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First of all I want to say how incredibly grateful I am for HOD. This is my first year homeschooling (kindergartner and preschooler), and HOD makes things so easy for me! The issue we're having is with circle time. I heard about starting your day this way and I thought it'd be fun but some mornings it just isn't Since I have a 6 yr old (daughter), 4 yr old (son) and 2 yr old (daughter) I try to keep it short. We look at the calendar, do our memory verse, stretch and sing songs. Some mornings my strong willed 6 year old complains about different aspects of circle time and my 4 year old just chooses to challenge me on things. I'm wondering if it's that important to keep doing this or if I should just start there schoolwork right away instead of doing circle time. Does anyone have any experience with trying to start their day with everyone together? Are they too young for me to expect it to go smoothly?

After circle time I do school with my 4 year old while my 6 year old is supposed to be doing educational activities. Problem is she says they are boring and she'd rather play with her 2 year old sister or play imaginative games. Is this okay or should I work on getting her to do something more structured while she's waiting for me to finish school with her brother so I can work with her? A lot of times I have her do her workbooks that she can do pretty much without me before she can play but they don't take her very long. Do you think starting school with the 4 year old first is okay? What do you have your other children do while they're waiting? I suppose it will be easier when she is more inpendent and can get started with her schoolwork on her own. She's just so energetic and is always moving around and usually pretending to be a horse.

Hope this sorta makes sense! Just need some help as some days I'm at a lost with what to do with her. Is the first year of homeschooling usually the hardest?

Do what works for your family. My kids are basically the same way. Here is our schedule on "normal" days:
Breakfast with AWANA stories and verses playing (using their CDs)
Oldest does the 3Rs. The other two normally "play" school too, pulling out basic preschool workbooks or plain paper to draw on.
Free play for all (normally outside if the weather is nice)
Lunch
Youngest naps
LHFHG history, Bible, and storytime
Then, depending on the rotating box, I will do it with history or when the youngest wakes up. The middle normally listens in on the LHFHG things

We tried LHTH for a little bit, but the middle one wasn't interested. I am going to try that again in January I think. Because of how LHTH went, I don't think a formal circle time would work with my middle one. He just isn't "into" school yet. He is finally interested in the last few weeks, which is why I think he will be ready for LHTH in January.

As for calendar time, we did it for a few weeks with my oldest. But, she already knows the days of the week and how to read a calendar. We are working on the order of the months, but that and weather are all she was getting from it. So, we stopped for now. We might start in back in the summer, when the middle one would learn more from it.

I tried a circle time when we first started homeschooling. It was fun at first, then it just became something we do. I homeschool so that our lives are not just something we do. My kids didn't hate it and weren't complaining, but they also weren't getting anything out of it other than time together.

Honestly, I think my kids would enjoy it better NOW than they did at preschool ages. I think they'd get more out of it now. Maybe I start it back

And later on down the road it will be handy for you to have time where one of them plays with another one of them so you can do school with the third. So why not make that part of their schedule now while they want to?

Homeschooling is going to be harder the first year as you adjust to something new.
Circle Time doesn't always work first thing in the morning as well. We have our "Circle Time" in the afternoon not too long after lunch, right before I expect everyone to have a quiet time.The younger they are, the shorter the attention span, unless I get them involved teaching their siblings. So I allow that.
That's what works for us; you have to find what works for your family. The first year is a big year for adjustments - but it will all come together!

lmbartos wrote:... I'm wondering if it's that important to keep doing this or if I should just start there schoolwork right away instead of doing circle time. Does anyone have any experience with trying to start their day with everyone together?...

Let me preface this by saying - if you are a person doing circle time and truly loving that part of your day, and it is not detracting from accomplishing all of the work in your HOD guide - by all means, continue enjoying it! That being said - in response to Imbartos question above... We did circle time back when I was teaching ps, and the dc's response around week 5 of doing it was exactly the same as your dc's response. Personally, I'd stop circle time if I were you. It is supposed to be a time to 'welcome dc' into the classroom, to start their day off 'right,' and to focus on a few skills in a very concentrated way (i.e. the calendar). Homeschooling is an entirely different setting. We start our day off quite happily, in a relatively stress-free environment after a slower paced breakfast with people we - in general - truly love. The fingerplays/poems, Bible Study Scripture memory practice, and projects provide 'get up and get moving type' activities. The skills are hit again and again, and the proverbial calendar - well - while YES, it is a skill covered in HOD, dc also learn to use that in life, as each day typically has its own things to be accomplished. If you have a calendar hanging in an easy to see place (ours is on our fridge), and if you jot things down on it like appointments, b-day parties, etc. - dc learn to reference it pretty quickly. And - all of this is much more in line with 'life skills' than a felt calendar stuck on the school wall.

lmbartos wrote:After circle time I do school with my 4 year old while my 6 year old is supposed to be doing educational activities. Problem is she says they are boring and she'd rather play with her 2 year old sister or play imaginative games. Is this okay or should I work on getting her to do something more structured while she's waiting for me to finish school with her brother so I can work with her?

You lucky, lucky mom! I worked on training my older dc to play well with my younger dc for some fair time. What a blessing yours is doing it naturally and enjoying it too! My 10 yo and 6 yo still start their time after breakfast with an hour long playtime together. They LOVE it! It has kept their relationship strong. It also gets their 'wiggles' out, gives them a chance to use their own creativity and imagination, and has them coming to 'school' happy and ready to learn. I'd encourage this and enjoy working with your 4 yo uninterrupted during this time. As homeschool moms, we cannot focus on every 'one' at every time. Focus on your 4 yo, and then later, focus on your 6 yo. This is healthy!

HTH! You are doing a super job! BTW - I too have a 'horse' rider. Too cute to watch - and too soon those days will be days of the past! Ride on, cowboy (or cowgirl)!

In Christ,
Julie

Thank you, thank you, thank you everyone! I don't have much support for homeschooling so to hear other homeschooling mom's take on things is priceless. I think we'll ease out of doing circle time for now. I like the idea that was mentioned of how your day should start "happy" and without the stress and the way our circle time is going this isn't always the case.

I second quess myself a lot about whether I'm ruining my kids by homeschooling (I know I'm believing lies from the enemy) so this forum is really helping me to persevere. That's what motherhood is about, right? Persevering and believing God for the reaping of fruit in His time!

Such wise advice has already been shared here, so I'll just pop-in to say that as homeschool mommas it is important to choose our battles. With that in mind, I can see how getting a group of little ones together for activities that engage them across their varying levels could result in a battle of wills to get them to stay focused. We haven't done circle time in our own homeschool for that very reason. Instead as the kiddos have gotten older, at times I have grouped a few activities from the guide around lunch time for us to do together. These things could be Bible memory work, rhymes, poetry, music, or storytime. This has worked better for us and keeps us moving forward in our guides with things that are already needing to be completed in the day. Now, I no longer do that as the ages of my boys varies so much now.

I want my kiddos to be fresh and excited for their school day when we begin. I want to keep my "battles" for their attention for the things that are really needed in each individual child's school day. This will be different for different ages. Christian music at breakfast and prayer is a great way to start the day. Then, just jump in to the guides. The guides really are complete as written so there is no need to add more unless your heart truly desires to do so!

Blessings,
Carrie