn more about alternative access methods.

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Welcome

Welcome to the Tar Heel Reader, a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches. Click here to learn more about alternative access methods.

You may write your own books using pictures from the huge collection at Flickr or pictures you upload. All books should be complete, edited, and revised to the best of your ability before publishing them to the site. While you are working on them, please save them as drafts.

Note the little well icon in the upper left corner of the page; clicking it will allow you to access the main menu. You can also click the settings icon to change settings on some pages.

Your browser is unsupported. The site should work for finding and reading books but you will not have switch access or the ability to write books. We recommend that you upgrade to a modern browser or install Chrome Frame.
You are in Classic mode. You will not have access to all of the features of the site but it may work better on older computers and web browsers. Click this text to leave Classic mode.
Ready to get started?

This site is also available in other languages. To help with translation, contact us.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Welcome to the Tar Heel Reader, a collection of free, easy-to-read, and accessible books on a wide range of topics. Each book can be speech enabled and accessed using multiple interfaces, including touch screens, the IntelliKeys with custom overlays, and 1 to 3 switches. Click here to learn more about alternative access methods.

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TextProject is the only website with student texts and teacher guides based on the science of reading-available for free download. Download our research-based, open-access resources for teachers, teacher educators, parents, tutors, and students.

TextProject is the only website with high-quality student texts and teacher guides that are all available for free download.

download-student-texts-banner

Leveled | Research-based | Open access

Vocabulary instruction through networks of words

Vocabulary instruction through networks of words

A blog and video series based on evidence from reading research

A blog and video series based on evidence from reading research

Free Classroom Materials for Teaching Reading

Classroom-proven resources including favorite books, reading passages, vocabulary lessons, word pictures, literacy lists & forms.

Free Student Texts

Free texts for reading instruction! TextProject is the sole website with free texts based on the science of reading.

For programs such as BeginningReaders and FYI for Kids, world-renowned researcher and teacher educator, Patricia Cunningham, has written lessons to accompany the texts.

Vocabulary Instruction

Vocabulary is the strongest predictor of reading comprehension. TextProject provides free resources for the four kinds of vocabulary words that contribute to reading comprehension: core, academic, content-area, and literary.

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Strategies, tools, and texts to bring beginning and struggling readers to proficient levels of literacy

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OpenSymbols is a collection of open-licensed picture symbols that can be used for augmentative communication. The collection pulls from multiple sources and currently includes access to more than 50,000 symbols and icons!

Use the search box to search for communication symbols from:

OpenSymbols exists as part of the OpenAAC Initiative to lower the barriers for AAC adoption and to make it easier for teams to create AAC resources and activities without needing to pay for proprietary symbol libraries.

If you are interested in using OpenSymbols in your project, please reach out to us! We have a documented Open API you can use to search and embed symbols in your apps or tools.

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OpenSymbols is a collection of open-licensed picture symbols that can be used for augmentative communication. The collection pulls from multiple sources and currently includes access to more than 50,000 symbols and icons!

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We think that this is a very good time to wish for peace. Above is a picture of the wreath that I made for this winter's season. Do you know this symbol? Where did it originate? Do you ever use a different symbol for peace (for instance, sideways "V"s)?

In this activity students learn about the semaphore flag symbols and how this peace symbol was first designed. They design their own symbol and try to figure out how many possibilities there are in this kind of communication.

The activity: PeaceSymbol.pdf

How should I cook my turkey? - Students judge timing, cost, tastiness, and quantity necessary as they plan for the feast. 4.MD, 5.NBT, 4.MD, 6.RP, 6.NS, 7.NS + Great video on a deep frying fire with William Shatner.

Shopping season already! - Students will be able to add some understanding and analysis to holiday shopping trips after calculating savings in dollars and percents with this timely investigation. 6.RP, 7.EE, 7.EE

Not enough mashed potatoes - Use Brian's famous mashed potatoes recipe to practice changing decimals to fractions; calculating ingredient measure for various-sized Thanksgiving servings; have students explain their reasoning; and to have students figure out how many servings 7½ pounds of potatoes would make. 5.NF, 6.RP, 7.RP

Consumers in the U.S. spend a lot of money. In this activity we look at historical data to see if there are any patterns in our spending. How does our holiday spending show up in these graphs? What accounts for spikes or drops in spending? What patterns do you notice? Which patterns will likely continue and which patterns won't? Let the class see, think, wonder and discuss in this timely activity.

Soo Yeon is a Mathematics teacher at an international school in Asia and has be an avid user of YummyMath. Formerly she was a chemical engineer and shares our intent of providing practical, relatable, and real-world contexts in teaching mathematics.

She would like to share the following with YummyMath users:

"As you know Leslie and Brian's hard work and vision of exploring math in real life contexts has been instrumental in helping students develop critical thinking, questioning skills, and a positive attitude towards Mathematics. I wholeheartedly share their vision and am dedicated to upholding their mission. Moving forward, YummyMath will continue to evolve, enhancing content and user experiences to better meet your needs both now and in the future. I understand the challenges teachers and parents face in balancing engaging activities with time management. To address this, I kindly request your input through a survey ( ) to ensure that YummyMath effectively supports your needs.

Thanks so much for your support as YummyMath starts this new chapter. "

In this activity, students work through the nomenclature to understand the possibilities of nano science and quantum dots. Questions that are answered; How many nanometers are in a millimeter? What is a semiconductor? What and why does this nano technology increase our ability to closely examine, understand and modify our tools?

The activity: Quantum-dot.pdf

On Veterans Day we honor the men and women that have served in the Armed Forces of the United States. There are now 16.2 million living veterans. We found these maps that show where veterans live in the U.S.

What do you notice and what do you wonder when seeing these maps?

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We think that this is a very good time to wish for peace. Above is a picture of the wreath that I made for this winter's season. Do you know this symbol? Where did it originate? Do you ever use a different symbol for peace (for instance, sideways "V"s)?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In preschool fun and engaging circle games can teach many crucial skills that children can then use to deepen their play. Eye contact, turn-taking, understanding emotions, and listening are all key skills in life. The benefits of short, snappy, fun circle games that really work cannot be overestimated.

