How I began Using Morning Time in my Homeschooling Routine

How I began Using Morning Time

I was in my third year of homeschooling when I first heard about “morning time”. I was reading Cindy Rollins Book “Mere Motherhood” that I picked up at the Great Homeschool Convention and I immediately fell in love. I purchased her “Morning Time Handbook” the second I realized it was available and we have been doing Morning Time consistently ever since. Morning time is amazing in that it allows you to come together for family time at the beginning of your day. We talk about our daily plans, pray together, read, memorize together, and have an enjoyable and relaxed time listening to various read alouds. It usually takes about an hour. Sometimes more if we are really having fun with the read aloud. It has become a sweet time of togetherness before the other school work begins. This is such a relationship building time.

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What is Morning time?

Morning time is a part of your day that is set aside to certain routines. It can be different depending on the homeschool family. But the consistent part is that it is done together as a family (all ages) and it is usually done first thing in the morning before you start your official subjects and independent work.

Morning time has been around for about 30-40 years. It however has had a strong resurgence in the last 5 years in the homeschooling world. And I am so grateful to the women who brought it back to the forefront.

How Do I Get Started With Morning Time?

I started morning time full force and tried to get way too many things in at first. Over time, however, I started to realize what would work for our family and you will too. I came up with a Weekly Morning Time Planner to assist and keep me on track while doing morning time, feel free to use it if it is something that can help you. Sometimes, however, we sway from the plan (I am good at that….I don’t always like to follow the directions I give myself). But having some type of plan is good to have which is why I created one.

What do I Need for Morning Time?

I also learned that it was important for me to be organized and ready for morning time when it began. Thus I put together a morning time binder and a basket with all the supplies I would need. You do not have to use a basket. You can put all of your morning time items on a shelf, in a tote bag, or anywhere that you might like. What is essential is that all of your materials are together and ready to go before you start.

Take the time to prepare for your morning time so it will be successful.

You do not want to sit down to do your morning time and realize that you can’t find what you need. Taking time to search for books, your water, or other necessary items can disrupt your morning time. Sometimes it can even throw the whole morning time plan out the window; trust me from experience. I am sitting down with my coffee (I didn’t forget that ) but then I can’t find the read aloud book, so I get up and start looking for it. When I am up and about, I am easily distracted. I can go from focused on teaching and morning time to “oh, I forgot to switch the laundry to the dryer…” and all of the sudden I am putting off the most important time of our homeschooling day. I have learned that preparing my morning time basket with these essential items ensures its success.

What should I include in my Morning Time Basket?

Your Morning time schedule (I keep a 6×9 binder with my schedule, memory verses, read aloud list, catechism questions, poetry, etc. so that it is all in one spot. No matter how many days I have completed morning time (usually 3 days a week) I sometimes lose sight of what comes next in our morning. Having a schedule keeps me on track and focused. You can even make a binder for each of your kids, especially the ones who are good readers. They can follow along or take notes using their own notebook.)

8 Essential Items for your Morning Time Basket

Your essential  books (Each family will have a different set of books that they choose for their morning time basket. Mine are: Bible, Catechism, devotional, philosophy book, logic book, Shakespeare, etc.)

Manipulatives and quiet toys (small bin Legos, Rubiks Cube, Magformers, thinking games like Kanoodle)

Your read-aloud book(s)

Art Notebooks (we like Strathmore sketch books at least 50lb weighted paper)

Coloring Supplies (I put mine in a small pencil box and make sure I have a pencil sharpener as well)

Nature books (Audubon, animals books, how to draw books)

A bottle of water and/or cup of coffee.

Strathmore 200 Series Sketch Pad, 8.5×11 inch, 100 Sheets, Side Wire – Artist Sketchbook for Drawing, Illustration, Art Class Students

Magformers Basic Set (30 pieces) magnetic building blocks, educational tiles, STEM toy – 63076 , Rainbow

LEGO Classic Creative Bricks 10692 Building Blocks, Learning Toy (221 Pieces)

Prismacolor Premier Colored Pencils, Soft Core, 12 count

Educational Insights Kanoodle 3D Brain Teaser Puzzle Game, Featuring 200 Challenges, Gift for Ages 7+

Birds (National Audubon Society First Field Guides)

Reptiles (National Audubon Society First Field Guide)

Wildflowers (National Audubon Society First Field Guide)

National Audubon Society First Field Guide Mammals (National Audubon Society First Field Guide)

Drawing Birds

Can I see your Morning Time Basket?

