Table Time is one of my favorite parts of preschool! I created this Ultimate Guide to Table Time just for you! Table Time is what we do first thing after my students have arrived and unpacked their belongings. There is always a predictable activity to reinforce a specific skill. But there’s also plenty of social interaction, too.
Table Time sets the tone for our whole day!
I don’t try to reinvent the wheel every morning. Instead, I have a collection of lesson plans which I rotate through every couple of weeks.
By having familiar activities, my students are well adjusted to school. They gain independence each day with these activities. They know what to expect and what to do.
My Table Time is approximately 20-25 minutes long. Yours might be shorter or longer depending on the age of your students, your class size, the rest of your daily schedule, and other factors which are unique for your classroom. Because most of the activities are open-ended, you can decide the timing that works best for your class. You can control if you want to finish a few minutes earlier than scheduled or go a little longer.
In general, if you have students who are not there for the entire time, it’s okay. Sure, they will miss doing that day’s activity but they aren’t missing a new objective being taught. I do, however, tell parents the value of our Table Time and why being punctual to school is so important!