However, there seem to be so many games around that don't really work that well in reality. This article presents just the games that are tried and tested, that children really 'get' quickly, the games they will ask for again and again.

These are the cream of the crop from my book - 101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work! (that you can check out here).

This book offers the very best math circle games, literacy games, physical circle times, mindfulness, circle times, and so much more! Check it out here.

So what are the best circle time games for preschool? Some excellent circle time games for preschool are:

Read on to find a detailed description of each, and really help to bring your preschool circle times to life!

1.Snowball

This game can be adapted in lots of different ways.

The idea is that you have lots of pieces of paper that all have pairs of matching pictures on. The adult just draws the pictures on themselves. For example, they could be simple pictures of shapes. You could have two separate pictures of a triangle, a square, a circle, and a pentagon etc. You need as many pictures as you have children. For example, if you have 12, you need 6 pairs of matching pictures.

The pictures could be anything. Nice easy ones are things like numbers, shapes, letters, animals, weather, or emotion faces.

Children are handed a piece of paper each. They screw it into a ball - a snowball - and throw it into the middle of the circle. Then they have to go and pick up a ball. The only rule is that they can't pick their own snowball up. They must pick up someone else's.

When they pick up their new snowball, they unscrew it and then try to find their partner. If you have an odd number of children, you will have someone without a partner, and this is normally the 'champion'!

Children develop lots of skills through this game. They have to show each other, they must look at other people, and it helps to ask.

Also they will usually have to go and stand next to a partner that is not their best friend.

2. Don't Wake The Monkey!

You don't need a monkey for this game - any puppet or teddy will work fine. I just happen to use a large monkey puppet.

Put the puppet or teddy into the middle of the circle. They are 'asleep'.

Then get either a tambourine, bells or keys. In a moment you are going to pass these around the circle as silently as possible.

Before that, though, there is a chant to all say together in a whisper. It goes like this:
Little monkey's sleeping on the ground. We must not wake him with a sound.
Then, as silently as possibly, try passing the instrument around the circle. The children have to work together, and try and get it all the way around.

Another way of playing this game, is to split into two teams. The two teams form two circles, each with their own instrument and sleeping puppet in the middle.

The two teams then battle it out, and see which one can be the quietest passing the instrument around. This is a great variation for competitive children.

3.Pass The Rhythm

This is a great game for early phonics as well as behaviour.

There are two ways of playing it, an easy way, or a slightly harder way. The harder way is generally much better for social skills and turn-taking.

In the easy form of the game, the adult makes up a quick rhythm (maybe limit them to three hits), using different parts of the body. For example, tap your head once, and then your knees twice. Everyone copies. Then do another rhythm, for example, tap your shoulders, then legs, then feet. The children copy.

When they become good at that, then you can move on to the harder version of the game. In this the children will make up their own rhythm. Start with the first child in the circle. They make up a rhythm of 3 actions, for example, tap head then shoulders then legs. The other copy. Go around the circle, taking it in turns to each have one go.

If you'd like to find out a whole lot more rhythm games, then why not check out my article the essential guide to rhythm sticks games, featuring at least 12 ideas.

4. Act The Emotion

Have three emotion cards in the middle of the circle - happy, sad, angry. You just draw a happy face, sad face and angry face on pieces of paper.

The adult goes first to show them what to do. They stand up and act out being one of these emotions. For example, if it is sad they bow their head, hunch their shoulders, mooch around and do a sad face. The children point to which emotion they think you are feeling.

Then it is their turn. One at a time a child will stand up and act out one of the emotions. The others try to guess which one it is. Talk about the body language and facial expressions.

5. Parachute Pairs

Parachute games are brilliant for young children to develop all sorts of listening and cooperation skills.

This pairs game is a nice simple one to have a go of. The idea is all everyone holds the parachute at about waist height. Then you pick two children, by saying their names. They are the two children that are going to swop places.

The idea is that the adult goes '1,2,3!' On the '3' everyone lifts the parachute up over their head as high as they can, so the chute mushrooms up in the air.

At that moment the two children run under the parachute and swop places.

Then bring the parachute down and pick the next two children. Repeat the same process.

A slightly harder version of this game is the fruit salad game. In this you give everyone a name of a fruit. Go round saying 'Apple, banana, strawberry, pear', or something like that. Have about four fruits, and give them out equally so you'll have roughly the same number of children each being an apple or a strawberry.

Then go '1,2,3!' On the 3 lift the parachute and shout a fruit name, for example 'strawberry'.

The idea is that all the strawberries will run underneath the parachute and swop places. Then repeat for other fruits.

This is a bit harder just because the children have to remember what fruit they are. For some this is an extremely tricky task.

Did you know you can also play all sorts of math and phonics games with parachutes?! Try reading my favorite 14 Parachute Math Games . Also, one of the best ways of keeping phonics exciting and engaging is by trying some of these 10 Brilliant Phonics Parachute Games.

There is also a whole chapter on the very best parachute circle time games, that you can find in my book 101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work! (which you can check out here).

6.Pass The Potato

This game is bit like pass the parcel, only you use a potato! All that is required is a potato and some music.

Put some music on and pass the potato around the circle. When the music stops, whoever is holding the potato is out and has to stand up and sit outside the circle. Continue until you have a champion.

Some children react better to being 'out' than others.

7. Wonkey Donkey!

This is a really fun game, that helps children listen to the voices of others.

One child is the Wonkey Donkey! They come and sit in the middle of the circle and put a blindfold on. They also put on either an old shirt, or an apron or a bib. Whatever you have to hand will work.

The idea is that you pick one child to come up and hold on to the back of the child's shirt or apron. This is the donkey's 'tail'. That person shakes the 'tail' and shouts 'Wonkey Donkey!'

The idea is that the Wonkey Donkey has to guess who has shook their tail!

This game helps them to begin to recognize the voices of their friends. It also tunes them in and gets them listening.

8. Baby Bear Game

This is one of my favourite listening games.

