
Jennifer Mackintosh has been practicing Morning Time in her home since her oldest, now a homeschool graduate, was a 4th grader. At her blog Wildflowers & Marbles, she has written extensively about how she creates her Morning Time plan and about how she develops thoughtful book lists for read alouds. She joins us on this episode of the podcast to tell us a little more about choosing those great books, but she doesn’t stop there. She also divulges some of her best time-tested tricks for wrangling energetic toddlers while reading aloud, as well as some helpful advice for continuing to draw teens into the Morning Time conversation. Jen shares about how Morning Time has been a place for her children to develop and practice important habits like attentiveness, and describes the fruit she has seen as those habits have been shared and passed down from older children to younger children in a natural, organic way.
Perhaps most importantly, Jen urges us moms to be attentive ourselves during Morning Time and to learn alongside our children as we wonder at the natural world, at beautiful poetry, and at living books together.
Links and Resources from Today’s Show
- Jen’s blog: Wildflower’s & Marbles
- A Considered Booklist – from Wildflowers and Marbles
- Little House series by Laura Ingalls Wilder
- The Harp and Laurel Wreath by Laura Berquist
- Favorite Poems Old and New by Helen Ferris
- Honey for a Child’s Heart by Gladys Hunt
- Little Britches by Ralph Moody
- The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
- Bethlehem Books
- Minn of the Mississippi by Holling C. Holling
The Little HouseThe Harp and Laurel Wreath: Poetry and Dictation for the Classical CurriculumFavorite Poems Old and New: Selected For Boys and GirlsHoney for a Child’s HeartLittle Britches: Father and I Were RanchersThe Chronicles of NarniaMinn of the Mississippi
Key Ideas about Building a Considered Booklist
Morning Time is a place
- to nurture family relationships.
- to interact with big ideas.
- to turn our attention toward beauty.
Morning Time can bear fruit as children
- develop valuable habits and virtues.
- learn to act as an example to younger siblings.
- hone narration skills.
Morning Time is an opportunity for mom to model
- wonder, as she engages with books and ideas alongside her children.
- attentiveness, as she sets aside distractions and gives her full attention to the task at hand.
Find what you want to hear:
- 3:00 how Jen got started with her Morning Basket
- 8:05 Morning Time as a setting for developing important habits
- 9:22 using Morning Time to develop narration skills
- 10:43 Jen’s “typical” Morning Time
- 13:46 Jen’s toddler-wrangling strategies
- 19:15 getting dad involved
- 21:46 the qualities of a “living book”
- 32:22 group narration during Morning Time
- 35:38 the importance of mom bringing her full attention to Morning Time