Hmmm… so this may give you even more options than you want, but i found it really helpful, myself. It's Cindy Rollins' 31 days to Morning Time (originally on Ordo Amoris… still choking up over that loss. :sad: ) I know nothing about poetry, never read Homer or Plutarch, haven't ever studied Latin, and was almost never expected to memorize anything in ps growing up. So all this was rather intimidating to me too. Honestly, though, diving in and just doing it taught me it wasn't really all that scary! For memory, we do a memory verse program through my children's Sunday School. We also started with Classical Conversations memory work last year (at home, not part of a group), but didn't get very far then. However, incorporating it into Morning Time this year has made all the difference. CC happens to be an easy go-to source for memory work ideas (it is Christian, though that really only impacts the choice of some timeline events), but there are lots of other sources out there too (like Living Memory). Just start slowly and make it fun and enjoyable. A little bit each day; not the occasional cram-session. The children's versions of Homer, Shakespeare, Plutarch, etc, are also not very daunting. Loop them, or just pick what you think your family will like best right now. And picking poetry? I literally just started reading from one of my newly acquired colorfully illustrated children's poetry books. My dc were fascinated, begged for more, and so (again on a last-minute whim) I picked a relatively short Dickinson poem on autumn to memorize. Three weeks into our year they've got the whole poem (plus another) memorized, and we quote lines about berries with plump cheeks as we wander in parks. It's great, it's easy, it's not so frightening after all. Have fun, and read this. (it's not really about morning time, but was just the kick-in-the-butt I needed, so, I share! :001_smile: )

Yes! We posted simultaneously so you can ignore everything I said and just read Chelli's blog. (Thank you, Chelli, for helping me figure this all out too… really appreciate your blog!)

This is our first year using one too… and it has been a phenomenal success. Even my 2 year old shrieks with delight when I call for Morning Meeting, and can babble off the timeline and Dickinson with the best of them (though you can only understand half of what she's saying.) :001_smile: Our basket includes: memory work (CC memory work like our Acts and Facts cards, Grammar definitions, Scripture memory cards, Poetry + Literature passages, Latin cards, and anything else that comes along… I haven't included math yet because we do that during math time.) blob-map supplies calendar time supplies (for my kindy-4 and kindy-5) My Bible Training Hearts Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism (Starr Meade). This pairs well with Holly Dutton's excellent (pleasant even for adults!) memory song CDs for learning the catechism… just be sure to teach your children Dutton's traditional wording, not Meade's updated wording. Hymns Shakespeare (currently Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare - E Nesbit) Homer (The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum has been a big hit) Poetry (currently I'm swapping out volumes from the Poetry for Young People series… my children love them) a few teacher items: my daily list for each child, a daily memory-work checklist (not that I aim to accomplish it all each day; this just serves to remind me what i did yesterday so I'm not consistently skipping the same things), and my pencil-and-paper planner (in which I journal our accomplishments after-the-fact). How we implement it: typically mornings, for 30-45 minutes, in a circle on our living room floor. On a couple of days, we switch to afternoons so that my kindy 4 (who attends nursery school) can take part. Hadn't planned on this, but she loves it and hates to miss out. And if we can't meet formally for some reason, I just sprinkle as many elements of our morning meeting into the cracks of our day (timeline at the park, science over lunch, poetry before bed…) Devotionals, however, occur over breakfast (this is Bible and Meade). And lengthy literature passages like Homer or long readings of Shakespeare are done over tea-time in the afternoon (another huuuuge success I added in this year… love the great ideas I find on these forums!) For memory work that doesn't already have cards, I print it out in large font, MCT style, using colors and occasionally images. Even my non-readers have found this helpful. I print on white 65lb card stock so that it will hold up to wear and tear. You Tube has been helpful for learning hymns, since I'm not exactly the world's best vocalist. I'm not organized enough yet for fancy memory games… we just repeat what we are learning, typically in some chant-style that I make up on the spot. I also make up hand motions on the spot if I've had enough coffee to think creatively. If they are extra-wiggly (well, they are always wiggly, but when they realllllly start to annoy me), we do our memory work while jumping or some such thing. Fridays are our Memory Mastery days (we aren't part of a CC group, so this is our next best thing). On Fridays, we spend a little longer at Morning Time so that everyone can individually demonstrate what they've mastered, and for each item (say, a verse or the week's timeline cards or a poem), they get a treat. In our case, a chocolate chip dropped into their mouths, because that's what's in our cupboard right now. Just like puppies. And just as effective. :D Maybe not so useful for kids older than mine, but then again, chocolate is a great motivator even for me. Poetry is saved until the end of our meeting, since it's everyone's favorite and can be dangled like a carrot when behavior issues make it necessary. I might also throw in a short real-aloud after poetry, since everyone is together anyway. HTH! YMMV, but adding Morning Time (and Tea Time) this year has transformed our school days. So much more has been accomplished, and it's been so enjoyable! And no basket is needed if you can organize your supplies some other way… though logistically that's really helpful for us.

