...and I absolutely love it.
It's a family routine that I was introduced to through various podcasts and blogs I came across (which I'll try to link to throughout). Pam Barnhill from Edsnapsots describes very simply:
Quite simply, Morning Time is subjects that the family can do together that emphasize truth, goodness, and beauty in their homeschool.
It involves four different parts:
1. Ritual (We do Morning Time after our Morning Prayer, but they are almost blended together
2. Reading (This could be living books or readings that are important to your family values. In this part, I like to read classic short stories from Aesop's Fables or William Bennett's Book of Virtues, the Treat Shop (the kids really loved the delightful stories in this book!), selections from My Bookhouse (which are books a part of a set that I'm slowly trying to acquire), or stories of the saints as well as reading from the children's catechism)
3. Recitation (furnishing the memory with that which is good, true, and beautiful. We usually do a hymn, poem, and a Scripture verse for memorization)
4. Any other subjects or things you want to add (Some may do geography, map skills, art appreciation/picture study, composer study, Latin, etc..)
Here is Pam's post with links that explain each of those parts in a little more detail.
Morning prayer first
Why I love it
1. Because it adds into a nice routine to our day, which young children so very much need (don't we all though??).
2. Because it helps point us toward our mission as a family: To reach heaven.
3. Because I'm learning all over again with the children
Creeper reader
How we do this
After the kids get up, do their little chores, and eat...and when mommy is ready...I ring the bell (or do a fake ding if I'm too lazy to get the handbell) and gather together in our prayer room for morning prayer. During morning prayer is when we typically sing the hymn we're learning. We do the new one in the beginning and then sing one we've already memorized at the end. We rotate through the ones we've learned so we don't forget them and they get "cemented" in our souls over time.
The key is to allow them busy-work with their hands as well as keeping it short and simple for little ones (so, from the time we do morning prayer to the end of our Morning Time, it might be a half hour...but this is including all the interruptions and things you have to deal with in having a gang of little children). I think it's also important to have a flexible mentality aimed at acknowledging the dignity of each child and responding to each situation as God wills it, rather than seeing Morning Time as a utilitarian thing you must get through and "check off the list." Morning Time - just like anything else - is a means to an end: A way of building up each child in the dignity of a child of God. Morning Time is not an end goal in itself, in the broader purpose of our parenting. If we treat it as such, we'll get frustrated that so many interruptions are happening and that it rarely goes very nicely as we'd want it to. It's more important to see what God is willing in the situation at the moment and responding as He would will, rather than pushing through forcibly just to stick to the routine.
Anyways, that was a tangent. ...Here's how our current Morning Time looks:
- Hymn
- Morning prayer
- Hymn (review)
***Move into homeschool room where we get out the coloring pages and colored pencils (I can't stand crayons and markers anymore) and get acquainted at the table***
- Scripture verse
- Poem
- Review 1 Scripture verse and 1 poem we've already memorized
- Short reading
I'll try to explain anything that's needed so they'll understand what they're learning. Hoepfully as they grow older, it will become more a discussion-based practice. :)
The main rule is that they stay in the room with me (except the toddler is free to wander) and they keep their voices down, unless they have questions or want to talk about something we are reading/learning. They're generally pretty good about this, with moments of sibbling squabbles. I also allow them to get out the blocks or any other quiet activity (sticker mosaics, puzzles, etc...) if they just check with me. Sometimes Joseph will sift through his rock collection, or they'll look through books, ride their rocking giraffe (yes, a giraffe, not a horse, haha), etc... Sometimes, when I'm feeling adventurous, we'll come out in the living room and we'll play some kind of game as we do our memory work OR (if I'm tired) I'll lay on the couch while they play quietly with their little animal figurines. They know the rules for Morning Time and they're generally pretty good at sticking to them by now since we've been doing this for about a year. There's been times where I've had to just cut it off and stop because of some situation I had to deal with with a child and other times it's gone very smoothly.
Another note, we do this consistently, but not necessarily daily. My goal is to do it 4-5 times a week, consistently enough so they become familiar with the material. Also, each time we venture to learn a new hymn, poem or Scripture verse, I record it on my phone. That way, if for some reason we have to be out and about, I can play it in the car and we do the gist of Morning Time in the car. The kids laugh when they hear my voice played through the speakers (and I cringe).
This is what I use to keep track of the new things we're memorizing and the things we've already learned.
After doing this for almost a year, I am really liking this for our family. It was something that drew my interest from the first moment I heard of such a thing. (P.S. - It doesn't have to be in the morning either, just whenever it fits your family schedule). We've learned several hymns, poems and Scripture verses that now fill our souls. I am looking forward to the way the dynamics of it will change as our family grows and what subjects we may, in the future, feel would be important to add in as we get further into their education. All in all, I highly encourage this! If you check out the links below, there's more great input as to how to make this work among various circumstances (having several littles ones, having a broad span of ages, having a larger family, doing this when both parents work, etc...), These are also resources you could use for more ideas for implementing your own Morning Time. I hope that helps get you started and you're inspired by them! :)
The Long Haul: On Morning Time - A talk by Cindy Rollins, who did this for 25 years raising her multiple children - mostly boys. This is what piqued by interest.
Your Morning Basket - A series of podcasts hosted by Pam Barnhill on the practice of Morning Time.
Morning Time Moms - Ideas for your Morning Time
Even Ronan joins us for Morning Time when he's not snoozing
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