To play it you need a blindfold, a jar of honey and a noisy instrument of some sort - usually a tambourine or some keys work well.

The idea is that you get a child to come and sit in the middle of the circle. They are Baby Bear, and they put a blindfold on so they can't see. Baby Bear is 'asleep'.

Put the honey behind Baby Bear.

There is now a chant that goes like this:
Isn't it funny how a bear likes honey!
You give the tambourine to one of the children in the circle. Their job is to stand up as quietly as possible, and sneak over to Baby Bear, pick up the honey, and sneak back to where they are sitting with it.

The tricky bit is that they have to try to hide both the honey and the tambourine behind their back.

They keep their hands behind their back, and everyone else puts their hands behind their back as well, so anyone could be the thief!

Then Baby Bear wakes up (takes the blindfold off). The bear has three guesses to work out who the thief is.

There are usually lots of clues if everyone stays quite - footsteps, little jingles from the tambourine and other noises like that.

If the children are having problems putting the tambourine behind their back, then the easier version of the game is to swop the tambourine with honey, so you take the honey back but leave the tambourine behind the bear. You get less sound clues this way, but it is easy for very young children to accomplish.

There seem to be many variations of this game, and I have seen it played with the Bear as a pirate, with someone robbing his treasure, or as a Giant and someone robs his keys. The basic skills behind all these games are the same.

9.Pass The Smile

This is a circle game that is great for eye contact, turn-taking and thinking about emotions.

The adult to begin smiles at the first child. They 'pass' the smile to the child next to them, by looking at them and smiling. Then the children pass the smile all the way around the circle. You may need to give the occasional child a bit of a reminder to look or pass it on.

You can also pass a frown, a wink, a nod or some other facial expression. Great for thinking about emotions, and what our faces do when we are feeling different ways.

10. Spin The Bottle!

This is the child-friendly version of this classic game.

All you need is an empty bottle. This game works better on a harder surface, such as wood or laminate flooring. The bottle doesn't really spin enough on a carpet.

Put the bottle in the middle of the circle, and choose one child to come and spin it. They spin the bottle and shout one child's name. That child has to jump up and pick up the bottle before it stops spinning.

Then they spin it and shout a child's name, and just carry on repeating.

11. Spare Place

In this game you need cards with pictures on. The pictures all have to be different. A good example would be to use pictures of animals. You could have a full range of animals - a cow, a horse, a dog, a cat, a mouse etc.

Sit in a circle, but have one big space in the circle, easily big enough for a child to sit in.

Give each child a picture of an animal, and you also have one spare picture that goes in the space.

Say an animal name. The child holding that picture will move to the spare space. They then say an animal name, and that child will move to the space that the first child has vacated.

12. Picnic Memory Game

There are many variations of this classic memory game, but here is just one way of playing it.

For this game you need a bag of simple pretend (or real) food and a picnic hamper or box of some sort to put them in.

There is an easy and a hard version of the game. For the easy version, what you do is take one piece of food out of the bag first. For example, let's say it is an orange. The first person would say, 'For our picnic we took an orange.'

They put the orange in the box so everyone can see it.

Then the next person goes. They take a piece of food out, for example a banana, and say 'For our picnic we took an orange and a banana.'

They put the banana next to the orange and the game continues.

This is much easier than the hard version, because you can see the food, and just need to be able to say it in a sequence.

For the harder version, the idea is that you put one piece of food into the box and then close the lid so you can't see it.

For example, the first person says 'On our picnic we took an orange.' They put the orange in the box and close the lid.

Then the next person says, 'On our picnic we took an orange and a banana.' They open the lid and put the banana next to the orange, then close it.

There is lots of memory and listening and looking required in this game. You may want to start with just 3 or 4 objects, though some children are amazing at remembering a huge number.

Just see how it goes, and make the game easier or harder as required.

There is a whole chapter on 'memory circle time games...that actually work' in my book 101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work.

13. At The Zoo

This is another variation of the picnic memory game.

Have a story bag with animals in. Say 'In the jungle, we saw a (pick one out) an elephant!' Pass it to next person. 'In the jungle we saw an elephant and a tiger etc etc.' Keep going just like that.

There are many variations that you can play on this classic memory game. All you need is some kind of objects in a bag and some sort of context. Other ideas could be a bag of vehicles. Say something like 'On the road I saw a ...lorry.'

You could use dinosaurs, or superheroes, or whatever you like. Be creative! Whatever the children are interested in will get the best response.

14. Where Is It?

Have one child sitting in the middle of the circle. They put a blindfold on.

Then get a noisy instrument - it could be a tambourine or keys or something similar. The idea is then that the children pass the noisy instrument around, all giving it a shake when they are holding it before passing it on to the next person.

When the adult says 'stop' the person holding the tambourine holds it silently.

The child in the middle is going to try to point to whoever they think is holding the instrument. Then do it again.

15. Pass The Puppet

This is a great activity that can be adapted in many ways, and is one that I play a lot, possibly the most out of this article.

Have a puppet, and it is good to have some sort of story. For example, the puppet is happy because his friend has shared their toys. You basically have some sort of them. The puppet might be sad for a reason, or worried, or anything like that.

Pass the puppet round, and everyone says one thing that makes them happy, or sad, or appreciative of a friend, or whatever the theme is. You can only speak when you're holding the puppet!

If you're interested in reading more puppet games, then check out my article about the 22 best uses of puppets in teaching.

16. Matching Socks

Some group games are great for mixing and working with people that you wouldn't normally work with.

The matching socks game is a great example of this. The idea is that you have lots of pairs of socks. The sock pairs all need to be a different design, and you need at least one sock per child.

Give the socks out! The children stand up and try to find their matching sock partner.

This gets them thinking about color and pattern. It also gets them looking at their friends, and also standing next to a partner that they wouldn't necessarily choose to stand next to.

17. Pass Balls Round The Circle

Simple ball games are great for young children, and this is about as simple as it gets.

The very simplest way of playing this game is to have one ball. All you do is pass the ball around the circle.

