I find I have the most successful circles with boys ... well with all toddlers for that matter ... is when they are 'hands on' and have them interacting with the activities cause this is how they learn ~ sensorial and motor orientated ..... aka if you are telling a story via a traditional book find or create 'props' that go with book that they can hold ... so making felt board or laminated puppet accessories of the characters and getting them to 'hold it up' every time their character is mentioned ... keeps them 'engaged' with all levels of learning sensory and so forth. When choosing books for this age group ~ sticking to things with a silly factor and repetition like Robert Munsch with actions and silly voices and so forth and adding in things that have their 'name' in it and so forth helps. Throw in musical instruments or other 'hands on' things.

Another thing that helps with younger children is 'defining' their space for them ... we use carpet mats or do group time at the kitchen table where their space is defined ~ children often loose interest in group time when they are distracted by their space being invaded or other children too close to them so minimizing this for them can help .... you can also play games with the carpet mats like 'we are all in our boats today ~ be careful not to fall off your mat because there are SHARKS in the water and they are hungry or we are in a spaceship or whatever 'interest' they might have

I will be honest ~ I always have a hard time figuring out why people cannot get kids to 'sit' for story time .... every group I have ever had ASKS for circle time even the 1 year old will refuse to go to his mama if she comes during circle time and comes squirming back to sit down until it is done. I honestly have never had an issue with a child not being able to be supported to 'attend' to group time in all my 20 years and I have had 'behaviorally and developmentally delayed' kids in my group ... however I have always offered the option that if you do not want to be there it is ok ~ they can go and play on a carpet with quiet toy instead and while some might try that once or twice eventually they see the other kids having more fun without them and they come around?

I think the key is that you really have to approach group time like a Robert Munsch concert if you want them to 'sit and listen to it' for any length of time ... develop that 'entertainer' type persona that is not worried about looking silly to the children ~ I cannot carry a tune to save my life but my crew is always asking me to sing cause I suck it up and make myself have fun doing it ... plus they just love all the little props and puppets and so forth and when I tell stories all the characters have varied 'voices' and so forth ... I will admit that this is also MY favorite time of the day as well cause they are all sitting and contained and engaged so it is 'easier' for me ... my group time can last up to an hour some days specially if it is rainy and I am looking to kill time normally spent outside