Are you like me, thinking “circle time” is only for early learners? When I saw the book Circle Time by Kendra Fletcher come out at her website, Preschoolers and Peace, I was interested. Interested because my youngest two are 3 and 5 and know I should be doing more with them. Imagine the realization that this was for all of my children and not just those little ones.
Did you catch that? All Ages? Yes, that means those older elementary/middle school ages that don’t want to do anything “babyish” (oh yes, I have 3 of those girls here), the older children that are on their way out (but not gone yet!) — to work, learn and/or live outside your home (thankfully, I have many, many years until mine are this age – right?) as well as the expected younger ones. Everyone in your family can (and in my opinion, should) participate in this time of learning together.
Kendra’s book, Circle Time, takes you through what this time looks like in her house — and lets you know it won’t look the same in yours. She shares how she has changed and expanded as her children’s needs have. There are questions that have been asked by other moms that Kendra answers in one section. Another section for sharing what other families utilizing Circle Time have found works for them. So many ideas to get you started and make it your own.
The biggest thing I realized as I was reading, we already do this! I generally call it family learning. I need to add back some things we have let slip — Scripture memorization at the top of that list. I have gleaned so many ideas to tweak and change things up when my older girls get bored. One great idea for when my older girls are done, yet I have more I can do with the younger ones all together I learned from the pages of Kendra’s book. (and yes, I’m not telling you on purpose — you really need to buy the book!)
There are some great printable forms to get you started. Forms to help you organize your thoughts on what you want to cover topic wise as well as decide what areas are for Circle Time and what are for independent learning. There are some additional resources shared as well — I love these!
Kendra’s book, Circle Time, is the guide to help you get started and enjoy this time of learning together. Most important is to make it fit your family’s needs — and adjust as those needs change. It truly is the best part of our day. You can get the book right at Kendra’s site, Preschoolers and Peace for $4.99 as a pdf download. At only 33 pages you can read it today and get started tomorrow!
