Listening Games for Preschool Circle Time

Circle time in preschool serves many purposes. It is a great time to have community conversations and share lessons. It is also a great time to sing songs and to play games. Here are a couple listening games for preschool circle time that can promote social and language skills, while also having fun.

Knock, Knock, Who Am I?

One child is chosen to sit in the middle of the circle in a chair. She has to close her eyes, or put on a blindfold of sorts. The teacher starts by choosing a second child. He has to walk up behind the one in the chair and say, "Knock, knock, who am I?" The child in the chair has to guess who is "knocking," based on the sound of his voice. After she guess who he is (or has given a reasonable number of attempts), he gets to take her place in the chair. The first child then gets to chose someone who hasn't yet had a turn. Play continues as long as time allows, or until everyone has had a turn.

Emphasize to the children that they cannot shout out the answer to the person in the chair, because that is not fair.

Four Corners

This game involves use of the entire classroom. One child is chosen to sit in the middle, again either with eyes closed or a blindfold. On the teacher's command, the remaining children are to move as quietly as possible to one of the four corners of the room. They can spread out among all four corners, choose to hide in two, or all squeeze into one. Wherever they choose to hide, the object is to be as silent as possible.

After a given amount of time for them to move around, such as counting backward from 30, the person in the middle has to try to guess where people are hiding. He does this by listening for any noises. Children whose corner is chosen as being noisy have to return to the circle. The remaining children get to repeat play until only one person remains.

Move to the Music

Have the children spread out in an open area of the classroom. Turn on the radio. The children are to stand like statues until you find music playing. Once the music starts, they need to move to the music, staying within their own general area. After 10-30 seconds, move to the next radio station. Or, stay on a particular favorite for a little longer. Beware of hitting stations that are playing songs with inappropriate lyrics. Continue as long as desired.

The game can also be played with favorite CDs.

Prepare for playing the game with the children by practicing different kinds of moves ahead of time. Use CDs with chosen music to help demonstrate different kinds of music, then see if they children can recognize them during the game.

Telephone

Break out this classic game that has been enjoyed for generations. Everybody sits in a circle. One designated person, usually the teacher to start, whispers a short sentence or phrase into the ear of the person to her left. That child has to whisper what he thought he heard in the ear of the person to his left. If he really has no idea what the teacher said, he can say, "Operator?" She will repeat her words in his ear. Put a limit on the number of times the "Operator" can be called.

Play continues going around the circle. The last person has to announce out loud what he thought he heard. Sometimes the message makes it all the way around in tact. Sometimes, though, it becomes comically garbled!

These listening games for preschool circle time are versatile, as they can be played both in the classroom and outside. Mix up the frequency with which they are played, to keep them fresh and entertaining for the children.