So here is what my morning time basket looks like. I wanted mine to be cute because I always leave it in the living room. It is tall enough to where everything fits in it nicely. My house is a 1950’s house and we have so little storage space. I suppose if I had a closet or something, I may store it in there. But…. No storage closets here.

What does a sample schedule look Like?

Like I mentioned earlier, when I started morning time, I tried to do way too much at first. My kids are young and I was overwhelming them. But being a homeschool family, we are always assessing and reassessing what we are doing and how we can do it better. I may plan to do several things during morning time, but if my kids and I start having an amazing conversation, I let that play out over getting to my next scheduled item. Once we hit the 45 minute to 1 hour mark, I can usually tell that my kids have had enough. It is break time!!!

Here is how my morning time goes: (I try to keep it simple:-))

              1.  We are a Christian family so we always start our morning time with our devotional, Bible Reading, Memory verses, prayer time, Catechism, and hymn singing.  This usually takes 10 minutes or so.

              2. We also alternate reading a logic book, a philosophy book, a biography of a composer, or great speeches, and an artist biography.

              3. We end our morning time with a read aloud. Sometimes I grab a read aloud that coincides with history, but sometimes it is just a fun enjoyable story. I always let my kids draw in their nature journals as I read. I keep a variety of nature books for them to peruse and copy from.

You can download my free PDF sample fill-in schedule here or go to my TeacherspayTeachers page and download it for free there. Keep in mind that it is a template and that there is always more than what can fit in a day . I am always more optimistic and put way too much in.

Inspirational Homeschool Mamas

So many of the veteran homeschool moms that I admire and follow have excellent resources on morning time: Pam Barnhill, Cindy Rollins, and Sarah Mackenzie. Each has a lot of experience and expertise to add to your knowledge of morning time. Here are some links to these amazing morning time resources:

Cindy Rollins with Circe Institute at CindyRollins.net

Your Morning Basket by Pam Barnhill at PamBarnhill.com

Read-Aloud Revival with Sarah Mackenzie at ReadAloudRevival.com

I hope that you have been inspired to look into morning time for your homeschooling day. I have been so thankful for what this treasured time has brought to my family. It is helping not only my children, but also myself to establish great routines for life joy and success.

Do you include morning time into your day? Do you have any tips for someone just starting out? Leave your response in the comments below.

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The 9 Best Tips to Teach Your Child at Home

Many of us find ourselves in a new position of opportunity this year. The Coronavirus or Covid19 has brought upon many in our world to think of an alternative way to school our children. Some of us look at this alternative as an opportunity to strengthen the bonds within our family. Homeschooling is the option that many families are choosing this year. Are you one of those families?

I have been homeschooling for 5 years and I want to offer these tips for families who may be new to homeschooling. I remember the doubt and questions that began when I started. Let me encourage you and tell you that your are capable and are the perfect person to teach your own child!

Here are some important tips to keep in mind as you move your child from the classroom to your home:

Tip #1 Focus on Relationship

This is your child and you clearly love them and want the best for them. Sometimes we don’t focus on our relationships as much as we should, though. Homeschooling allows you to bond over learning. Read alouds are a perfect way to snuggle up with your kiddos, laugh, and enjoy one another. Don’t let frustration and anger seep into your homeschooling day. Remember that you are teaching someone who may struggle to understand a concept or not perform as you expect them too. Don’t belittle, put down, or shame them. But take every opportunity to encourage, love, and direct them.

There is so much freedom in homeschooling to allow for relationship building and to create beautiful lasting memories. While we are still confined to our homes because of Covid, we can get creative with learning opportunities (link to creative homeschool ideas).

Tip #2 Don’t Expect to be teaching 6-7 hours a day

School for your child will NOT take 7 hours!!! I used to teach in a traditional public school. A math lesson in my classroom, for example, could last up to 45 minutes (or more). However a math lesson for my daughter might only be 15 minutes (or less). There are several reasons for this. First, much of the time in a classroom is taken up for classroom management: passing out papers, making sure everyone has their supplies, maintaining order, etc. A teacher must pause often to check for understanding and address behavior issues in a class of 30-40 students.

