ajfries Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I saw the huge Circe thread months ago and was completely overwhelmed :) but I've been listening to Podcasts & reading blogs and ebooks and I the whole idea just resonates with me. Morning time is definitely going to be an addition to our day this year. I'd love to see what everyone else is going to be using during their morning time. I'm just starting to get a feel for what I'd like to include, but I do have a few specific resources picked out (I think!) Bible Time (we're Jehovah's Witnesses, so most everything we'll be using is available on JW.org) Poetry (I think I've decided on this book) Fables Art ( we'll probably use the Come Look with Me series) We might read SOTW at this time, but I don't know. I'm not really liking that idea for some reason. Listening to Cindy Rollins podcast that she did with Sarah Mackenzie, she said that their morning time was often 1.5-2 hours and there's no way that's going to work around here right now, but I think 20-30 minutes is reasonable. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 :lurk5: So far morning time has been a bust for us. The kids seem to view it as some form of torture akin to having their toenails removed layer by layer. I definitely want to make it work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tress Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 20-30 minutes is a reasonable amount for a 1st grader and a pre-K. It could even be too long :D, depending on your little one. I would not be concerned about not doing Morning Time for 1.5-2 hours, with young kids that would be their whole schoolday...and you really need to spend time on Math and LA too, right? I think your list looks lovely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BugsMama Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 For the same ages, we sing some songs, go over poetry or some other memorization piece (I keep one in a pocket chart, and remove words to practice). We go over calender and graph the weather. Sometimes we read aloud. Mostly though, its song, poetry, weather, calender. Typically done over breakfast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted July 8, 2014 Author Share Posted July 8, 2014 :lurk5: So far morning time has been a bust for us. The kids seem to view it as some form of torture akin to having their toenails removed layer by layer. I definitely want to make it work! I'm going to be adding a joke book to our rotation, I think. It may not qualify as 'good, true, & beautiful' :D but the kids will love it. I'm trying to work out the transitions in my head, though. I imagine having a basket full of books & just grabbing from it. It's definitely something I want to leave very open ended so I don't feel tied to any aspects of it that aren't working. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I'm going to be adding a joke book to our rotation, I think. It may not qualify as 'good, true, & beautiful' :D but the kids will love it. I'm trying to work out the transitions in my head, though. I imagine having a basket full of books & just grabbing from it. It's definitely something I want to leave very open ended so I don't feel tied to any aspects of it that aren't working. Actually, that is a spectacular idea. I'm totally stealing it, thanks! Also, I wanted to add that my kids are 9 and 12, so they are in that "Whyyyy do we have to doooo thiiiiiiissssss?" stage! So don't let my comment bring you down. I totally wish I'd started it when they were your kids' ages! Oh, I also think hot cocoa will go along way in building goodwill toward morning time here, but I think that will have to wait for fall :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 We are doing Morning Time this year as well. I have all sorts of ideas, but since we have just started I've kept it short (30 min) to start the day. My boys are 10. So far it is a quick Civics lesson, and a read aloud. I have managed to work in some American History and some discussion of genre (the read aloud is E. Nesbit's Dragon stories) so fantasy genre is being talked about, as well as short story vs. novel. We have worked in some poetry-Longfellow came up in our nightly read aloud, and in our spelling lesson this week, so I've been getting in a Longfellow poem when I can. Both my boys are very active, and at least one has to be told multiple times during the read aloud at night to quit complaining. But he's done well with morning time so far because I make sure he's got pencil and paper in hand. Both he and his brother can be still for hours if they are drawing, so drawing it is. We generally have a second cup of tea while reading as well, so it is necessary to be at a table. For what it is worth, a good sense of humor is a beautiful thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
linguistmama Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 1.5 - 2 hours would be way too long for us. We do our memorization and read aloud in Spanish and English. It is 30-45 minutes for us and that seems to be working well. I'm not that in to singing so I play children's songs and other music while we are getting ready and the girls pick them up that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I took at lot of lessons from that Circe thread, but morning time won't fly here either, at least not in its traditional format, so I decided I'll not force it. I'll try again occasionally, and if it flies, it flies, and if not, oh, well.... ETA: Oh, joke book would probably make that dog hunt. I'm totally stealing that one. :lurk5: So far morning time has been a bust for us. The kids seem to view it as some form of torture akin to having their toenails removed layer by layer. I definitely want to make it work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 ETA: Oh, joke book would probably make that dog hunt. I'm totally stealing that one. :lol: I think I'm also going to try to find some riddles--my kids love riddles like the ones from The Hobbit. Might help spice things up a bit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I saw the huge Circe thread months ago and was completely overwhelmed :) but I've been listening to Podcasts & reading blogs and ebooks and I the whole idea just resonates with me. Morning time is definitely going to be an addition to our day this year. I'd love to see what everyone else is going to be using during their morning time. I'm just starting to get a feel for what I'd like to include, but I do have a few specific resources picked out (I think!) Bible Time (we're Jehovah's Witnesses, so most everything we'll be using is available on JW.org) Poetry (I think I've decided on this book) Fables Art ( we'll probably use the Come Look with Me series) We might read SOTW at this time, but I don't know. I'm not really liking that idea for some reason. Listening to Cindy Rollins podcast that she did with Sarah Mackenzie, she said that their morning time was often 1.5-2 hours and there's no way that's going to work around here right now, but I think 20-30 minutes is reasonable. That sounds great! We do an hour to 1.5 hours here with my 4th and 1st grader with lots of reading. But when my oldest was in 2nd we did more of a 45 to 30 minute Morning Meeting. Very bare bones, but fun. In the next couple of years when my youngest joins in for Morning Meeting I fully plan on utilizing something Cindy Rollins talked about in her Morning Meeting series which is letting the younger ones go after about 30-45 minutes and finish up Morning Meeting with your older ones. That might be something to keep in mind for the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. A Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 Our Morning Time consists of Morning prayers Lives of the Saints Bible Memory work (scripture and poetry) And then we rotate content subjects in based on day of the week. That may not always work, but for now it's fine. So we have Monday: geography Tuesday: history Wednesday: nature study and music theory/ear training Thursday: artist and composer studies Friday: American history and sometimes a specific read-aloud. The read-aloud isn't always there because we have so many other read-alouds going on all the time, but if there's something I want to get to that no one is showing an interest in then I'll add it in. Altogether it takes anywhere from 25-45 minutes depending on the content subjects and how many interruptions we have. Some days we don't get to everything because none of the kids can handle it, other days we don't get through it all because I can't handle it. :lol: But for the most part we've been consistent and that's been the key to any success we've enjoyed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kfamily Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I can definitely see how the morning meeting would work for some families and not so much for others. For example, I think that if my girls were closer in age and much younger they would enjoy a morning meeting. Over the years, I done something similar but not in a structured, every morning and only in the morning way. Each time my girls were in K we did have a circle time in that we kept a calendar and discussed it and sometimes played with the calendar mathematically. Sometimes we read a seasonal poem or read a fun story book about upcoming holidays. At this time, the girls and I still get together for specific things but at different times of the day and not every day. For example, today we read Romeo and Juliet together right before our lunch break. And after our lunch break, we read from What Makes a Rembrandt a Rembrandt and studied "A Storm on the Sea of Galilee". In our house, we have to do math and language first in the morning. My girls are both at their freshest and this is what really works best for them....and me too! LOL! :) So, we do join together for similar topics as is found in the morning meeting, but just not in the same manner. Hopefully, this makes sense. I typically fill in with these lessons when I have both girls ready at the same time. For example, both girls had finished their math and other assignments with about 20 minutes before we normally break for lunch. This was a good time to bring them together and read Shakespeare. We read one or two scenes at a time, each of us taking one or more roles and reading out loud. I will think about this idea and see if I could make it work for us, but just at a different time and maybe in a different form...hmmm, have to think on this more. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MommytoFour Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 We do about an hour, Monday thru Saturday. I have four kids (ages 4 1/2 to 6). Prayer Storybook bible reading Pledge of allegiance (M/W/F) Calendar (Tu/Th/Sa) Virtues/Character reading and/or activity Read-aloud rotation (fables, geography, history, living math, etc.) Recitation Folk songs Sometimes it goes longer because we are also doing activities/games to learn money/time. My kids are young, so their day consists of just Morning Time, and then a block of 1-on-1 time for phonics/math. Then, a block of science a couple times a week. They also watch an hour of Spanish TV, and listen to classical music almost every day. (Plus read-alouds in the evening with Dad.) So far, it's a very rich yet relaxed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted July 9, 2014 Author Share Posted July 9, 2014 Oh! I wonder if Morning Time would be a good time to do some math games. We're using RS, but I have a feeling they're more likely to get the games done if we do them some time other than math time. Hm. I'd also kind of like to add some sort of manners/habits/character training to the rotation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2OandE Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I just finished that same podcast. We did a morning time two years ago and it disappeared at some point last year. I'm bringing it back. Actually, I'm doing our history reading (great books), classics, poetry during that time. I will also have art and architecture books to look at. I'm planning one hour. The rest of the day (Monday through Thursday) all we are doing is Latin, English and math. They will also read STOW independently and outline it or write a narration but that is on their own. Friday is for timelines, history writing, science, art (they also have a drawing class during the week). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craftyerin Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 We are adding morning time here this year, too, inspired by many of the same resources! My plan: Bible reading Scripture and poetry memory work Loop: nature study, foreign language, composer study, picture study, art We do our big read aloud block after lunch before rest time, so I'm not including that in morning time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
