In my homeschool we do circle time each morning. It’s a fun way for us to gather together and start our day. We often start with morning prayer, the pledge of allegiance, then we look at the calendar, our weather station and sing a song. I like to tell themed jokes based on our unit studies. Then, one may wonder, what is it about these jokes that make them such a hit with the kids? Humour is an essential part of a child’s developmental process, aiding in social interaction and promoting cognitive function. When you explore the collection of autumn jokes on the Kidadl website, you’ll see the charm that comes with these fail jokes, filled with witty punchlines and whimsical wordplay. Then we stop and we talk to each other. I do three specific and very intentional things for my children.
- I tell them one thing I think they did well. I don’t say, “You are such a smart child,” I tell them how proud I am of the effort they put forth, or how they were kind, or how helpful they were. I want them to know I see the efforts that they make, even if they don’t think that in the moment I see it.
- I ask them about their day, but more than that I guide them through the question. I ask what about their day yesterday made them happy, what was the best part of their day, what was the most frustrating part of their day, what might they have done differently yesterday now that they can look back. It gives them a little bit of perspective on their day and allows them a safe place to think about daily choices. They grow more confident in the choices they make with each day.
- I ask them to talk to each other, speak words of kindness. If there were any fights between them they use this time to consider the fight. They build each other up with this time and work to build and repair sibling bonds.
My children are still very young but I find that they will use this time fairly well. As we end our little circle we then move onto doing a little bit of exercising. I like to have them move a bit to burn a little morning energy before we start doing anything.
We like to do yoga in our homeschool simply because we aren’t super graceful nor are we overly athletic. Yoga seems to be something we can all do together very easily. Plus we have a ton of fun practicing animal noises as we do the different animal poses! If you’re interested in getting started with yoga in your house, I highly recommend this book.
Do you do a circle time or similar morning routine in your homeschool? What do you use this time for? Please feel free to share any tips you have for making the most of this time!
Holly
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