• Alternate between quiet (sit-down) activities and ones where children are active and moving around.  For example, I wouldn't want to follow a 20 minute "sit down at the table project" with storytime--I should throw in a little movement between the two.
• Allow no more than 20 minutes at a time for sit-down (sedentary) activities as young children have short attention spans.
• Action games or "movement" activities can sometimes go on for 30 minutes at a time.
• 45 mins-1 hour is a good general time frame for Learning Center Free Choice Play
• Try not to plan snack too near lunchtime (I've personally found that this isn't always possible, depending on where I've worked.)

9:00-9:10: Puzzles/Library Time
Before the children arrive, I put "special" library books out for them to enjoy for the first 10 minutes or so till everyone has arrived.  "Special" means books I keep in the cupboard and bring out only during this time period.  I get a different set of books from the library each month that are related to our themes.  There have been times when I've also allowed puzzle play, or I've sometimes alternated between the two activities.

9:10-9:30:Greetings Group Time:
Pledge Of Allegiance
Choose Helpers For the Day
Calendar Time (Including "Days Of the Week" Song); Today's Weather
Introduce Today's Activities

My favorite good morning greetings song:

Here are a few tips for "choosing helpers" that have worked wonderfully for me:
1. At the beginning of the year, I make name cards for each child.  When it's time to choose helpers for the day, I hold up a card.  At first, I have to read the names, but eventually, as children learn to recognize their names, all I have to do is hold up a name card and that person comes forward.  (By the end of the year, children not only recognize their own names but others in the class as well).
2. I allow the child whose name card comes up to come to the helper chart, choose the job he/she wants, then hang their name on that job (on a hook).  If there are six jobs on the chart, I allow only five of them to be chosen by the children, leaving the sixth job for myself or my assistant.  I do this because it allows that fifth child who comes up to have a choice between two jobs rather than having to take the job that's left.
3. If a child prefers a job that's already been taken, I allow him/her to wait till the next day to be first at choosing a job.
4. If a child is absent, I place their name card on top of the stack to be first when they return.
5. Helpers I've had in the past or have seen being used in other classrooms: Line Leader, Little Caboose, Calendar Helper, Weather Helper, Door Holder, Snack Helper (or divide into two helpers -- cups, napkins), Garbage Helper, Plant Helper, Light Switcher, Flag Holder, (more coming as I remember them).
I personally feel that choosing helpers is one of the most important things I do in the classroom.  It teaches name recognition, responsibility, and it allows children to practice making decisions.
Extra notes of interest: One year, I hung the title "Helping Hands" above the helper chart, then printed the children's names on posterboard hand cutouts.  (Pictures of the "jobs" accompany the printed words on the helper chart.)

Stormie's Games: By the way, you no longer have to create your own "Helper Chart Cards" as I've made them for you.  Look in the "Teaching Aids" section of "Stormie's Stuff for Teachers.  

Name Tags: How many times have you made all your name tags for your helper chart, your cubbies, etc, then you find out that Robert Jeffrey's mommy wants him to go by Jeff -- after you've printed Robert on all his items of identification?  Suggest to your director that one of the questions on the school's enrollment forms be "What name do you want your child's teacher to put on his name tag?"  It sure would save us extra work, wouldn't it?
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Reminder from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), as well as new ones that I create, you can do so by ordering my "Activity Cards."  Click here to check them out.