How Long Should Our Homeschooling Day Be?

When you are homeschooling your own child, you only have 1 (or maybe a couple of more depending on the size of your family) to be concerned about. Because you are their teacher, you know when they understand a concept, if they need further explanation, and so on. You can teach a math concept to your child, practice the concept with them, and check for understanding in as little as 10 minutes. So, by the time you have touched on all of the core subjects (math, reading, writing, history, science, elective), your school day may be anywhere from 2-4 hours long.

Should I follow a Schedule?

As a former elementary, middle school, and high school teacher, I know the importance of structure for kids. Having a schedule is nice so that you know what you are trying to accomplish in your day. But keep in mind that flexibility is important as well. Teaching at home allows for you to dig deeper into a subject than you originally planned for. For example, you are doing a science lesson on birds. You planned to work on science for about 30 minutes. However you notice that your child is super engaged, excited, asking questions, and is completely fascinated with hawks. Do you stop them because you have to follow your schedule? I say no!! You roll with your child’s excitement and press on with science. Get more books out (if you have them) about hawks. Help your child find the answers to their many questions about this species. Don’t move past this amazing learning opportunity.

Remember that your science lesson doesn’t just have to be a science lesson. You can incorporate some history, phonics or sight word searching, etc. When my daughter became fascinated with birds, specifically hawks and other raptors, it trailed into many other subject areas. She wrote stories about them, learned how to draw them, and researched them whenever she had a free moment. She even to this day has the dream of one day becoming a falconer (a dream that still lives today). This is all because we allowed for the freedom of a flexible learning schedule.

So, Should you follow a schedule? Yes, have a schedule, but don’t let it own you. You own it, so make it work for your family.

Here is a sample of my homeschooling schedule:

So, What Do I Do With All of this Extra Time???

Oh my friend, all of this extra time allows your child the freedom to be creative, explore their interests in a deeper way, and allows for playtime. Your child’s brain is developing in such an amazing way, so giving them this free time to think and explore is essential for their development.

Tip #3 Follow these Money Saving Tips for Homeschooling Curriculum and Supplies

There are a variety of ways to save money while homeschooling. There are several homeschooling websites that offer free curriculum and ideas. You can purchase used curriculum on sites like Ebay (check out my store here) for a better deal. Just remember that prices of used items will go up as the school year begins. The best time to buy used curriculum (I have found) is from November-February. The dollar tree is an amazing resource for supplies and materials. (See my post on Dollar tree hacks (coming soon).

Allinonehomeschool.com is an amazing website that offers free Christian curriculum.

KahnAcademy.org is free content for multiple subject areas and is a great resource for Homeschooling.

www.Ck-12.org is a website that offers LOADS of free curriculum and textbooks. This is a fabulous resource. I have used it mainly at the high school level, but I know resources are available k-12.

Guesthollow.com offers science curriculums mostly for free. There are a couple of items you may have to pay for but the site is very helpful.

Tip #4 Have the Right Supplies For Teaching Your Child at Home

Here is a list of supplies that every homeschooler should have:

1. Books, books, and more books! (link to our favorite homeschooling books)
2. Good quality art supplies (Click here for a link to my art and homeschooling article)
3. Pencils and sharpener (I am obsessed with Ticonderoga)
4. Lots of blank paper of all types (Colored, lined, blank, art paper)
5. Personal white board and markers (a magnetic whiteboard is a plus!)
6. Whiteboard markers
7. Journal
8. Art Notebook
9. How to Art Books
10. Curriculum (see above for free resources)

How to Organize your materials and Supplies

Depending on if you are a minimalist homeschooler, an eclectic homeschooler, or a very organized homeschooler, there are a few simple tips that will help you keep your supplies organized. I love the cube organizers for my books and baskets. I also love using rolling carts like this one, and this one. click here to see my youtube video (coming soon showing how I use this amazing rolling cart for my homeschool organization.

Tip #5 Create a Space Dedicated to Homeschooling

A homeschooling space doesn’t have to be an entire room, but make sure that you have a space where you can easily access your materials and books. I started homeschooling in my dining room when I began several years ago. I liked that we were schooling in a central area. I could make lunch in the kitchen and talk with my kids while they did their work. We invested in a small shelf and boxes for organizing and then we used a rolling cart for all of our supplies. This worked for us for a couple of years. However, when my husband was required to work from home due to Covid, we had to move into a spare bedroom because we were too loud for the conference calls my husband was on for work.