The slightly harder version of this game is to have several balls. You pass these round the circle!

This game is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ball games that preschoolers love. Why not check out my 30 Preschool Ball Games For The Whole Curriculum.

The book contains a whole chapter on simple and imaginative passing games like this.

18. Change!

To extend this game yet again, pass several balls round, but when you say 'change' the balls all have to go in the opposite direction. This is not as easy as it sounds!

The next stage of this game is to have two colors of balls. For example, have three blue balls and three yellow balls. The blue balls are going to go one direction, and the yellow balls are going to go in the opposite direction.

See how you get on! The tricky bit is that some children will get two balls at once. They will have to switch them over to keep them going.

When, and if, the children are doing well at this game, you can then introduce a 'change' again. So when the balls are all going around in the two directions, say 'change', and see if they can move them back the other way. This takes a lot of teamwork and cooperation! It also is good for conflict resolution, as some children will naturally get it wrong, and you will be encouraging children to support each other.

If you liked the sound of these simple ball games, you will be pleased to know that I have written 30 Preschool Ball Games for The Whole Curriculum. There is a host of ball games for math, phonics, physical development and more - the whole curriculum. Why not take a look?

19. Missing Child Game.

This is a great game for eye contact.

The idea of this game is that all children close their eyes. This is the tricky bit! They have to try and do it properly, and no cheating!

Then tap one child on the shoulder. That child is going to go and hide somewhere where the others cannot see them.

Then tell the children to open their eyes. Who has gone missing?

This moment is great for them all to be looking into each other's faces to see who is there and who isn't. Eye contact is a massive target for so many children, and this game really helps this skill. Looking for more eye contact games? Why not check out my 12 Fantastic Eye Contact Group Games .

There is a version of this missing child game using a parachute. In that version the children sit around the edge of a parachute that is on the floor. They close their eyes, and you tap one child on the shoulder. They go under the chute and sit in the middle of it.

When the others open their eyes they can see a child under the parachute, but who is it?

20. Mystery Object

This is a bit like Chinese whispers, but with an object. Have a mystery object in a bag or box (or even an envelope). The object is just to really focus the attention of the children.

Whisper what the object is to the child next to you, and they have to pass it round the circle whispering to each other as they go.

When they have gone all the way around, the last person guesses what it is. Open the box or bag and reveal have they got it right!

21. Mystery Box

This is similar to the last game, but without the whispering element.

In this you have a box, and inside the box is a mystery object. What you do is pass the box around and everyone gets to shake the box, hear what is inside and then guess what they think it is.

After you have passed it all the way around the circle, and everyone has guessed, then you are ready for the tricky bit. You ask 'Who guessed it was a bottle?' The children point to who they think guessed it was that. 'Who guessed it was a lion?' You just carry on saying the children's suggestions, and the children point to who they think it was.

At the end open up the box and see what it is!

101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work!

If you've found these games beneficial, then I would definitely recommend checking out the book!

It's called 101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work! and it contains:

-Active circle games

-Phonics and literacy circle games

-Math circle games

-Emotion and mindfulness circle games

-Memory circle games

-And so much more!

You can check out further details of the book here.

Conclusion

So there you have the complete guide to preschool circle time games that actually work!

Children learn the most through play at this young age, but some well structured and engaging group games develop lots of skills that children can use in their play. Skills such as eye contact, turn-taking and cooperating are the key elements of play.

Good luck with these circle time games, and if you try any out feel free to share this post!

If you've found this beneficial, then you will probably also like The 40 Greatest Parachute Games For Kids.

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21 Circle Time Games For Preschool That Actually Work | Early Impact Learning

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In preschool fun and engaging circle games can teach many crucial skills that children can then use to deepen their play. Eye contact, turn-taking, understanding emotions, and listening are all key skills in life. The benefits of short, snappy, fun circle games that really work cannot be overestimated.

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In preschool fun and engaging circle games can teach many crucial skills that children can then use to deepen their play. Eye contact, turn-taking, understanding emotions, and listening are all key skills in life. The benefits of short, snappy, fun circle games that really work cannot be overestimated.

However, there seem to be so many games around that don't really work that well in reality. This article presents just the games that are tried and tested, that children really 'get' quickly, the games they will ask for again and again.

These are the cream of the crop from my book - 101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work! (that you can check out here).

This book offers the very best math circle games, literacy games, physical circle times, mindfulness, circle times, and so much more! Check it out here.

So what are the best circle time games for preschool? Some excellent circle time games for preschool are:

Read on to find a detailed description of each, and really help to bring your preschool circle times to life!

1.Snowball

This game can be adapted in lots of different ways.

The idea is that you have lots of pieces of paper that all have pairs of matching pictures on. The adult just draws the pictures on themselves. For example, they could be simple pictures of shapes. You could have two separate pictures of a triangle, a square, a circle, and a pentagon etc. You need as many pictures as you have children. For example, if you have 12, you need 6 pairs of matching pictures.

The pictures could be anything. Nice easy ones are things like numbers, shapes, letters, animals, weather, or emotion faces.

Children are handed a piece of paper each. They screw it into a ball - a snowball - and throw it into the middle of the circle. Then they have to go and pick up a ball. The only rule is that they can't pick their own snowball up. They must pick up someone else's.

When they pick up their new snowball, they unscrew it and then try to find their partner. If you have an odd number of children, you will have someone without a partner, and this is normally the 'champion'!

Children develop lots of skills through this game. They have to show each other, they must look at other people, and it helps to ask.

Also they will usually have to go and stand next to a partner that is not their best friend.

2. Don't Wake The Monkey!

You don't need a monkey for this game - any puppet or teddy will work fine. I just happen to use a large monkey puppet.

Put the puppet or teddy into the middle of the circle. They are 'asleep'.

Then get either a tambourine, bells or keys. In a moment you are going to pass these around the circle as silently as possible.

Before that, though, there is a chant to all say together in a whisper. It goes like this:
Little monkey's sleeping on the ground. We must not wake him with a sound.
Then, as silently as possibly, try passing the instrument around the circle. The children have to work together, and try and get it all the way around.

