[dropcap]S[/dropcap]o, I made the plans and checked them twice. I want my high schooler to be present for all of DecemberTerm (this is what I call Circle Time during Advent), but it turns out that’s difficult to accomplish if it takes too long. So I’m trying to keep it to thirty minutes, maybe forty-five will work some days. On Tuesdays, we won’t be able to do our Weekly Loop at all, but the rest of it should fit just fine.
I always share my plans…so here they are:
And here is the list of resources:
- The Jesse Tree by Geraldine McCaughrean
- Carol by William Canton
- The Babe in Bethlem’s Manger
- Once in Royal David’s City
- The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
- The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Note the mixture of books — Gaarder is more appropriate for older kids while McCaughrean is better for my younger ones. I don’t want to ditch traditions for the younger ones that are important, but we mix in other things to accommodate everyone. This is our third year read The Christmas Mystery. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, on the other hand, is our new title for the year!
This is my favorite Circle Time of the year, truth be told. I just love it.
A special Circle Time during Advent is a great way to accomplish the goal of Advent, which is to prepare the heart for Christmas.
18 Comments
Thank you so much. That is very helpful.
You’re welcome, of course! 🙂
[…] simple December Term plan encouraged me that I wasn’t doing too little. I also borrowed from MacKenzie’s Advent […]
I’m not sure what happened there….anyway, we are also currently reading The Jesse Tree!!
Yes! You can download my Scripture plans here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8PqFuPBciGKX2lzZEU0REJuNUU/view?usp=sharing Enjoy! 🙂
Hi Brandy, what Scripture are you reading during this time? Are you co-ordinating it with The Jesse Tree? We are also reading
The Best Christmas Pagent Ever will be our lunch time read-aloud, after we finish Jack and Jill (two chapters left).
Jack and Jill! Isn’t it lovely? A must-read for homeschoolers, I think. 🙂
We only have a few windows of opportunity this year to do anything together because of end of year commitments everyone is involved in so I chose a short story – The Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyck to do together. I’ve had The Christmas Mystery sitting on the shelf for a while but haven’t got to it yet. Interesting that you’re doing it for the third time – must be good 🙂
Going to see a live performance of The Messiah in early December – a first, so looking forward to that. Have a wonderful December.
A live performance of the Messiah! How wonderful! I have always wanted to do that. We’re listening to Messiah in the evenings…that’s something. 🙂
Wow, this is so funny, Brandy, since we are using almost the same books for Advent MT ourselves 🙂 I purchased The Best Christmas Pageant Ever based on your recommendation and had already scheduled The Jesse Tree and A Christmas Carol! How are you looping the weekly loop? We tend to throw a picture book or two a day in the mix too since we have so many cherished books for this season. It is definitely the time to scale back and enjoy 🙂 I too have always loved your Circle Time pages. They are so lovely! I hope you have a very blessed Advent.
Love this!
Maybe you’ve mentioned this before, but what ornaments do you use for The Jesse Tree? 🙂
We actually made homemade ones — nothing fancy. I think we cut out little Word clip art that fit, colored it, and then “laminated” them with packing tape. We tie them up with string. They were made when my kids were tiny, so they are have scribbled, but I can’t let them go. 🙂
Fun! We had some that I found somewhere..?? that I printed on cardstock that the kids could color. Good to know you didn’t do anything fancy either! Takes the pressure off! ;o)
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever is so funny! We love reading it each year. There is also The Best School Year Ever (I think that’s the title) that my daughter enjoyed reading as well, just for fun.
I want my Morning Time page to be as beautiful as yours! Do you make an editable version? 😉
I have never made an editable form, but I think I will sometime soon! I’ll do it for a “real” Circle Time, though, so it has more slots. 🙂 Good idea!
I have never heard of that second book…I’ll have to look it up. 🙂
Did I miss your posting about your normal circle time plans this year?
Ha. I think I forgot to post them! 🙁