Morning Time & the Well-Run Homeschool

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Children gather around the kitchen table carefully studying and sketching the daisy lying in the middle of the table while you read to the kids from the Handbook of Nature Study. Everyone is rapt with interest.

We all dream of having our children rapt with interest while homeschooling, but how do we get there?

3 Benefits of Morning Time

Family Study Time Together

As our children age, grow, and mature they become independent learners. The kids even finish their assignments without complaint!

Teenagers have their own subjects they’re fascinated by. They quickly jump on the computer to work on another programming lesson. The kids grab the camera to take a few more shots. They curl up with Jane Eyre to find out what her dreadful aunt is going to do to Jane today.

As time goes on, the kids seem to be growing apart in their studies.

Morning time gives you a chance to step back into family study time together without interfering with the beloved subjects of the teens. As a family, you can study nature, listen to Shakespeare, and memorize poetry.

Great literature can be read aloud and discussed. Great men and women of history can be compared, analyzed, and studied. You’re able to enjoy a few minutes of family study time together every day.

Chance to Study those Subjects Easily Dropped

morning time

Let’s face it; there’s only so much time in the day. Often in our haste to cover the essentials we end up dropping much of the beauty from homeschooling.

Art, music, nature study, and poetry aren’t quite as critical in the press of daily life and reading, writing, and arithmetic. Perhaps they’re not as critical.

But in a well-run classical homeschool, we’re not focusing just on the essentials to get through daily life. We’re also wanting to educate our children with an eye towards beauty and liturgy and wonder and curiosity. There’s more to life than just the daily grind of chores and to-do lists.

Morning time gives us a chance to add beauty back into the homeschool day. There’s time to spend a few minutes reading Shakespeare and poetry. You have time to study nature, and to enjoy great art and beautiful music as a family.

Gentle, Quiet, Ritual Start

Morning time also gives the homeschool a beautiful and gentle start to the day. The family gathers together. Beautiful music is playing in the background. Perhaps a lit candle is flickering on the table.

Everyone enjoys a cup of peppermint tea while listening to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. A few minutes are spent reviewing and memorizing poetry. There are laughter and jokes. An art project finishes off morning time before everyone separates to begin their independent studies.

Morning time is a gorgeous way for the family to begin the homeschool day, enjoying beauty together.

Plan Your Perfect Morning Time

The best way to plan your perfect morning time is to begin by reading these posts on implementing it in your homeschool. You’ll have time to study subjects which tend to get missed in the rush of daily life.

Don’t miss the other posts in the 31 Days to a Well-Run Homeschool!


6 Comments

  1. It’s nice to do something together as a family at the beginning of the day to promote family unity. I agree that as the kids get older, it seems like they do more and more on their own.

    1. That’s what I’ve found. Their studies diverge until they’re heading out the door to college. Morning time is wonderful to keep the family studying a few subjects together. 🙂

  2. What a beautiful morning ritual you have! I love morning time in our home too and we keep our morning basket right beside my living room sofa. I love how the morning time helps to set the tone for the rest of the day. There is nothing better than start the day reading with my children, sipping my coffee, looking at the beautiful trees in our backyard changing colors and just being thankful for all the memories we are building together – morning by morning, day by day. 🙂

    1. Morning time does build wonderful memories for us and our children. Keeping your morning time basket next to the living room sofa is a wonderful idea! It’s a lovely spot to gather. 🙂

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