Another way of playing this game, is to split into two teams. The two teams form two circles, each with their own instrument and sleeping puppet in the middle.

The two teams then battle it out, and see which one can be the quietest passing the instrument around. This is a great variation for competitive children.

3.Pass The Rhythm

This is a great game for early phonics as well as behaviour.

There are two ways of playing it, an easy way, or a slightly harder way. The harder way is generally much better for social skills and turn-taking.

In the easy form of the game, the adult makes up a quick rhythm (maybe limit them to three hits), using different parts of the body. For example, tap your head once, and then your knees twice. Everyone copies. Then do another rhythm, for example, tap your shoulders, then legs, then feet. The children copy.

When they become good at that, then you can move on to the harder version of the game. In this the children will make up their own rhythm. Start with the first child in the circle. They make up a rhythm of 3 actions, for example, tap head then shoulders then legs. The other copy. Go around the circle, taking it in turns to each have one go.

If you'd like to find out a whole lot more rhythm games, then why not check out my article the essential guide to rhythm sticks games, featuring at least 12 ideas.

4. Act The Emotion

Have three emotion cards in the middle of the circle - happy, sad, angry. You just draw a happy face, sad face and angry face on pieces of paper.

The adult goes first to show them what to do. They stand up and act out being one of these emotions. For example, if it is sad they bow their head, hunch their shoulders, mooch around and do a sad face. The children point to which emotion they think you are feeling.

Then it is their turn. One at a time a child will stand up and act out one of the emotions. The others try to guess which one it is. Talk about the body language and facial expressions.

5. Parachute Pairs

Parachute games are brilliant for young children to develop all sorts of listening and cooperation skills.

This pairs game is a nice simple one to have a go of. The idea is all everyone holds the parachute at about waist height. Then you pick two children, by saying their names. They are the two children that are going to swop places.

The idea is that the adult goes '1,2,3!' On the '3' everyone lifts the parachute up over their head as high as they can, so the chute mushrooms up in the air.

At that moment the two children run under the parachute and swop places.

Then bring the parachute down and pick the next two children. Repeat the same process.

A slightly harder version of this game is the fruit salad game. In this you give everyone a name of a fruit. Go round saying 'Apple, banana, strawberry, pear', or something like that. Have about four fruits, and give them out equally so you'll have roughly the same number of children each being an apple or a strawberry.

Then go '1,2,3!' On the 3 lift the parachute and shout a fruit name, for example 'strawberry'.

The idea is that all the strawberries will run underneath the parachute and swop places. Then repeat for other fruits.

This is a bit harder just because the children have to remember what fruit they are. For some this is an extremely tricky task.

Did you know you can also play all sorts of math and phonics games with parachutes?! Try reading my favorite 14 Parachute Math Games . Also, one of the best ways of keeping phonics exciting and engaging is by trying some of these 10 Brilliant Phonics Parachute Games.

There is also a whole chapter on the very best parachute circle time games, that you can find in my book 101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work! (which you can check out here).

6.Pass The Potato

This game is bit like pass the parcel, only you use a potato! All that is required is a potato and some music.

Put some music on and pass the potato around the circle. When the music stops, whoever is holding the potato is out and has to stand up and sit outside the circle. Continue until you have a champion.

Some children react better to being 'out' than others.

7. Wonkey Donkey!

This is a really fun game, that helps children listen to the voices of others.

One child is the Wonkey Donkey! They come and sit in the middle of the circle and put a blindfold on. They also put on either an old shirt, or an apron or a bib. Whatever you have to hand will work.

The idea is that you pick one child to come up and hold on to the back of the child's shirt or apron. This is the donkey's 'tail'. That person shakes the 'tail' and shouts 'Wonkey Donkey!'

The idea is that the Wonkey Donkey has to guess who has shook their tail!

This game helps them to begin to recognize the voices of their friends. It also tunes them in and gets them listening.

8. Baby Bear Game

This is one of my favourite listening games.

To play it you need a blindfold, a jar of honey and a noisy instrument of some sort - usually a tambourine or some keys work well.

The idea is that you get a child to come and sit in the middle of the circle. They are Baby Bear, and they put a blindfold on so they can't see. Baby Bear is 'asleep'.

Put the honey behind Baby Bear.

There is now a chant that goes like this:
Isn't it funny how a bear likes honey!
You give the tambourine to one of the children in the circle. Their job is to stand up as quietly as possible, and sneak over to Baby Bear, pick up the honey, and sneak back to where they are sitting with it.

The tricky bit is that they have to try to hide both the honey and the tambourine behind their back.

They keep their hands behind their back, and everyone else puts their hands behind their back as well, so anyone could be the thief!

Then Baby Bear wakes up (takes the blindfold off). The bear has three guesses to work out who the thief is.

There are usually lots of clues if everyone stays quite - footsteps, little jingles from the tambourine and other noises like that.

If the children are having problems putting the tambourine behind their back, then the easier version of the game is to swop the tambourine with honey, so you take the honey back but leave the tambourine behind the bear. You get less sound clues this way, but it is easy for very young children to accomplish.

There seem to be many variations of this game, and I have seen it played with the Bear as a pirate, with someone robbing his treasure, or as a Giant and someone robs his keys. The basic skills behind all these games are the same.

9.Pass The Smile

This is a circle game that is great for eye contact, turn-taking and thinking about emotions.

The adult to begin smiles at the first child. They 'pass' the smile to the child next to them, by looking at them and smiling. Then the children pass the smile all the way around the circle. You may need to give the occasional child a bit of a reminder to look or pass it on.

You can also pass a frown, a wink, a nod or some other facial expression. Great for thinking about emotions, and what our faces do when we are feeling different ways.

10. Spin The Bottle!

This is the child-friendly version of this classic game.

All you need is an empty bottle. This game works better on a harder surface, such as wood or laminate flooring. The bottle doesn't really spin enough on a carpet.

Put the bottle in the middle of the circle, and choose one child to come and spin it. They spin the bottle and shout one child's name. That child has to jump up and pick up the bottle before it stops spinning.