blob-mapping ewan mcgregor! that's brilliant! :hurray:

Ours get copied before our year begins and go in a forty-week file system for the children to pull from each week as needed (the completed sheets then go in their history binder). The master originals are saved in a file box designated just for all my masters.

Yup- two mornings a week. we have a fabulous nursery school just up the road, and my children have all benefitted greatly from it. The school's focus is social (academics are addressed only as the child seems ready for it), and their faith and mission align with ours, so it's been a great fit. Pros: We can only afford one child per year (I have lots of littles), but just taking one out of the mix is refreshing to all of us and gives me more uninterrupted one-on-one time. Each child so far has loved having their own space apart from the family, and grown tremendously through it. So far none have had trouble transitioning back to homeschooling for Kindy. Cons: There's only one, really (not including the cost, which of course is a con). DH does morning drop-off, but that dang lunch-time pick-up is annoying. Still worth the hassle IMO though. It's been great for our family.

So happy to hear this! I've been burning the candle at both ends in an attempt to set up our file system for the first time before we start school in September. Glad it has been successful for you. I've decided on 40 files, but every 5th week is super light to allow for catch-up. My plan is just to bump any unfinished work into the next week's folder. At the end of the day (or week) I'll journal our accomplishments (after the fact) in a planner so that I have a record of things; no more feeling guilty about not getting to everything I had planned in advance, I hope. I haven't included every subject in the file, because my pacing on a few of them (math, phonics, and reading) is unpredictable and based on my child's speed acquiring mastery. So I've kept these subjects on a "do-the-next-thing" plan. (Which shouldn't cause any problem as there is, for me, no prep involved in them.) But otherwise, it's all in the file and ready to go. Content subjects, certain skill subjects, memory work, timeline figures… so nice to have that all done! Hope it works out for me as well as it has for you. :thumbup:

The readers worked beautifully with my reluctant reader. When we started using them, he had completed 100Ez and memorized all the WRTR phonograms, but was overwhelmed by "normal" literature. Other readers we tried were too easy, too boring, or in some cases full of unpredictably challenging words. For DS, the Spalding series has provided a perfect bridge to literature. We are almost through the second series, and he enjoys even the non-fiction (which he initially declared "boring" but then couldn't wait to read again.). I begin a reading lesson by listing 8-10 words from the book on the chalkboard, specifically choosing words with phonograms that still stump him or that demonstrate a rule (or irregularity) I want to highlight. Together we mark the syllables, and then the phonograms, for each word -- just as we would in a spelling notebook. Then it's off to the couch to read, and because he's been pre-exposed to the difficult words, he's more likely to meet with success on his own. Depending on the difficulty of the book, we usually only work on 1/3 to 1/2 of the book in a sitting.

For this coming year, I'm just pulling out any relevant CC sentences and adding them to our memory work as they are introduced in SOTW. I think that amounted to about 8-10 sentences. Can't check now but will post them as soon as I'm able.

I'm a type A perfectionist, but having 5 dc in 6 years has tempered that (bending was preferable to breaking, I learned, and my family and I are much happier as a result). You may need to change your expectations a bit, but as PPs have said, you won't be hs-ing both for many years. I'd just add that your baby will have plenty of attention from older sib, so even though he won't have the same undivided experience his sib had, that's not necessarily bad. Just different. One big help, if you're not already doing it, would be to train your 9 year-old in chores. Even my littles now are super helpful around the house. A 30 minute chore time keeps our house presentable and clean, and laundry under control. I only need to do some deep cleaning on Saturdays. This frees me up to cook reasonably well on school days. I prep during the summer using a 40-week file system. So far this system, plus some basic organization learned through trial-and-error, has virtually eliminated prep time in the evenings during the regular school year. This year I plan to record our accomplishments each day, but this should only take about 5-10 min. Finally, I'd also recommend the Moby Wrap (or something like it). My 2 month old has spent most of our school days cuddled against me while I teach. What could be better than that? We both love it :-) ETA: next year I'm hs-ing a 2nd grader, K5er, and k4er (who demands to be taught! Otherwise I wouldn't be yet). I will be on duty about 6 hours each day, but dc are each on duty for only 1-3 hours total. We do memory work / reading all year, but only 40 weeks of formal "full-time" school (and even then, every 5th week is super-light to allow for catch-up). I follow a daily routine, not schedule, so I can flex around the baby's needs. ETA (again!): I'm 39, DH is 53, we are both utterly exhausted (but who wouldn't be with young children?), and we wouldn't trade it for the world. Not to influence you either way; just my own experience.