Being in a separate room has its advantages. We can make a mess and close the door behind us. We can stop at a lesson and carry on with it the next day. However the draw back for me was feeling like schooling was disconnected from the main part of our house. If I had to make lunch, I had to walk to a separate part of our home. If the children had questions, I wasn’t readily available.

Tip #6 Seek out Encouraging People as you Embark on this Homeschooling Journey

This is super important. Right now during the pandemic homeschooling is a bit more of an “accepted” form of school, but when things are normal, be prepared for contention from others as they learn about your choice to homeschool. I have heard it all from loved ones to complete strangers at the store. My favorite was my pharmacist handing me my medication and letting me know that my children would be socially awkward if I continued to homeschool them. When you face adversity or are having a bad season in your homeschooling, it is nice to have a place of refuge where you can share your heartache. I have a handful of friends and two family members that I know will encourage me when things get tough.

Some of your encouragement may come from friends that you know, however you can also look for online resources such as blogs and professional websites about homeschooling. I have also received a lot of encouragement from Reading good homeschooling books as well. I always try to have one book about homeschooling on my nightstand. Right now I am reading through: “Ten Ways to Destroy the Imagination of your Child,” By Anthony Esolen

Here are some other amazing homeschooling books that I recommend. Let me know what you think about them or what your favorite homeschooling book is.

Tip #7 Be Willing to Change

Sometimes we choose a curriculum and have high hopes, but as we get into the school year, the reality is that the curriculum just doesn’t fit our child’s learning style. When My daughter started kindergarten I purchased a particular reading program that was recommended by a friend. I put everything together and began to use it. After a couple of months it became obvious that it was too redundant for my daughter. She was bored and didn’t want to do the lessons and the activities that came with it. Because we had already informally completed some reading and phonics lessons prior to kindergarten, the curriculum wasn’t meeting her educational needs. I kept with it as long as possible because I didn’t want to waste the money, but in the end, we moved on to something more challenging and at her level. I was glad we did. I saw a positive change in my daughter and she had a renewed desire to read and be challenged.

So, it is okay to switch your curriculum if it isn’t working for you. Try to stick with it for a couple of months and if there is no improvement, start asking around and researching for something better suited to your child’s needs.

Tip #8 Don’t Forget Breaks and Snack Time

It is so fun to take a break from learning and eat a tasty snack. This can be something simple like water in teacups with pretzels on the side, or something a bit more fancy such as homemade donuts with tea. Whatever it is your family likes to serve up and eat, don’t forget to take those little breaks from learning to refuel. Go outside and eat a snack and play. You can even resume some of your lessons outside if the weather is nice.

Tip #9 Have Fun!

This seems so easy, but it takes some of us moms a little more effort. I admit, I tend to be more serious and task oriented. This is unfortunate for my playful and happy children. I say things like: “hurry up, just get this done, we need to finish, blah blah blah.” I need to keep my eyes open to have fun while we learn. One of the goals of homeschooling my children is to create a love for lifelong learning. I desire for my kids to never look at learning as a boring task. This sometimes requires me to go a bit above and beyond to make sure that we are having fun learning. Can I turn our lesson concept into a song? Can we play a learning game to memorize math facts? Can I play dress up with my kids to act out a time in history? There are so many fun and engaging ways to make homeschooling fun for our children. There are so many resources to help you out as well.

Read this Article about simple ways to add creativity to your homeschooling day.

Click here for my Sample PDF Schedule

Teaching your children at home doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Follow these tips as you get started. Don’t be too hard on yourself to learn everything at once. Give yourself grace as you figure out what works for your family. Once you get into a homeschooling groove you will be able to take a step back and see what a privilege it is to be your child’s teacher. My hope is that homeschooling will draw your family closer together and that you will see the silver lining in choosing an alternative style of schooling during the pandemic.

So, although life will be different for everyone during this coronavirus pandemic, take heart, you can teach your child at home! You are qualified for this important job.

Let me know how your homeschooling year begins? Do you have any tips for others that are new to homeschooling? Do you have any questions? I am here to help!

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