Then they spin it and shout a child's name, and just carry on repeating.

11. Spare Place

In this game you need cards with pictures on. The pictures all have to be different. A good example would be to use pictures of animals. You could have a full range of animals - a cow, a horse, a dog, a cat, a mouse etc.

Sit in a circle, but have one big space in the circle, easily big enough for a child to sit in.

Give each child a picture of an animal, and you also have one spare picture that goes in the space.

Say an animal name. The child holding that picture will move to the spare space. They then say an animal name, and that child will move to the space that the first child has vacated.

12. Picnic Memory Game

There are many variations of this classic memory game, but here is just one way of playing it.

For this game you need a bag of simple pretend (or real) food and a picnic hamper or box of some sort to put them in.

There is an easy and a hard version of the game. For the easy version, what you do is take one piece of food out of the bag first. For example, let's say it is an orange. The first person would say, 'For our picnic we took an orange.'

They put the orange in the box so everyone can see it.

Then the next person goes. They take a piece of food out, for example a banana, and say 'For our picnic we took an orange and a banana.'

They put the banana next to the orange and the game continues.

This is much easier than the hard version, because you can see the food, and just need to be able to say it in a sequence.

For the harder version, the idea is that you put one piece of food into the box and then close the lid so you can't see it.

For example, the first person says 'On our picnic we took an orange.' They put the orange in the box and close the lid.

Then the next person says, 'On our picnic we took an orange and a banana.' They open the lid and put the banana next to the orange, then close it.

There is lots of memory and listening and looking required in this game. You may want to start with just 3 or 4 objects, though some children are amazing at remembering a huge number.

Just see how it goes, and make the game easier or harder as required.

There is a whole chapter on 'memory circle time games...that actually work' in my book 101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work.

13. At The Zoo

This is another variation of the picnic memory game.

Have a story bag with animals in. Say 'In the jungle, we saw a (pick one out) an elephant!' Pass it to next person. 'In the jungle we saw an elephant and a tiger etc etc.' Keep going just like that.

There are many variations that you can play on this classic memory game. All you need is some kind of objects in a bag and some sort of context. Other ideas could be a bag of vehicles. Say something like 'On the road I saw a ...lorry.'

You could use dinosaurs, or superheroes, or whatever you like. Be creative! Whatever the children are interested in will get the best response.

14. Where Is It?

Have one child sitting in the middle of the circle. They put a blindfold on.

Then get a noisy instrument - it could be a tambourine or keys or something similar. The idea is then that the children pass the noisy instrument around, all giving it a shake when they are holding it before passing it on to the next person.

When the adult says 'stop' the person holding the tambourine holds it silently.

The child in the middle is going to try to point to whoever they think is holding the instrument. Then do it again.

15. Pass The Puppet

This is a great activity that can be adapted in many ways, and is one that I play a lot, possibly the most out of this article.

Have a puppet, and it is good to have some sort of story. For example, the puppet is happy because his friend has shared their toys. You basically have some sort of them. The puppet might be sad for a reason, or worried, or anything like that.

Pass the puppet round, and everyone says one thing that makes them happy, or sad, or appreciative of a friend, or whatever the theme is. You can only speak when you're holding the puppet!

If you're interested in reading more puppet games, then check out my article about the 22 best uses of puppets in teaching.

16. Matching Socks

Some group games are great for mixing and working with people that you wouldn't normally work with.

The matching socks game is a great example of this. The idea is that you have lots of pairs of socks. The sock pairs all need to be a different design, and you need at least one sock per child.

Give the socks out! The children stand up and try to find their matching sock partner.

This gets them thinking about color and pattern. It also gets them looking at their friends, and also standing next to a partner that they wouldn't necessarily choose to stand next to.

17. Pass Balls Round The Circle

Simple ball games are great for young children, and this is about as simple as it gets.

The very simplest way of playing this game is to have one ball. All you do is pass the ball around the circle.

The slightly harder version of this game is to have several balls. You pass these round the circle!

This game is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to ball games that preschoolers love. Why not check out my 30 Preschool Ball Games For The Whole Curriculum.

The book contains a whole chapter on simple and imaginative passing games like this.

18. Change!

To extend this game yet again, pass several balls round, but when you say 'change' the balls all have to go in the opposite direction. This is not as easy as it sounds!

The next stage of this game is to have two colors of balls. For example, have three blue balls and three yellow balls. The blue balls are going to go one direction, and the yellow balls are going to go in the opposite direction.

See how you get on! The tricky bit is that some children will get two balls at once. They will have to switch them over to keep them going.

When, and if, the children are doing well at this game, you can then introduce a 'change' again. So when the balls are all going around in the two directions, say 'change', and see if they can move them back the other way. This takes a lot of teamwork and cooperation! It also is good for conflict resolution, as some children will naturally get it wrong, and you will be encouraging children to support each other.

If you liked the sound of these simple ball games, you will be pleased to know that I have written 30 Preschool Ball Games for The Whole Curriculum. There is a host of ball games for math, phonics, physical development and more - the whole curriculum. Why not take a look?

19. Missing Child Game.

This is a great game for eye contact.

The idea of this game is that all children close their eyes. This is the tricky bit! They have to try and do it properly, and no cheating!

Then tap one child on the shoulder. That child is going to go and hide somewhere where the others cannot see them.

Then tell the children to open their eyes. Who has gone missing?

This moment is great for them all to be looking into each other's faces to see who is there and who isn't. Eye contact is a massive target for so many children, and this game really helps this skill. Looking for more eye contact games? Why not check out my 12 Fantastic Eye Contact Group Games .

There is a version of this missing child game using a parachute. In that version the children sit around the edge of a parachute that is on the floor. They close their eyes, and you tap one child on the shoulder. They go under the chute and sit in the middle of it.

When the others open their eyes they can see a child under the parachute, but who is it?

20. Mystery Object

This is a bit like Chinese whispers, but with an object. Have a mystery object in a bag or box (or even an envelope). The object is just to really focus the attention of the children.