Prior to the year I sort all my memory work (CC cards, poems, etc) into folders by week. Makes it handy to pull out at the start of each new week. But after that.... No system whatsoever. All ears for ideas on how to store things for review.

It's true that Ccs online community requires a fee (and it's expensive IMHO) but Halfahundred is a CC mom's blog, packed full of links, ideas, explanations, and occasionally free downloads/printables. Other blogs are out there too: mthopeacademy.blogspot.com is one I enjoy. As far as "content" for CC: remember it is primarily a memory program for the foundations level. My understanding is that CC Mem work + your own math+ your own LA is all that is expected of a foundations student. The A&F cards contain summary info that provides a context for your child's memory work with history and science, but the guide doesn't provide for content in every category. Your grammar child can memorize Latin paradigms given in the guide, for example, without understanding them yet; but if you want to truly teach Latin, choose an additional curriculum you like. You can teach history using just the A&F timeline cards, but can also add history supplements (like SOTW). You can have your child memorize science facts, but without a community you may want to add in some experiments and other science supplements. I'd just recommend above all else that you step into your first-grade routine slowly, however you choose to use or supplement CC. Doing everything all at once is a sure way to crash-and-burn (as i learned last year!). Age 6 is the minimum recommended age for a child starting CC, so your dc is on the young side. Have fun with the songs and enjoy memory games, but don't expect mastery yet. Just exposure. Begin by making mem work a fun start to your day, teaching your child to read, and giving them a good foundation in arithmetic. Add any other stuff in later as your child is interested and able.

Yup! I'm doing that. Our nearest community is too far away, and with five DC I'd never be able to afford the cost or the extra day off. I purchased the guide, the Acts and Facts cards for history and science, and the audio CDs. That has been sufficient for us. And while the idea of a local community is sometimes appealing (my children would really enjoy it, I think), I love the flexibility of doing it myself. It's an important part of our curriculum but not central-- iow, we do our own science, history, etc., on top of CC, and i ignore some elements of CC (like Latin) because i prefer to follow our own curriculum. And because my dc are little, I spread the mem work out over two weeks (to make for a 48 week span instead of 24 weeks). It just works well for us that way. Less stressful. (As an aside, I'm hoping to slowly transform our morning time into something a little more Circe/Cindy Rollins-y so less stress is good). Plus there are lots of free resources out there -- www.halfahundredacrewood.com is a great place to start. HTH! ETA: grrrr... I can never make links work from my mobile... Sorry about that...

A stapler that my littles can't jam!!! If such a thing exists. The expensive "guaranteed not to jam" stapler I bought at staples last year jams all.the.time. Even when I'm the one using it. Grrrrrr.....

Glad to be of help! Before you kick yourself too hard, I should confess that it took me, ohhhhh, about six.whole.months of playing cranial Twister to come up with this "simple" solution. Arghh. 😖 You're not the only one who overcomplicates!

I use (and love) Spalding for teaching reading, but Apples and Pears has been great so far for spelling for DS. He just doesn't have a great visual memory for words, so the morphemic approach of A&P has really helped.

Pretty sure SWB addresses this overlap in a video, though I can't recall which one. I suppose for some students it's no issue to just do everything. But while both programs are excellent and have different emphases, DS6 is not a seat-work-fine-motor-control kinda guy. Completing both programs would simply take forever. So to make grammar and writing work I really need to streamline. Havent tried it yet, but FWIW, the plan next year is to eliminate all narration exercises from both WWE and FLL, since we do that already for history/science/and lit. Then I'll use FLL for the first half of the year (85ish lessons) to introduce grammatical concepts, followed by WWE for the remainder of the year (70ish lessons) to review grammar and focus on writing mechanics. To the extent possible I'll use literature we are covering in other subjects for WWE lessons too, but I have the workbook to fall back on if I run out of time to pre-plan my own selections. You could certainly try to merge the two programs and use them simultaneously, but the very thought of that gave me a migraine. :-) HTH!

