Circle Time a Homeschool Schoolhouse Review

  Right at the end of our homeschool year we got to review the eBook Circle Time  by Preschoolers and Peace

I was pretty excited to review this product because it has been on my mind to set up something like this for some time.

What is Circle Time?

There have been some questions as to what actually is Circle Time so taking a quote from the book…

From reading this quote and other comments within the book I saw Circle Time as a way to prepare for the day with devotions and sharing. It’s something that has been at the back of my mind to set up particularly since Sweet Peanut responded so readily to a Circle Time we did for preschool and kindergarten. She has always mentioned how much she enjoyed that way of doing school and so I’ve been searching for a way to set it up but yet include the basics of our curriculum.

The Particulars

Circle Time is a downloadable ebook costing $4.99. It is 33 pages long with 3 pages of checklists and forms to help you organize your own Circle Time.

• In the first chapter of Circle Time Kendra starts with helping you plan a Circle Time for your family.
• In the second chapter she talks about organizing your circle time days. Things such as your schedule, and tools you will need. Even a binder if need be.
• In chapter three Kendra gives you practical tips for getting the whole family involved.
• In chapters four and five get your pressing questions answered and find out how other mothers are using Circle Time.
• Next up are other resources to Circle Time and your checklists .

How we Used it

I started right in with Circle Time the first day we had it. I had mention the product and the idea to my daughter beforehand and she was very excited to get started. She loves my undivided, focused attention and the chance to connect before school in scripture, song, and talk was just up her alley. Like I said previously she longed to return to a format similar to preschool. She was raring to go and jumped on the band wagon to set things up for the next morning.

I had decided that we would use our Circle Time to focus on our devotions and Bible study times. Since we normally study scripture before school actually starts I thought it would be a good thing to merge that into our Circle Time along with some song singing and talking about character.

The first day went great.  We used a tape of her favorite songs (yes we still use tapes) and we decided to do the rest of school within Circle Time.

We took the name Circle Time literally and sat in a circle on a blanket in a very relaxed way. We pulled our chalkboard/wipe off board into Circle Time and used it with school.

We had recently moved from doing our school via DVDs to mommy taught with textbooks so this Circle Time format fit right in.

So that first day we decided to stay in the Circle Time throughout the school day.

I will admit that doing school worktexts on the floor and finding a good back rest were some issues we dealt with that first week but we’ve been working with our setup.

We’re well into our summer program now and still using Circle Time for a morning Bible study. It’s a special time at the start of our day to connect, read scripture, and sing songs.

I really appreciate the thought behind this product. I think as homeschoolers it’s important to connect with our children and find out how they are learning, focus on character building, and just spend special times that aren’t necessarily part of the curriculum.

For a young child (my daughter is 8) she seems to respect that this is the time to set all other cares aside and focus.

How did we like it?

I really enjoy(ed) the concept behind Circle Time.  Like I said I had it in the back of my mind to something like this. It reminds me a lot of what you would do with a preschool age set of children. That is always what comes to mind but it is really for all ages. As you raise children you come to realize that they really do need routines. It helps them to know that all is right with their world.

I view Circle Time as a piece of our daily routine that we do each day that sets the tone for the day. It’s a special bonding time and time to make sure we get our devotions in. For me this is a plus, plus.

If you’re tired of a disorganized Homeschool Day click here to purchase your copy.