Whisper what the object is to the child next to you, and they have to pass it round the circle whispering to each other as they go.

When they have gone all the way around, the last person guesses what it is. Open the box or bag and reveal have they got it right!

21. Mystery Box

This is similar to the last game, but without the whispering element.

In this you have a box, and inside the box is a mystery object. What you do is pass the box around and everyone gets to shake the box, hear what is inside and then guess what they think it is.

After you have passed it all the way around the circle, and everyone has guessed, then you are ready for the tricky bit. You ask 'Who guessed it was a bottle?' The children point to who they think guessed it was that. 'Who guessed it was a lion?' You just carry on saying the children's suggestions, and the children point to who they think it was.

At the end open up the box and see what it is!

101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work!

If you've found these games beneficial, then I would definitely recommend checking out the book!

It's called 101 Circle Time Games...That Actually Work! and it contains:

-Active circle games

-Phonics and literacy circle games

-Math circle games

-Emotion and mindfulness circle games

-Memory circle games

-And so much more!

You can check out further details of the book here.

Conclusion

So there you have the complete guide to preschool circle time games that actually work!

Children learn the most through play at this young age, but some well structured and engaging group games develop lots of skills that children can use in their play. Skills such as eye contact, turn-taking and cooperating are the key elements of play.

Good luck with these circle time games, and if you try any out feel free to share this post!

If you've found this beneficial, then you will probably also like The 40 Greatest Parachute Games For Kids.

Recent Posts

link to 17 Brilliant Parachute Games For PE (For All Ages)

link to 17 Fantastic Parachute Games For Middle School

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21 Circle Time Games For Preschool That Actually Work | Early Impact Learning

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In preschool fun and engaging circle games can teach many crucial skills that children can then use to deepen their play. Eye contact, turn-taking, understanding emotions, and listening are all key skills in life. The benefits of short, snappy, fun circle games that really work cannot be overestimated.

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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The SAG-AFTRA Foundation's Daytime Emmy-nominated, Storyline Online, features celebrated actors reading children's books to inspire a love of reading in millions of children worldwide.

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games; educational toddler games; toddlers; babies; kids; little kids; toddler games; baby games; games for toddlers; games for babies; little kids games; games for little kids; preschool games; learning; baby activities; activities; interactive games; early development; downloads; wallpaper; coloring games; puzzle; early stimulation; baby stimulation; el buho boo; owl; owl games; owl boo; boo

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OWLIE BOO - Educational games for toddlers, babies and young children - Owl games

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A site of educational games that has as aim that the children learn to use the computer playing. It is a form entertaineing way of stimulating the smallest: it teaches them to press keys, to move the mouse, to do click and to drag objects.

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I hope you're excited for Work Tasks #2! Again, my work task station is one of my favorites in our morning routine, because students are expected to be independent and they shine given the opportunities! I give students three letters on a mini schedule and they find the boxes and then complete them in order, ideally moving from one box to the next on their own.

I like this box for working on fine motor and 1:1 correspondence. The student has to put one eraser on each pencil (and they have to put it on the right end!) When one of my students was having trouble with this task, one of my aides quickly printed this picture off from Google images. Easy, efficient, and does the job!

This is another simple box, sorting pencils from pens. I used different types of pens and pencils to make it just a little more challenging. I started out the year created these visuals for each box...but didn't end up making them for all of the boxes.

For this box, the student counts the items and then puts the clothespin on that number. I think this set came from a health unit created by Kara at Sped-ventures!

When using coins, I typically like to use real coins, because plastic ones just don't seem like coins and they really don't look much like the real thing....however, since I had them I decided to use them for this sorting activity! I taped a coin and wrote on amount on each yogurt cup for students to sort the coins in. (I use yogurt cups for a lot of things in my classroom).

I found these lacing cards at a garage sale for $1 this past summer. I often have some students lace and other un-lace for this task. This seems to be a calming activity for a couple of my students when they are very active, probably because they have to focus so much.

Also, check out these posts to see tons of more work boxes!

My Work Task/TEACCH Pinterest Board ~ All Breezy Special Ed Pinterest Boards

Printable Schedules, Labels and Data Sheets

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Simple TEACCH / Work Task boxes - part two

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I hope you're excited for Work Tasks #2! Again, my work task station is one of my favorites in our morning routine, because students are expected to be independent and they shine given the opportunities!

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Maybe I should call this post of Workbasket Wednesday the pizza edition because both tasks I’ve chosen to share are vocational and related to pizza. So you may want a snack to read it--you might

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And, yes, here's more work tasks for you to check out. If you missed my other work task posts, check them out here and here for more info on our independent work task station.

I got a bunch of CDs from free-cycle and went through them to find the CDs that look similar to the covers to create this matching/packaging task.

Pipe cleaners and pony beads. Pretty self explanatory, student matches color and strings on the beads.

These were leftover from a Halloween party, and I almost threw them out when I noticed some of the handles had fallen off. Yes! It has now turned into a great assembly task by put the handles back on the skulls! :)

Next I have sorting tasks with Velcro with a variety of different categories. These categories sets come from Erin - Adventures in Tutoring and Special Education. Thanks Erin! :)

I also use these and other task cards that can be answered with a dry erase marker. This specific set works on knowing which bill is worth more and can be found here.

This task is sorting bumpy frogs from smooth frogs. I added bumps on the bumpy frog visual and container by using Elmer's glue and allowing it to dry. I really like this task because it's not something students are used to sorting so it really makes them think. This would also be a great task for visually impaired/blind students.

For more work task box ideas, check out

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And, yes, here's more work tasks for you to check out. If you missed my other work task posts, check them out here and here for more info on our independent work task station. I got a bunch of CDs from free-cycle and went through them to find the CDs that look similar to the covers to create this matching/packaging task.

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My work task station is one of my favorites in my classroom. Probably because it's main goal is independence and I love seeing my students working on their own. It makes me so proud! :) I have 31 boxes, labeled by letters A-Z and 5 different shapes.