I threw out my ironing board last year and am not even sure where the iron is right now. So freeing! :-)

Just to add: there is some overlap between FLL and WWE. If you use both, don't feel obligated to do every copy work exercise or narration in each. I'm fairly certain SWB mentions this in a video... My approach this coming year will be to complete FLL 1 first, then start WWE 1, but drop all narrations because we do narrations daily with history, science, and literature anyway. (And I'll try to build our WWE lessons off of lit we are reading anyway, but no promises there. I'll fall back on the workbook selections if I just can't squeeze in time to pre-plan my own.)

I have a cuisinart k-cup brewer and love it -- it had much higher reviews than keurig models, which appealed to me as my mother's keurigs seem to die or have problems in just a year or two (she's been through 3 in recent years). My Cuisinart is 2.5 years old and running beautifully.

So glad you posted this! I've been mulling over this issue for a while too. I have five dc (nb to age 6), so time is limited and I'm usually exhausted during the time I do have. No advice to give on when to plan. But I know I don't want to overplan like I did last year. I'm great at planning, but implementation (with sicknesses, pregnancies, special needs, etc) is another story. I want a plan that is flexible. Motivational, but guilt-free. Attainable. Easy to implement and low maintenance. I like a "do the next thing" approach in theory, but in reality I need a little more structure. So I think (maybe???) I'll try setting up, say, 40 weekly files for the year to hold worksheets and other paperwork for each child for that week. (I've ripped the bindings off of workbooks already). Non-paper schoolwork (like readings from SOTW) will also be thrown in, each assignment on its own index card. Anything not finished in a given week can be dumped into the following week (or completed on Saturday.) And I'll purposely include periodic lightweight "catch-up" weeks. The weeks won't be tied to specific dates; that way I can take vacation weeks as needed. I might break each week down into daily folders (we already use daily folders this year), but I will only do that at the start of the week so I can take into account the upcoming schedule for that week (dr appts, etc). Other than that, I'll just keep a journal of work completed, rather than a pre-planned written daily schedule for the whole semester/year. I plan to use Jolanthe's planner at homeschoolcreations.net ($20 downloadable) for that. (Sorry no link-- I'm mobile right now). The journal is mostly to motivate me and give me a sense of accomplishment; my state doesn't require records like that. Fingers crossed, and HTH you generate ideas too. Hoping this works better than last year's approach!

My son learned writing via WRTR, but hasn't had any trouble with A&P level A. He mistook "l" and "i" for "j" when they were first introduced, but a quick explanation and comparison from me was all he needed. He's actually enjoyed writing with the A&P font far better than he did with block fonts; and he has consistently formed letters with much greater accuracy, too. Seeing this, I may move him on to cursive faster than originally planned.

Thanks for sharing! I have a lefty learning to write, too. A lefty acquaintance of mine uses a 90 degree slant that has always seemed bizarre and awkward to me (a righty); but her handwriting is absolutely gorgeous and I'm glad to learn such a slant is legitimate approach to try.

Ours is very tiny, maybe 10'x14', schoolroom in our basement, and it triples as a schoolroom+coat room+pantry. I joke that it is a glorified walk-in closet, but it really has worked beautifully for us. The key for us is lining the walls with storage but hiding everything in bins on the shelves. I also chose muted cool colors, clean lines, and lots of warm whites and neutrals (including two cozy white shag rugs) with maximized natural lighting. It creates a welcoming feel that eliminates distractions for my very easily distracted DS6 with sensory issues (this was all on the advice of a friend who did a Master thesis on the subject of school environments). Our 5 dc are ages 6 and under, so a square child's table (seating 4) sits in the center of the schoolroom. We use it primarily for seat work, and relocate to the living room for reading on the couch or the dining room for things like art. The kids love it, and because it's a quiet, separate space, it's great for one-on-one work. Plus it's nice to corral all our school stuff in one place so we can stay organized. The space is tight, but adequate for all my kids at the moment, though for older children it probably would only work as a private study space for one child at a time. If I can figure out how, I'll try to add pics at some point.

Hmmm... I like the "journal" approach. Would eliminate the guilt and stress when inevitably fall behind schedule! I'm a pencil person but gave up scheduling because I couldn't easily bump unfinished work.