The greeting is followed by a “feeling circle,” when the teacher refers to the feeling chart. (As the children come into class they put their name next to the emotion that they are feeling: happy, sad, worried, tired, hungry, angry, OK.) The children have the chance to tell the circle about their feeling if they want. They also have a chance to speak to an adult later if they would prefer. Other children volunteer to become “support partners” for children who are sad or worried. Children like this responsibility and are keen to support one another.

This is then followed by another circle, which can be fun or work-related, depending on the needs of the class.

Circles then take place throughout the day as appropriate, to sort out problems in the class, address attitude and learning issues and as teaching aids. The children greatly enjoy this approach and are very well practiced at sending around their talking piece.

There is also a close-of-day circle, which is used to review and reflect upon the day and to say goodbye to everyone.
Circles also take place at lunch and break times to address issues that the children may have. Children are independently “circling up” to resolve their own problems. They sometimes ask an adult to support them, but they are also becoming more confident and competent at doing the circle themselves.

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