I am excited to feature my friend and fellow homeschooling mom of five, Leigh Gust, in my Homeschooling 101 Series! She is sharing her wisdom about why Morning Time is so valuable and how you can incorporate it, even if you don’t homeschool! You can follow Leigh over at The Prime Pursuit.
If you missed the other articles in this series, be sure to catch up here.
Are you sick of schools and churches not teaching your children what you need them to know? Do you need a little more order in your day beyond “clean up your breakfast and go do your work?” Are you wishing you were more intentional about memory work, music study, or family prayer time? Are there valuable fields of learning you just never seem to get around to?
You need Morning Time in your life!
The single most valuable element of our homeschool experience is the habit of Morning Time. I learned about it from a friend of mine the first year I was homeschooling. She called it “Table Time” and described it as a time when all members of her family gathered around the table for stories with warm drinks. It sounded far too dreamy to be true…I was nowhere near a place where I could keep all my cats in that kind of a box! So I did not bother with it. However, throughout my homeschooling research, I came across the concept/suggestion of Morning Time again and again.
Alas, Morning Time is the cornerstone of our day.
There are many ways to do it, and it doesn’t have to be in the morning. In fact, you don’t even have to call it Morning Time! You can name it whatever makes sense to you: Table Time, Family Circle, The Gathering, Symposium, or any other creative and fun title! **Even more important: you don’t have to homeschool to do morning time with your kids! My kids were in school for nearly two years, and we were still able to do an abbreviated version while they ate breakfast!
This is a ritual…a sacred space…a centering of our hearts and minds for the coming day ahead. Its components are the beautiful things that mean the most and shape the culture of our family.
Here is a list of our typical Morning Time routine:
- Prayer. Open with a short prayer. If you are not particularly religious, it can be a moment of silence, or a few positive statements to bring everyone’s attention to the table.
- Light a candle. I do this to remind us of the presence of the Holy Spirit among us.
- Music. This sets a mood for the MT session. Any music works! Think about playing one of the old hymns (Use Chris Rice…his voice is contemporary yet supremely holy.) You could pick a classical piece, or a piece of music from the culture or time period you are studying. Anything. It’s just a small bit of music appreciation sprinkled into your children’s ears. Music is spiritual and it sets a tone in the home.
- Bible. Anywhere from 5 minutes up to one chapter. I read from the real Bible, and I love reading the NLT aloud—it communicates beautifully. I also am obsessed with the Jesus Story Book Bible, which has me in tears every time I read it. Sometimes I set a timer for 5 minutes to avoid overkill, or my getting carried away. You will be stunned at how much content you can read aloud from the Bible in 5 minutes!
Note: Usually, I don’t expound upon what I have read, because they glaze over the minute I start to sermonize. I want scripture to speak for itself, burrow down into their hearts, and I don’t want my excess words to get in the way. Sometimes I read one of the study notes at the bottom of the page if there is anything that needs clarification.
- Memory Work. We work for 5 -10 minutes on our current memory work project. In our family, this is always scripture. But this is also the space for internalizing an inspiring portion of literature, a piece of poetry, or a speech or passage that you want sealed into your and the children’s brains! I have written an article about the details of the process, but essentially, the passage must be read 50 times out loud to arrive at total mastery.
- Literature. I have a read-aloud going all the time, and I usually read one chapter. Because my kiddos are all doing a lot of reading for their respective classes, I tend to stick to missionary stories/biographies.
- Something fun. Sometimes I play a fun/educational YouTube video that I or one of the kids wants to share. Sometimes we play a quick game of Spoons, Hot Potato, or Pass the Pandas. This is where you fit in levity, so that later in the day, when you start panicking over whether you are a fun mom, you get to tell yourself yes. You are a super. fun. mom. 😊
- Closing Prayer. We go around the table and each person offers up a prayer request for themselves or someone else. After someone makes a request, I ask “Who will pray for that?” and someone else at the table volunteers to pray for it. Once everyone has shared, we go around the table and pray aloud for each other’s requests. I usually close with a few prayers that our day would be centered on peace, self-control, and wisdom.
There you have it. What I’ve described to you in the list above is just a sliver of the myriad of things you can incorporate into your Morning Time. I’ve read about people doing art, nature study, Shakespeare, geography, philosophy, drama, games…the list is endless. The only thing required is your enthusiasm. So, whatever you decide to include in the repertoire, make sure you pick only the things that you love.
On the best days, morning time lasts 60-90 minutes. On days we are hurried, it can be abbreviated to about 15. A little bit goes a long way. Sarah MacKenzie points out that 5 minutes of reading aloud per day equals 60 hours per year!! That small deposit accumulates exponentially over time!
One of the best aspects of this gathering is how we are all learning together, age 3-39! Almost every element of our Morning Time enriches me as much (or sometimes more) than it enriches them! I need prayer, I need music appreciation, I need scripture memory, I need Bible, and literature! It is truly family-learning time; I am just the facilitator.
Distractions.
Do you think my five kiddos ages 3-14 sit there with rosy cheeks and halos hovering over their heads while we are going through the routine? If you said yes, then you don’t have kids.
If I am being honest I don’t think we go about five minutes without some kind of interruption. It’s maddening. But I have seen so much fruit that the interruptions don’t deter us. It’s just part of it. You will have coping mechanisms to deal with the inevitable interruptions. Go ahead and have the expectation that it will be choppy.
One bit of advice: start small. Don’t fly out of the blocks with a 90 minute session. Start with only one or two things, and then over the course of a few weeks, you can add on as everyone adjusts.
Quiet coloring, stickers, and small amounts of playdoh keep little and big hands busy for listening. I allow them to do any quiet activity, provided they are not making noise. Eating during morning time is a no: it seems to add large amounts of interruption…not sure why. But that may just be my lot. During winter, I sometimes make hot chocolate or cider for them to sip on while they are listening. Finally, Thinking Putty! It is one of Morning Time’s best friends.
I don’t know what I would do without this. Morning Time encapsulates about 85% of the entire reason we are homeschooling: to build our family on a foundation of truth, beauty and goodness.
I wish you all the best on your journey of leading your family! Thank you, Stephanie, for hosting me here on Pens of Grace, it’s truly an honor!
Leigh
A few Morning Time resources:
Your Morning Basket, Pam Barnhill
Cindy Rollins Morning Time