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!!
I haven't talked much about my journey using essential oils & I do want to share in depth all about my experience because this collection has honestly been a lifesaver for my emotional postpartum health.
