Our Morning Rhythm
-Our Morning Rhythm (2020-2021) Homeschoolers = 1 six-year-old boy (First Grade)
Wake Up, get ready, breakfast
Preschool drop -off (Monday – Thursday)
Morning Chore (Age-appropriate morning chores) “School is a luxury”
Morning Time
-Bible Verse Heart of Dakota – Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
-Song Heart of Dakota – Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
-Poem Heart of Dakota – Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory
-Picture Study: Winslow Homer, Claude Monet, Famous Paintings
-Classical Conversations Memory Work Review *Loop*
*Beauty Loop*
Day 1- Practice for Presentation for CC Community Day
Day 2- CC Community Day
Day 3 – Picture Study
Day 4 – Object Study
Day 5 – Nature Walk with Friends (Nature Study)
*Memory Work Loop*
Day 1 – Science and Latin
Day 2 – Classical Conversations Community Day
Day 3 – English and Math
Day 4 – Timeline and History
Day 5 – Geography
-Delight 4 Days With Pam Barnhill
I was feeling myself losing steam. It was only October (or was it November?). I subscribe to Pam Barnhill’s emails, and was elated to find her special, free event coming to my inbox over the course of a week! I could even attend it via Facebook Live (if I got up early enough). So the first day, I listened as I made coffee. She was giving me new fire for morning time. If your morning time is ever finding itself stuck in a rut, burnt out and running on fumes, go on over to www.pambarnhill.com . There, you can find freebies, subscribe to periodic emails, and attend online events for free! I just downloaded a month of morning time plans there. I hope to use them, if/when I feel stuck in a morning time rut. Morning time is something I relish. I hope I can make it enjoyable and meaningful. I will give Pam credit where credit is due. If I ever mention I have the kids recite their memory work in various voices (scary voice, old man voice, baby voice, etc.)… then you will know who gave me that idea.
-Morning Time with Multiple Children
Morning time is great, but can it be done with multiple children? Yeah, I am about to find out! Actually, do you remember when everything shut down for at least 2 weeks in March 2020? My younger two had their preschool year abruptly end. So, never mind. I do know that morning time can be done with multiple kids, thanks to that. Since then, I have done some morning times with all 3, but honestly, we have not had a consistent morning time rhythm with all the kids. My son and I enjoy a beautifully laid-back morning time about three times a week together. We have gotten to bond a lot over that. I am truly grateful for this season! In life, we are moving through seasons, and this season of one-on-one homeschooling life is about to come to a close… forever… until Child #3 is the only one left in the nest.
So next year, we start afresh as a family of 4 instead of 2 at the morning time breakfast table. My son will be in second grade. My daughter will be in Pre-K. My baby will be a rambunctious two-year-old… yay! I am a firm supporter of families doing what works best for them at any given season in life. That said, we have decided to hire a nanny for the youngest during the school week, when Andrew will not be at home. So, Tuesday-Friday, our dear nanny will be coming to our home and bringing her infant! It will be great. She is a dear, effervescent personality, and has over a decade of nannying expertise (and she goes to our church, an added bonus). We are going to see how it all goes, but it might be that she will join us for morning time. If it works better for her, her baby, and for my son to go off and play during morning time, so be it! I will count either scenario as a win for everyone. I will keep you updated.
I do have a vision for what our morning time rhythm might be, but of course, you never know this until you implement. So, here goes a rough sketch:
Morning Time Block (during breakfast)
-Catechism (Catechism for Young Children with Cartoons Book II – we completed Book I this year!)
-Map Work (blob maps, Story of the World Maps)
-Memory Work Review (rotate subjects)
-Bible (My Bible Story Coloring Book: The Books of the Bible)
-Counting Exercise, Number of the Day, Word Problem
*Beauty Loop*
Monday- Picture Study and Music Study combo (Simply Charlotte Mason)
1st 6 weeks: The Stuff They Left Behind From the Days of Ancient Egypt
2nd 6 weeks: The Stuff They Left Behind From the Days of Ancient Rome
3rd 6 weeks: Michaelangelo
4th 6 weeks: Music Study with the Masters – Bach
Last 12 weeks of the school year: Choose from Usborne Famous Paintings cards, illustrations from Holling Clancy Holling’s illustrated works, and other resources we will come across between now and then.
Tuesday – CC Community Day (no morning time)
Wednesday- Joke Books (Highlights) Why not?!
Thursday – Hymn Study (Simply Charlotte Mason Singing the Great Hymns )
Friday – No morning time block, but during breakfast, talk about upcoming week’s presentation and do Friday Exam (in notebooks) to music