What is your small group routine in your class?

I am a 2yr old toddler teacher. My class has two group activities. In the morning (8:30am-9am) we have a story and movement then at 9:30am I have circle time and art. I have 14 kids so far in my class and I have an assistant teacher. Children must sit for reading and circle time. During move together the children who don't want to dance or do the activity can play in music. I do not force kids to do art, during that time all of the centers are open. The children get to decide what center they wont to be in and for how long. 4kids are allowed in each center. My kids have to ask for paint, play dough, and markers.

(Hi Amber!) In our classroom, we have two, set small groups. We sometimes move kids from one group to the other, if we find the group dynamic isn't working, but usually the kids stick with their one group. We have one small group activity that can be individualized according to the kids' level. The activity may be 5 or 10 minutes long, but can usually be extended without difficulty if the children are really into it and want to keep going with it. Toward the end of the year, we will probably re-group the children for a while with all the kids who are going off to kindergarten in one group and all younger ones in the other group. That way the older kids can have a completely separate activity intended to advance their level more before they go off to kindergarten. The activities are somewhat teacher directed, but often are completely open-ended, exploratory activities. We will give them some ideas about how to use the materials, and let them do what they want to.