Morning circle at nursery: ideas with a hand puppet
A five-step routine with a welcome song of our own, a theme box, ideas for every season and pointers on what is different with the youngest children. A hand puppet leads the way through the morning.
Morning circle with a hand puppet: a five-step routine
Each step only takes a few minutes. The hand puppet gives circle time a fixed order, and after a few days the children know what comes next.
1. Arriving with a song
The hand puppet lives in a box or bag and waits there until everyone is sitting in the circle. Then it peeps out cautiously and starts the welcome song, which is sung to the tune of “Frère Jacques” (“Are You Sleeping?”):
“Morning, children, morning, children,
are you here? Are you here?
Did you sleep well, children? Did you sleep well, children?
Yes, we did! Yes, we did!”
The puppet sings, and the children reply with the last line. Meanwhile it can bounce with joy or yawn as if it has only just woken up itself.
2. Who is here today?
The hand puppet greets every child by name, and each child can wave back. If someone is missing, the puppet notices: “Where’s Emil today?” That way everyone knows who is there and who isn’t, without anyone having to call the register.
In large groups this takes too long. In that case, the children count heads together with the puppet.
3. Weather and day of the week
Next, the puppet looks out of the window and asks what the weather is like. Then it wants to know what day it is, and gets it wrong at first: “Is it Sunday today?” Children love correcting a hand puppet, and they go over the days of the week along the way.
4. The theme box
Once a week, the hand puppet brings the theme box. Inside are three or four things for the week’s theme, in autumn perhaps a conker, a leaf and an apple. A child reaches in with their eyes closed and guesses what they are holding.
The theme box sets the topic for the day’s chat, and the children soon learn: when the theme box appears, there’s something new to find out.
5. Goodbye until tomorrow
At the end, the hand puppet yawns, says goodbye to everyone and goes back into its box. It’s a simple signal that circle time is over and the day moves on.
Making the puppet part of the group
Give the puppet a name, its own voice and a little quirk, for example: it is curious, a bit forgetful or always hungry. Ideally, the same person always plays it. Outside circle time it stays in its box, so that its visits stay special.
With a character that has a movable mouth or beak, the children can see who is speaking. And when the puppet whispers, even quiet or shy children often whisper back.
Characters for the pre-school morning circle
These characters from Living Puppets, Folkmanis and The Puppet Company have a mouth or beak that visibly moves as they talk.
Ideas for every season and age group
The puppet can change with the seasons or stay all year and bring something new each time.
Autumn
The squirrel is gathering supplies now and brings nuts, conkers, apples and colourful leaves along in the theme box. If a hedgehog is your group’s puppet, it fattens up for winter, and in November the children give it a proper send-off into hibernation. One of the apples makes a nice lead-in to a finger rhyme.
Finger rhymes guide →Winter
While the hedgehog sleeps, an owl or a crow takes over circle time. The theme box holds a glove, a fir twig and an icicle that melts during the morning. During Advent, the puppet opens a door on the Advent calendar each day.
Advent calendar →Spring
At last the hedgehog wakes up again and the children tell it what it has missed. Caterpillars, butterflies and chicks are a good way into talking about how things grow, and around Easter the Easter bunny joins the circle.
Easter →Summer
In good weather, circle time often moves outdoors. A snail that comes out in the rain and disappears into its shell in the sun is a good match for the weather question. The theme box might hold shells, stones or a flower.
Circle time with the under-threes
With the youngest children, circle time is short and follows exactly the same pattern every day. An adult always plays the hand puppet; the children watch, wave and sing the last line as soon as they can. A song and a greeting by name are enough, and the theme box can come later.
Circle time for pre-schoolers
With older children, circle time can last longer. The children talk about home, vote on the game of the day or take on a job themselves, such as announcing the weather. If they want to play too, affordable hand puppets, for example from The Puppet Company, are a good addition to the group’s puppet.
The Puppet Company →Advice and paying by invoice
We are happy to help you choose the right character for your group by phone or through our contact form. Nurseries, schools, medical and therapy practices and care homes can also order on invoice; this payment option is activated once we have checked the customer account.
Explore more
Hand puppets by brand and more guides.