Morning Time {the Details and Benefits}

Life building and relationship with my children is truly is the heart behind why I feel led to home school, and I've only got a limited time with my children to invest in these beautiful, life giving moments.

{Yes, their education is of utmost importance, but quite honestly, outstanding academic excellence is not at the heart of this choice; though it is an excellent benefit!}

In regards to the time commitment our family spends doing Morning Time, we spend an hour - two hours, each day covering four subjects.

While you might wonder if Morning Time adds to our already full schedule, it actually makes good sense given our large family logistics. Rather than each child memorizing Scripture, poetry or Greek roots independently, we incorporate those into our Morning Time routine.

This year, I've got a K, 2nd, 4th, 5th, and 7th grader included in Morning Time.
 Our routine, spoken loosely, consists of Independent study, followed by Morning Time, then Mom time.

Independent Study begins after breakfast, when the middle three children work independently.
 {usually handwriting, math or geography}
 I alternate teaching phonics and reading with my K and 2nd grader during this time.

"Morning Time" actually begins around noon, when I'll turn on our music CD, while lunches are made.
One by one, we all make our way to the living room, settling on couches, surrounding our coffee table.
We begin our rotation depending on which day of the week it is:

{Mon thru Thurs}Literature and Greek

 {Mon and Wed}Music and History

 {Tues and Thurs}Art History and Science

This fall I plan to add Scripture memorization, and Habit training...more on that to come..

"Mom time" is in the afternoon when I rotate History, Language Arts, and Science with each child.

If our day takes a detour and Independent Study ends with tears, Morning Time tremendously changes the tone of our craziness.

If History or Science is delayed until evening, I'm okay with the ebb and tide of our schedule, which included time spent nurturing the hearts and souls of my children.

Yes, even if those dreaded Language Arts completely get put off for the day;
we can always pick right up where we were last time.{wink}

If History, Science and Language Arts don't happen because Morning Time found us outside, basking in the beauty of the afternoon, I can rest knowing that we've covered the important things,
focusing on the beautiful, and the lovely. Nurturing the heart and soul of my children.

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PS.  Just an encouragement, there is {absolutely} not a single ounce of condemnation for those not doing Morning Time! I firmly believe life giving happens in many, many ways! 
I'm in no way preaching a method; just sharing how the Father is unloading life to us in this way. 
Next year could look completely different. We simply are walking where He leads
That's where life is found!!

Morning Time {Bringing Beauty to your Day}

This year has been trans-formative for our family. 

In January I stumbled across the concept of "Morning Time" and it's truly hands down, the best part of our day!
 The idea of Morning Time is quite simple;

  

"It's simply gathering together to cover subjects, as a family, that we can do together which encourage truth, goodness and beauty into our day".

 Honestly, establishing the habit of Morning Time did take some preparation

 mentally, physically and financially.

Mentally. I had to retrain myself that this simplistic, lovely time spent with my children was in fact deeply beneficial to their education. I subconsciously equated a rigorous education with a quality education. However, through our personal experience, I discovered that this meaningful time not only fulfills a quality, thorough education but is life building, relationally, which to me is invaluable!!

Physically. I had to prepare by spending some time alone, which isn't easy with a large family.

Late nights after the kids were in bed, or evenings when Ben was away, I sat down pen in hand, and quietly pondered what subjects I wanted to incorporate into our Morning Time. I took this time to thoughtfully consider which subjects to focus on, then determined to gather the materials.

Many of our materials I already owned; these lovely, lovely books were just being overlooked!

Lastly, I purchased the remaining items I didn't already have.

Morning Time, Circle Time, or as it's known in our home, Living Room Time can be beautifully tailored to fit your individualistic interests. Ours include Ritual, Reading and Recitation.

Morning Time does not eliminate Math, Language Arts, History or Science, though you certainly could thoroughly cover these areas if you're family chooses, especially if you educate Charlotte Mason style.

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Our Morning Time included these resources shown above include:

Literature || all seven Narnia books including the Veritas Press comprehension guide

Music || Mozart and Bach including the music CD's by Zeezok Press

Art History || Degas, Monet, and Renoir | Looking at Picutres | Picture Study Portfolio

Science || Outdoor Secrets, Trees Leaves and Bark, and Nature study

Greek || English from the Roots Up

Once all my materials were gathered, I decided how to "loop" the days to cover each subject:

{Mon thru Thurs}Literature and Greek

 {Mon and Wed}Music and History

 {Tues and Thurs}Art History and Science

  

On nice days we usually head outdoors and add in a bit of Nature journaling as well.

If while reading this, you feel your heart strings tug at the idea of implementing this beautiful, transformative routine to your day, my single piece of advice is

"start small and give yourself tons of grace while you get settled into this new routine"

In my next post, I'll talk about planning Morning Time and our daily rhythm

 Lastly, if your final days of summer find you cleaning out closets or organizing school rooms, and you'd like to learn more about Morning Time, I encourage you to head over to Pam Barnhill and listen to her podcast or if you'd rather cozy up with a good book, you can find that over at Your Morning Basket.

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|| Mama, there is absolutely not a single ounce of condemnation for those not doing Morning Time!  
I firmly believe life is found in many, many ways! 
I'm in no way preaching a method, I'm just sharing how the Father is unloading life to us in this way. 
Next year could look completely different. We simply are walking where He leads
That's where life is found!!