Hi Kendra,
I am a homeschooling mom of three girls (6 1/2, 3 1/2, and 1). We regularly incorporate Circle Time into our school day, and it works well for us. I have enjoyed your blog and the many ideas you share. After I read your post today, I wanted to share an idea and also a question.
We, like you, incorporate songs into our circle time. My girls love to sing, and to include signing with our songs. Even the baby requests her favorite song (ho ho ho -- the Hosanna song). One thing I have done that my girls have loved is to find You Tube videos for our hymn of the week. My oldest loves learning hymns each week. We typically choose one to go along with our letter of the week. Many of the classic hymns have videos available on You Tube. This morning we watched one for "It is Well with my Soul." It had an introduction by Bill Gaither that told the story of author who wrote the hymn. It was a story I know, but it was told more eloquently on the video and the girls loved watching it. Perhaps even older kids would enjoy the inclusion of a short video hymn.
Our circle time often extends into an hour! I am flexible with the little girls and especially the baby plays nearby. We include our Saxon math meeting in to our circle time, and I make Circle Time our morning reading time too. Everyone has their own books, youngest to oldest, for read alouds. Do you think it is okay to let circle time be flexible with the younger ones playing, or is part of circle time the discipline of everyone sitting together, even if just for ten minutes? I am interested in your opinion.
Thanks so much for your blog and website. I regularly refer new homeschoolers to your site.
Blessings to you,
Becky
Hi Becky-
Thanks for the idea! As the ideas roll in, we should all be making a list. And moms, listen: you do not have to do everything on the list! Choose one thing. One thing you love doing and let your Circle Time grow from there.
Your question is: Do you think it is okay to let Circle Time be flexible with the younger ones playing, or is part of Circle Time the discipline of everyone sitting together, even if just for ten minutes?
This, I think, should be entirely up to you. Often we use Circle Time and Family Worship with Dad at the end of the day to capture teachable and trainable moments. Currently our one-year-old son is being trained to sit on my lap quietly for Circle Time, but as we usually begin about the time he wants a morning nap, I do not push him too much. If I can have him sitting with me for five to ten minutes, I call it successful. Soon enough he'll drop that morning nap and then we can stretch his ability to 30 minutes or more.
Teaching a little one to sit still (however and whenever you do so) is incredibly valuable. Doctor's waiting rooms, church, even funerals or other serious events can be handled well by little ones, provided they aren't overly tired or ill. For us this isn't an option; our church doesn't have a nursery, child care, or Sunday School.
But if you don't use Circle Time for training, you can certainly train at other times during the day. Really, it's your choice and your decision should reflect your household, your personality, and your family dynamics.
Hope that's helpful-
Kendra
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"Word of the Day", in pirate hat
We've done a lot of different things during Circle Time over the years. Last spring we went through the book of Acts together, notebooking each chapter. There were four of us who could read, so we divvied up the verses each day and shared the reading of the chapter. After the reading, we each drew a picture of an event or two that occurred in that particular chapter that day, and then the pictures were compiled into each child's binder. This worked beautifully; the oldest participant (me) could draw at my level and the youngest (5) could draw at hers. At the end of every day, each child was eager to show Dad their work, and so reinforcement was happening naturally, as well.
We've read books, celebrated Advent with a Jesse Tree, written letters to friends abroad, sung everyone's favorite praise song, prayed for friends in crisis, and laughed a lot. We've encouraged each other, built one another up, and discussed the things we're working on.
And yet. I lost steam. Maybe it was the unexpected pregnancy this past fall? Circle Time had become really, really predictable. And I admit I wasn't giving it much effort.
Dana challenged me a few weeks ago to once again take hold of our Circle Time and really make something of it. What we're doing now is a mix of her ideas and our established habits. And it's going very, very well.
Circle Time -- Spring 2008
- prayer
- Scripture memory, currently corresponding with what we're doing together at church:
Colossians 3:12-17
Ephesians 1:3-14
Ephesians 2:10
Romans 5:12-21
Romans 8:1-10
Matthew 5:1-19
Isaiah 53:1-12
- Word of the Day - Each child copies the word onto a piece of paper. The older ones must define it, write an original sentence using the word, and illustrate it while the younger ones simply illustrate it. HT: Dana
- Ruth Heller grammar books. We read the day's grammar snippet and then the children copy the concept (ie, "verb of being"). The older ones write a sentence illustrating the concept while the youngers simply draw a picture to describe the idea. HT: Dana
-Draw to Learn the Book of Proverbs. Thanks to my friend Liz for this one. See Liz? You newbies can teach us oldies some new tricks!
