I am a second generation homeschooling Mom of 7 children ages 1-13. I had heard of “Morning Time” or “Circle Time’, but always said, “That just doesn’t fit in our family style.”
I did, however, love reading aloud to my children and as they increased in number, I had to be more creative to find time to fit it into our day.
About four years ago, I realized that lunch-time would work very well for us to do a read-aloud and it was wonderful. Our read-aloud time was going so well that the next year, I thought I should add in a subject or two that we never seemed to get to during our regular school time.
I added in Missionary Biographies and Geography studies and poetry reading. My children and I were all enjoying this on the days that we did it, but on busy days it was usually the first thing I cut as “unnecessary.”
It was at about this time I discovered the “Your Morning Basket” podcast. As I listened to the first few episodes I realized, “This is what I am doing with my family and it is working!!” I binge-listened to all of the pas podcast episodes that summer as I planned my next school year.
I decided to revamp our entire day and put “Morning Time” (which our family calls “Together Time”) at the start of our day and make it our first priority. I love how it brings our family together, and am amazed by how much my littlest children and my child with special-needs have learned by sitting with us each morning.
My husband also got involved and he now leads the Bible portion of our morning. I have purchased “Better Together” and plan to use it as my source of inspiration and place to organize all of my future plans for our “Together Times”.
Jodie Hansen