Since that is a LOT of boxes, I'm just going to share 5 this post and will probably share more of them later! So here's letters A-E (I have not put my letters in any order of difficulty or anything like that, so this is totally random).

My kids have fun with this one just because it's McDonalds! The visual helps students count out 5 fries (pipe cleaners) to put in each bag. Get this visual here. Or grab this pack with counting visuals for numbers 1-20 and materials to create your own work task like this one here!

Here's a dollar over one. The student reads the price on the card and attaches the correct amount with the paper clip. (Side note - These next dollar over worksheets are great for additional practice!)

This one is a simple 1:1 correspondence activity - to put one object (in this case a foam letter) in each container. I have considered making this a matching activity by gluing a matching letter to each lid, but I needed to keep some of my boxes very simple.

Speaking of simple, this one is just sticking the Popsicle stick into the wet ones container!

This one is color matching and counting. This one is challenging for many of my current students, but the visual helps and I often remove a majority of the numbers.

The materials I used to set up my work task station (labels, schedules, and data sheets) are for sale here in my TeachersPayTeachers store.

Update: More work task posts can be found below.
Do you have work task boxes in your classroom? Any similar ones?! :)

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Variety of TEACCH work task boxes to help promote student independent work. Great for students with autism and special needs.

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I have 8 never-seen-before-on-this-blog work boxes to share with you today! (I know you're super excited, right?)

I found these baby socks in a garage sale free box and grabbed them knowing I'd be able to use them for something (FYI - NOT a baby!). I love the real life matching/ laundry skill application. Plus since they are little baby socks I can fit more in a single box!

I had one student who really loved doing this "medicine" box! This box works on one to one correspondence as well as color matching. I have a gazillion of beads like this in my classroom so I find quite a few ways to work them into tasks :)

Speaking of things I have a lot of, foam shapes!!! Seriously I have been giving like 5 tubs of the things, so I went through and grabbed some big, medium, and small circles for this task. Oh, and those are yogurt containers I separate them into.

Silverware sorting task. Trays came from the dollar store (in a pack of 4) as well as the silverware.

For the Easter egg task, students match the colors for the top and the bottom of each egg and also adds an eraser in the egg. The egg carton made this task do-able for one of my students who could only use one arm, he positioned the bottom in the carton and was able to snap on the top that way. I also have a student whose job is to crack open the eggs and take out the erasers.

Packaging task using office supplies. I taped an "order form" to each sandwich bag. Download the order forms here. The preview on google docs looks weird, but download it in word and everything should look right.

Measuring cups and spoons - putting them in order and placing on the ring.

Counting by 10s with math manipulatives. Each bag has a number that the student needs to fill using the math rods.

For more work task box ideas, check out these below and follow on facebook!

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Work Box Ideas {cheap and/or free} - part 5

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I have 8 never-seen-before-on-this-blog work boxes to share with you today! (I know you're super excited, right?) I found these baby socks in a garage sale free box and grabbed them knowing I'd be able to use them for something (FYI - NOT a baby!). I love the real life matching/ laundry skill application.

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Addition - Subtraction - Multiplication - Division Practive + - x / 

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Whether your child is just starting to master the alphabet or is already diving into spelling with the silent E, these kindergarten ELA games have the perfect challenge to boost your child's skills.

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Online reading gaems

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Browse Reading Games. Award winning educational materials designed to help kids succeed. Start for free now!

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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Interactive Learning Sites for Education

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This page is about Class RoutinesClass Routines

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Get Your Kids Moving & Practicing Mindfulness with GoNoodle®. Start Watching Now & Get Access to Hundreds of Videos! Active Learning. Healthy Kids. Active Kids. Boost Learning.

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📚 READ ALOUD: Fourth of July By Emma Carlson Berne #mrshillpartyof6 #storytime #fourthofjuly

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THE AMERICAN FLAG Book for Kids | 4th of July Books for Kids | Children's Books Read Aloud

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Story Time With Michele! "Ice Cream Summer" read aloud for kids!📚

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Should I Share My Ice Cream?-An Elephant and Piggie Book - Animated Read Aloud Book for Kids

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And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner read by Mrs Dorsey

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I See Summer by Charles Ghigna | Summer Book for Kids | Summer Read Aloud

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PETE AT THE BEACH READ ALOUD | SUMMER BOOKS FOR CHILDREN

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🦖 Dinosaur Book Read Aloud: DINOSAURS National Geographic by Kathleen Zoehfeld 🦕

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What If You Had T. Rex Teeth!? And Other Dinosaur Parts (Read Aloud in HD)

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Pete the Cat: Cavecat Pete - Kids Books Read Aloud

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🦖 Dinosaur Books Read Aloud: HOW TO CATCH A DINOSAUR by Adam Wallace & Andy Elkerton

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How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? - Animated Children's Book

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The Laurie Berkner Band - We Are The Dinosaurs

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Alphabet Pirates - ABC Song for Kids - Learn the Alphabet

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Silly Pirate Song | Brain Breaks | Jack Hartmann

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Pete the Cat and the Treasure Map | Fan's animated Book Edition | read aloud

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Pirates Love Underpants | Kids Books Read Aloud

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Every young pirate needs a Spyglass-Telescope, and this one is movable too!

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I am planning a Jake and the Neverland Pirate party for my youngest son, and I thought it would be fun to make pirate hooks for all the party guests. After the party, the hooks (that don't go home with our guests) will be added to our "dress up bin". We love playing pirates!

Want to make your own pirate hooks from cups and tin foil?

1) Start with a square piece of tin foil.
2) Roll up the tin foil and "squish it".
3) Cut a little hole in the bottom of the cup. Make sure it isn't too big. The tin foil needs to fit tightly in order to stay in place.
4) Place the foil through the hole, pull through, and twist into the shape of a hook.

That's it! Do you have a little pirate that would love dressing up with this pirate hook?

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I am planning a Jake and the Neverland Pirate party for my youngest son, and I thought it would be fun to make pirate hooks for all the party guests. After the party, the hooks (that don't go home with our guests) will be added to our "dress up bin".