- A Child's Geography: Explore the Holy Land. It's Ann Voskamp-- need I say more?
Several weeks ago a friend from church approached me and asked, "How long is your Circle Time? My kids really don't like it and I'm wondering if I'm just expecting too much."
It was a timely question as I was beginning to see interest in Circle Time wane in our home, too. The oldest child who regularly participates in our Circle Time will be 13 this month, and I could see his eyes glaze over with sheer boredom as I called everyone together.
Then during our church's recent Homeschool Encouragement Day, Dana gave a short talk on how she accomplishes so much schoolwork with all of her kids together. I began to sense that the topic of Circle Time was something I needed to re-address here on the P and P blog.
So first things first. Let's talk about ages. My friend from church has three under five, which means her Circle Time needs to be brief. Ten minutes is a good goal, but I think content is the more important aspect for the under-six crowd. I'd recommend starting with prayer that involves each one having the opportunity to pray, a little memory work, a time of silly singing, a serious song, and a short story. Any of these things can be omitted as necessary. Here are some ideas to get you started:
- We regularly do a "Popcorn Prayer". Using the acronym ACTS (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, supplication), each person takes turns saying something to fit ACTS. For example, I start by telling God something I adore Him for, such as "You are Holy". The next person might say, "You are faithful", etc., until we come back around to me. Then I confess something, "I confess I haven't been trusting You lately", then on to the next person until it reaches me again and I say something I'm thankful for. Thankfulness is expressed all the way around the circle until it returns to me and I ask for something in supplication ("Please help Daddy to have a restful day").
-A little memory work means a little memory work. Yes, young ones can learn a lot of Scripture, but Circle Time is the place to take little bites. We are currently learning a passage of five verses, but we tackle one verse at a time. A great resource for this is the My ABC Verses book in the sidebar.
- Silly songs include "Father Abraham", "Rise and Shine", "All-la-la-la-la-la-la-le-lu-ia", etc.
-Serious songs might either be songs you sing in church that you'd like your little ones to become more familiar with or old hymns that you know your kids won't learn unless you teach them. A lifelong grounding in solid theology can be had by learning the great hymns of the faith. There are children's hymn CDs available if you feel you need a reminder or aren't familiar with the good ones yourself. If I were to choose a "top five" of classic hymns, my choices would be It is Well With My Soul, Amazing Grace, How Great Thou Art, Holy, Holy, Holy, and A Mighty Fortress.
- Our little ones have consistently loved Storytime With the Millers and the Wee Lambs series.
"Brief" is the operative word. Babies can sit on mom's lap successfully for ten minutes without it becoming too long for baby and a struggle for mom. The idea is to make Circle Time entirely pleasurable for everyone, and 10 to 15 minutes seems about right.
In part two, I'll write about how we've revitalized our Circle Time, and how even the almost-13-year-old is once again enjoying our time.
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I really like your circle time idea. I'm curious, do you do this every day? What about days when you have morning activities or errands?
Melissa
Hi Melissa-
Yes, we do Circle Time most days, except Saturdays and Sundays. It's just part of the ebb and flow of our lives now. As for days when we need to be somewhere in the morning, we consider prayer to be our Circle Time before we head out the door, resuming other things we missed (like memory work or Scripture reading) during lunch when we can chat.
We're not perfect. We do miss a day here and there. But by and large Circle Time is so foundational for us that we would miss it if it disappeared altogether.
Peace-
Kendra
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Circle Time seems to be a popular topic, and because it wasn't my original idea, I can humbly say it's a good one!
I recently received an email from Tai:
We have two children thus far: a four-year-old boy and a sixteen-month-old girl. We are going to be doing some preschool-type stuff this year with our son who is going to be home-schooled. Sorry for the long intro…
My main question (at this point) is do you use a note book along with your memory box during circle time? How do you incorporate the two? It seems, at least the way I understand it, that the two have the same material in them?? Also, do you bring your little ones into circle time? We typically do everything together. At nap time I read a short story with both of them, then put the baby down and read a longer story or two to my four year old. I don’t know if should put her in play pen time (by the way love the hoola hoop, going to be getting one of those) or if I should have her stay with us on the floor? Thanks for your insight. I know you must be very busy with seven children and a husband to care for. I appreciate your time.
In Christ,
Tai
Q. Do you use a note book along with your memory box during circle time? How do you incorporate the two? It seems, at least the way I understand it, that the two have the same material in them??
