a look at our current "morning time"...

If you're new to the world of homeschooling, the concept of "morning time" may be unfamiliar to you. You can surely spend the next week searching online for resources and varying descriptions (it is known by a few different names, though most include "morning" in the title) but to make a long story short, this daily ritual is all about gathering everyone together at the table and beginning your day with little "bites" of good things...good things that can tend to be easily swept aside during the busyness of home education. It generally only lasts around 30-45 minutes, but the goal is to start our day out by prioritizing these good things so we don't forget them altogether! 

These days, it's not only homeschoolers who are familiar with the hierarchy of educational priorities. Math and reading? Daily. Science and history? Yes, of course. Fairy tales, poetry, and memorizing a hymn together? Definitely not what your average educator would consider a necessity. But I've read countless articles and listened to many podcasts from educators much wiser than I, and they are always and forever sharing the benefits of things like reading aloud, memorizing poetry, and simple daily rituals like gathering together at the table to spend focused time on things that doesn't feel like formal learning.

Our morning time typically includes things like memorization, catechism, Bible reading, a hymn we sing together, poetry, and stories from a storybook collection. (I feel the need to add that it also includes a snack, which somehow helps keep everyone a bit more focused—especially a certain kindergartener who tends to want to drift away after fifteen minutes and visit the neighborhood cat.) Our routine is one that isn't on a perfect schedule, and it ends up changing shape as our school year progresses. I've added in (and then taken away) things like Shakespeare, started doing daily question books for the older two, and will replace a few of our daily items with our history curriculum a couple times a week. It's rare that our morning routine will look the same for longer than a couple months, so I thought I'd periodically share what we are using—just to give other families an idea of what it looks like for us!

Here is what our Morning Time consists of, halfway through the 2020-2021 school year (my daughters are currently in 4th grade, kindergarten, and preschool):

Prayer: Some days I lead the prayer, but other times I have us all recite The Lord's Prayer, so the younger two can work on memorizing it.

Hymn: We choose one hymn every month to memorize by singing together daily. We use a hymnbook that was passed down to us from my husband's grandfather, and sometimes my oldest will follow along in her My First Hymnal—although it only includes a small number of abbreviated hymns. I'll confess to having generally not enjoyed hymns played on the organ even a little bit throughout the last decade. (Shake your fists at me, fellow Lutherans, but this girl will always have a certain fondness for a good praise band.) However, choosing to be intentional about studying one hymn each month with the girls for the last couple years has given me an appreciation and—dare I say—a certain fondness for the rich wisdom and beauty within the hymns we sing in church every week. Yes, hymns are becoming my jam. Who knew?

The Child's Story Bible: We are always going through a book of bible stories, and I just recently purchased this highly-recommended storybook bible for us to begin. (We are actually starting it later this week!)

Catechism: I am currently going through a catechism that our pastor provided us with that has been a huge benefit to all of us. I believe it was created by a Lutheran educator, and the questions start very simply and become progressively more challenging. We are doing the entire thing together from the beginning, and it's pretty remarkable to see how quickly they're learning. Even my three year old can recite 2 Peter 1:21. (It's a delight.)

ABCs of Theology Cards from Tiny Theologians: We were given this set of cards from a dear friend and have been going through one each day. We're not memorizing them at this point, but I think it would be a benefit to do that someday. They're beautifully designed and I love how they don't water down the definitions (some products for children are frustratingly bland) but instead provide a clear description and a bible verse for each letter/word. (From what I can see, they would work for most Christian denominations, but depending on your view of the sacraments and a few other things, you may have to adjust what you share with your children.)

Q&A a Day for Kids and One Question a Day for Kids: These books are fantastic! I use the former with my kindergartener. The book will ask a variety of different questions that they get to answer daily for three consecutive years. The latter is one I bought for my oldest daughter, and she fills it out by herself (and I peek in the pages when I want to read her charming answers). I had one for my oldest when she was ages 3-5 and we still will get it out sometimes to read the answers and laugh together over the sweet/weird/generally adorable entries. 

Chicken Soup with Rice by Maurice Sendak: I'm currently having the girls memorize this book month-by-month. (It only takes a few minutes every day for us to review the current month and the previous months.) This was my youngest daughter's favorite book for a solid six months last year, so I've already memorized it myself, but it's a really fun way for my kindergartener to learn the months of the year—while also learning a poem that makes me quite happy.

Side by Side: Poems to Read Together: I always read a page or two out of a book of poetry (and we own plenty!). This is one of my absolute favorites; the illustrations by Hilary Knight are so detailed and lovely. I also enjoy how the poems in this treasury are centered around each of the four seasons. I remember reading this one with my mom as a little girl, so it's something I especially enjoy sharing with my own trio of daughters!

The Greatest Fairy Tales: I typically read one story from some sort of collection or anthology, and right now we are going through this beautifully illustrated collection of classic fairy tales. Now, one must keep in mind that these are not the Disney version of fairy tales, and I may or may not have scarred my 5 year old with the story of Bluebeard (the man has a closet of chopped up wives, which I actually read out loud, and I am so sorry, my dear child). That said, we've enjoyed reading both the original versions of stories we were already familiar with, and also getting to know lesser-known works from famous authors.

Raggedy Ann and Andy and the Camel with the Wrinkled Knees: I always end our Morning Time with one of our current chapter book read-alouds. This is a vintage book I picked up for around a dollar at a thrift store, and it's taken us a while to get through! We've had a few other books that we've gone through recently that we always ended up reading instead of this one. But now that we're waiting on a few library holds to come in, we're diving back into this one. It took us about halfway through the book to truly enjoy it, but even my 4th grader is giggling loud at the antics of Raggedy Ann and Andy and all the various characters they meet.

So, that is currently what our Morning Time looks like! It will most likely change quite a bit before the school year is through, so I'll try to check in once more before the spring. If you have any questions about our routine (or other items you recommend adding!) do share, my friends.

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