The kids all sit on a mat which helps. I also start every circle with a song (I do a lot of instructions by song) and they run to grab their mats. I let the little ones walk a little bit but I found if I let it happen too much then things fall off the rails. The older kids are given a choice to either participate or sit out (not play with toys). I praise participation. We only do songs for our morning circle time and we do stories together before nap which I think helps with attention. I also kept toying with when I did circle and I have found that 8:30/8:45 works best for my group and they head for snack after circle then we go outside. I put stickers on a chart for participation for each kid which they love seeing if their name will get called.

I just started having a "dress up" circle time on Fridays which they loved. It happened pretty spontaneously as half the kids were playing with the dress up clothes right before circle so we got everyone all "dolled up" and did our circle.