Most mornings, the kids and I gather together in our little “homeschooling corner” for morning circle time. {Our homeschooling corner is in John’s bedroom — we do our school all around the house though too!} We do circle time because the kids love it. We reinforce the letter of the week and its sound, along with talking about colors and numbers, and reciting our various poems and Bible verse for the week. {You can see, and print out your own copy, of our recitation time here.}

The kindergarten teacher in me loves this simple structure with the kids. It is a wonderful time to be together. To sing and learn and enjoy one another. John gets excited about it too, which is a win {see : connecting with my son}. If he didn’t appreciate this time, then we would change it.

We spend the majority of our days encouraging child-led learning {such as, reading together or on our own, building with blocks or legos or small parts, various pretend play activities, sensory time, and my creating invitations to learn and explore based on their interests}.

I deeply value recitation for edifying young children’s minds {see : what is classical education?}. We focus on singing songs and chants and memorizing poems, Bible verses, and prayers because, simply, these direct a person’s brain towards the ability to retain information. This is a life-long skill that is needed for schooling, creating and sustaining relationships, and holding a job someday. This is all put together in our preschool circle time notebook.

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What trick do we use for circle time?

How do I get my children excited about singing their songs and chanting their chants?

First, you want to get their bodies moving and excited about the reciting work!!

Next, we tape a shape on the floor with blue painter’s tape. This helps children stay in a specific line and not run into one another :) I only have two pupils, but this would greatly benefit any larger sized preschool or kindergarten classroom :)

Finally, each child holds a small American flag during our patriotic song of the day. And they hold a small rhythm scarf for the other songs. John and May get so excited about waving their flags. They are only used during this special circle time.