I think the memory box and the binder are pretty interchangeable, but I will go into a little more detail about what is contained in each.
The Memory Box currently contains:
Keep your expectations low and realistic. You've got at least fourteen more years of Circle Time with your son, so you certainly don't need to tackle that entire list above right now. And as baby grows bigger, your Circle Time will expand, too.
Peace,
Kendra
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- National Geographic President Cards
- National Geographic Landmark Cards
- Bible verses, written on 3x5 index cards
- Greek Alphabet cards
- The Catechism for Young Children
- short poetry
- the Ten Commandments
- the books of the Bible
- Elisabeth Elliot devotionals I think we all need to hear
- John Piper devotionals I think we all need to hear
- Lists of memory verses printed out for specific children
- lengthy poetry
- Dolch's 2,000 Most Common Words for Spelling
- a running list of things I want us to memorize
Keep your expectations low and realistic. You've got at least fourteen more years of Circle Time with your son, so you certainly don't need to tackle that entire list above right now. And as baby grows bigger, your Circle Time will expand, too.
Peace,
KendraHi! I was wondering if you would mind expounding some on the circle time that you do with you kids. I remember reading a post on this previously at your site and would love to start some of this with my oldest this fall (she’ll be 4) and need a little more direction. Any tips where to start and what to work on with her? And suggestions for scripture memorization? That’s an area that I struggle with so I need all the help I can get since I want to do it along with her.
Thank you so much!
Stephanie
Stephanie-
Starting circle time (or whatever you decide to call it) now is a great idea. It has been a part of our lives for so long now that I doubt even the 14-year-old can remember our days without it, although he seldom joins us anymore because he tends to go to work with his dad. Still, on the days he is with us, he participates by leading some of what we do, reading aloud, or quizzing the littlest ones on their catechism.
You asked for tips on where to start, so let’s begin there. The first thing you want to do is to determine what it is you want to include in your circle time. This always fluctuates for us, meaning that there are seasons when circle time includes just the essentials like devotions, Scripture memory, and prayer, and other seasons when circle time is a long drawn-out session filled with singing, reading, and lots of laughter. That’s what our current circle time entails and it tends to take up the better part of our summer mornings.
Ideas for circle time:
Psalm or Proverb of the day- read one chapter a day. Let the children illustrate something from the passage that stands out to them.
Prayer- my kids are particularly fond of “popcorn” prayer, where we go around the room with each person sharing one thing in prayer at a time. We use the acronym ACTS (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication) as our guide; the first person calls out one attribute of God in adoration to Him, then the next person, etc. Then the first person begins again by confessing a sin, and we move on around until the prayer is finished.
Devotional- Books we’ve enjoyed over the years: My ABC Bible Verses (Hunt), Discovering Jesus in Genesis (Hunt), Discovering Jesus in Exodus (Hunt), With the Children on Sundays (Stall), and Family Worship (Cromarty).
Songs- We have worked on one hymn at a time, or our favorite hymns with everyone choosing one, or worship choruses we all like, etc. Sometimes I play the piano, sometimes one of the boys plays his guitar, sometimes we just get a little silly and sing at the top of our lungs.
Catechism Review- No, we’re not Catholic. Historically, Protestants have used confessions to teach the truths of Scripture in a systematic way to their children and themselves, and we use the Westminster Confession in our home.
The children’s catechism goes like this:
Q. Who made you?
A. God
Q. What else did God make?
A. God made all things.
Q. Why did God make you and all things?
A. For His own glory.
Q. Why ought you to glorify God?
A. Because He made me and takes care of me.
If you’re not familiar with the different Protestant confessions, take a look at this site.
Special Topic- From time to time we see areas in our lives that need attention. I’ll add some time to focus on those areas and hope to see a little progress. Currently we’re working on manners.
Memory Work- Which verses or passages do you want your children to have committed to memory by the time they leave your home? Sit down and make a list sometime and then begin to memorize together. Competitions and rewards always motivate us when we get lazy.
I recently purchased an audio Bible on MP3 and now we listen to passages over and over again to commit them to memory. See the link on the sidebar at the right if that interests you, too.
Cards- We like the variety that flash cards give us. You can search the web for photos of famous landmarks to print out, make cards for the Greek alphabet, Roman numerals, sign language, U.S. Presidents, books of the Bible, and practically anything else you can think of that would be worth memorizing.
I hope this gives you some good ideas to start with. Let us know how it goes!
