Tuesday, July 30, 2013

CircleTime, Together School, whatever you call it, just get it together.

We received a wonderful e-book to review and put into practice, Circle Time from Preschoolers and Peace
Circle Time is a concept we had lost sight of as the boys got older. I am so grateful that we were able to bring it back with a little help from this book.
Kendra Fletcher gives wonderful suggestions for what to include in Circle Time and has lists of resources to help make this time together the best part of the day.
I can see as the boys get older and need different teaching styles to succeed the tendency to leave CircleTime, and honesty we did let it go by the wayside for too long. Coming together as a family to look at the day and give it all back to God is a huge part of making our days successful.


Above is a glimpse at what we include in our circle time. The prayer on the left by Mary Baker Eddy, is new to the boys but will hopefully stay with them . The script on the right is just some ideas of things we talk about along with a modified scripture verse that I use to help focus our thoughts together toward God.  I also try to include a game that is simple yet educational, our current favorite is Boogle Dice (using Boogle jr. dice to find words)
Having time together that is not just about academics adds a comforting element to our day. Thankfully, CircleTime is now a more solid time in our homeschool. 
I have even added elements of Circle Time to Auntie School (our homeschool meets cousins playtime). We start out Auntie School with the same idea, sitting together and talking about what we are going to do or what they want to learn that day.
No matter what you call the time together, savor it and continue doing that together time even as they get older. If I learned nothing else from this book, it is that this time together is HUGE!
The e-book is loaded with lists, ideas, suggestions, links, and more in 33 pages. There is even a printable planning page although  I don't really use a planner page for CircleTime, I can see the value in having it as a starting point. The advice from Moms that have figured out is also hugely beneficial, sometimes it takes hearing it from others that have come before you to really appreciate it all.
This little treasure sells for just $4.99 as a pdf download from  Preschoolers and Peace. On Kendra's site she also has links to all her social media spots so you can get even more ideas. While the book is meant for Moms with younger ones, the concepts can be applied to any age group and any size family. We only have 2 children but I still gleaned so much knowledge and inspiration from the book for our basic homeschool and gained even more ideas for our "Auntie" School with 4 boys.
I highly recommend this book to any homeschool mamma no matter where you are in your journey. Don't just take my work for it , check out what the rest of the crew thought by clicking on the button below.

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