Schoolhouse Review: Circle Time from Preschoolers and Peace

 

I was asked to review Circle Time: Plan the Best Part of Your Homeschool Day, by Kendra Fletcher of Preschoolers and Peace.

  

I received the 33-page e-book as a pdf download that I read from my laptop that runs Windows 7. Also, like I do with resources I like to use during school time, I sent it to my iPhone as well.

The book explains what Circle Time is, how to get your child interested and desiring to join in with the family, examples of successful Circle Times, and real-life questions from other parents about Circle Time. It also includes resource links, activities, ideas, and printable charts to help you get started and set up your own Circle Time. It shows examples of prayer or memory work boxes, with flash cards as well as notebooks.

I came away from the book with the overall concept that circle time is different for every family, and even different for the same family during different seasons in their life. The bottom line, that I understood from the book, is that Circle Time is a time when the family comes together to enjoy each other and to focus on central themes while enjoying each other. It is a time where memory work, singing and scripture reading is enjoyed by Christian families.

The book is written for adults, parents, to use as a resource manual and source of encouragement in setting up their own circle times at home. Even though the name of the blog and publisher behind the book is Preschoolers and Peace, the book discusses how to incorporate children of all ages into a circle time – Not just preschoolers. I was happy to see that it talked about teenagers, tweens, elementary aged children, toddlers, and babies alike.

Download your own copy of the e-book for $4.99.

After reading what the author had to say and printing out my own checklist to discover how I want my circle time to be conducted, I gathered my children together to put it into practice.

I wasn’t sure how my children would respond. I have a 13-year-old son who balks at all forms of school work. I have an 11-year-old girl who varies in enthusiasm about approaches that thrill me, and then I have a 6-year-old who is generally willing to bend with the ebb and flow of anything I come up with.

I was pleasantly surprised, and I hope that my start to circle time continues and thrives throughout the school year, this fall and into 2014.

We began with prayer, and a fun song. I liked the suggestions in the book to use either a notebook or an index card box to store prayer cards and memory work, or other learning cards. Since we are not a flash cards family, I decided instead, to use my daily flip calendar filled with memory verses of scripture of the day. I also thought it would be a good idea to download a scripture of the day app onto my iPhone.




We talked about the scripture of the day, and then discussed other issues that were of importance to my children. It was nice to have all of the children there, like a big family meeting. I also enjoyed sitting next to my son, who loves head rubs. While we talked, I rubbed his head, and this was soothing to him and me as well.

I realized that we have actually been doing circle time, but we just didn’t call it that. Every Saturday, we make a big breakfast where the children help. After we work together as a family to prepare the food, we sit down and enjoy conversation and a devotion, which daddy reads aloud and discusses. 

Circle Time is time spent with family!

I love the concept of circle time, and I enjoyed the ideas that Kendra set forth in the book. The book is very easy to read, and addresses several real-life family scenarios using real-life mothers with questions they wrote out and were printed in the book. I also liked the checklists provided in the back of the book. I found the book very easy to read and extremely encouraging. It didn’t isolate some by insisting that only one way is the best way.  Instead, it set forth several scenarios, leaving it up to the reader to implement the ideas into their individual family to enhance their specific family’s time together.

Please see what other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew have to say about this product, here, or click on the picture below: