My intent was to have this post up weeks ago before we began the school year, but I’ve been busy teaching and am just now getting around to it. The beauty in this delay is that I have been using this plan for a few weeks and can tell you where it is falling short (and it is) and what I am going to do to fix it.

Morning Time is supposed to be a time for us to 1) read aloud and 2) do all of those things that might otherwise get pushed aside in our homeschool.

Monday, Wednesday, Thursday

Prayer – Children’s Daily Prayer 2013-2014 from Liturgy Training Publications. This is written for schools, but it also works great in a home setting. There is a Psalm and gospel reading each day as well as questions for reflecting on the gospel and intentions. I am liking using this very much. The only downside is the cost of shipping from LTP.

Bible – We are using and enjoying Christian Studies I from Memoria Press and The Children’s Bible. We do this orally each day.

Virtue card and song – We review our We Choose Virtues card of the week and sing our Sing Along Virtues song.

Oral presentation practice – Every day we practice our presentation for co-op. Last year we were always running at the last minute getting our presentations ready. Having a set time during the day to practice is wonderful.

Read aloud literature – Selections from My Book House. Love this set of books!

Memory work – I’ve created a memory work binder based on the Simply Charlotte Mason memory review program for all of our memory work. More details coming soon. 
Bedtime Math – This website (or app, which is what we use) tells a short, interesting story with related math word problems each day. There is also a new book, if you prefer.
Read aloud subject – I read a picture book or literature selection for the subject of the day. Our favorite math readers are the MathStart books from Stuart Murphy. Reading lists for this year’s science and history are coming soon.

Trending
What is a morning basket?

  • Monday – Math
  • Wednesday – Science
  • Thursday – History

Friday
Friday is slightly different as it is the day I like to focus more on fine arts.

Prayer
Oral presentation practice
Read aloud literature
Memory work
These remain the same and to them we add:
Brain Pop Jr. Video – A video related to a current topic of study. We got our subscription through a special at Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op.
Music Studies – How to Introduce Your Child to Classical Music in 52 Easy Lessons. This one is really easy and I love it! And the fun thing is the kids do too. They eagerly listen to the music and act out the stories.
Art Appreciation – We are reading about one artist a week from Famous Artists (Usborne Art Books). Then we look at a selection of their work in the Art Authority app and talk about it. No special order, no extra work. Just art appreciation that gets done.

    Tuesday
    Did you notice it was missing? That’s our co-op day, so no morning time on Tuesdays.
    What Works and What Doesn’t
    The good part is that it mostly works. We cover a lot of different subjects that might otherwise be left out of our schooling altogether. On the other hand, there are so many different subjects that it does seem rather short and choppy. We are moving from one to the other – bam, bam, bam — that it really isn’t conducive to a long reading period. I am having trouble switching gears from the quick subjects like oral presentation and memory work, to the more enjoyable practice of reading good stories together. To that end, I think I am going to pull out the bulk of the reading aloud and place it at a different time and location. I would love to move it to the comfy couch either before we start our day or right after we finish lunch. Any ideas?
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