My3girls Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Our morning time includes read alouds (Greek Myths and poetry right now) and handwriting. This takes 30-45 min. We sometimes throw in a documentary or experiment which can add up to an extra hour. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mswin15 Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 I have a basket of morning time books. It includes D'aulaires Greek Myths, Stories of Great Americans for Little Americans, Collier's Junior Classics, Lamb and Nesbit Shakespeare Stories, Aesop's Fables and Grimm's Fairy Tales. My kids are 5-8. We do some combination of about 3 of those each day. We review our weekly memory work quickly during this time (including our current and previous poetry that we have memorized). I keep this in a binder in our morning time basket. We do "poetry and tea" (aka snack time with tea while mom reads poetry) as a break during the school time. They usually ask to read a few also. They have grown to love it but weren't too sure at first. Now it is something we all look forward to during the day. Our second break time is a game time. This is really for my game loving son. We play something for about 10-15 min as a fun break. Uno, Skipbo, Yahtzee, Brainbox . . . whatever. It's fun and something else they look forward to. I could combine the poetry reading and game time into the morning but we all enjoy those pillars throughout the day (in addition to outside time) and look forward to them. They go to a UMS two days a week and our morning time is short enough the way it is that we can do it over breakfast those days and not miss it. It's the best part of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchbark Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 For 2nd Grader Psalm Poetry Bible Story Living History or Science My Book House and/or an Elson Reader Ray's Arithmetic For 8th Grader Scripture and/or Poetry Caesar's English 2 The Fallacy Detective An occasional Short Story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimk3 Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I love seeing what others do for morning time! I make sure to have music quietly playing when my kids come down for breakfast. Right now it's Wind in the Willows soundtrack(spotify). We start morning time with calendar. Then we call the rest of it "breakfast basket" and do the following while eating breakfast: Jokes. We have three books, one for each kid. Jesus Calling Devotions for Kids "We need to know this stuff!" Notebook (address, phone number, time, skip counting, etc.) Loop: History spine (Adventures in America, will be starting CHOW soon) (2x), Egermeier bible story book (2x), Laying Down the Rails habit study (1x). My children are 8, 6, and 6. We spend about 40 min with the above and then move into quiet reading. We have art, music, and poetry tea on an afternoon loop. I like to sprinkle the true, good, and beautiful throughout the day. : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TammyS Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Is anyone doing this with a mixed age group of kids? I really, really like the idea (though for us it would lunchtime, because morning are for work and exercise around here) but my two are 15 and 3. Suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchyGirl Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I can't imagine any of my kids at 3 sitting still for table time. I feel like we are almost there with the 5 year old and I'm requiring more time sitting still for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Critterfixer Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Mine don't exactly sit still. We are up and down for our civics lesson, for example. When I add in recitations I'll require standing, and maybe some jumping around. Our best Latin vocabulary recitations were usually conducted with kids running full speed in circles around the middle wall of the house and yelling out the words as they passed me. For our more sedate parts when I read to them, we went with the table and not the couch because they like to draw while I read. Bottom line is that they don't always have to be sitting on their bottoms for all of morning time. When they get older, I can totally see morning time involving running or weight lifting while reciting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILiveInFlipFlops Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I make sure to have music quietly playing when my kids come down for breakfast. Right now it's Wind in the Willows soundtrack(spotify). Oh, I love that idea! I really need to get a bluetooth speaker for the kitchen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimk3 Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I'm going to be adding a joke book to our rotation, I think. It may not qualify as 'good, true, & beautiful' :D but the kids will love it. I'm trying to work out the transitions in my head, though. I imagine having a basket full of books & just grabbing from it. It's definitely something I want to leave very open ended so I don't feel tied to any aspects of it that aren't working. Oh, I think the joke book is good! It's good to laugh, very good. :thumbup1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjlcc Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 We began a Morning Time during the last month of our school year, as a sort of test run. It went well and I have next year's plans finalized finally. :) Daily (during breakfast as my children are slow eaters): chronological scripture reading (1 chapter) scripture memory - Genesis 1 catechism - Training Hearts, Teaching Minds history - Story of the Middle Ages I made up a schedule with a rotation of five days, and we'll attempt to have MT five days per week, but life throws us for a loop sometimes. This will take place in the morning after I've spent some play time with my 5, 3, and 1 year old. Day 1: poetry - Favorite Poems Old and New geography - Visits to Europe character/habit training - Laying Down the Rails nature study - Nature Friend magazine Day 2: manners - Goops poetry - review of memorized poems lit. - Teaching Character through Lit. theology - Who is God? creative writing - Story Starters Day 3: poetry - 100 Classic Poems geography - Visits to Europe character/habit training - Laying Down the Rails nature study - Nature Friend magazine Day 4: spiritual - Heaven for Kids lit. - Teaching Character through Lit. theology - Who is God? Shakespeare - A Midsummer's Night Dream Day 5: poetry - Favorite Poems Old and New art - Home Art Studio picture study - Simply Charlotte Mason - Monet, Giotto, Van Gogh Shakespeare - A Midsummer's Night Dream We also begin MT by watching a youtube video of a hymn sung live and/or listening to a classical piece of music. I may do this over lunch though. I enjoyed planning our MT resources, and it's fun to see everyone's selections. Thanks, Jenna. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureMomma Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 We are also Witnesses :) My daughters 12 now, and we don't do as much, but still try to do certain subjects. When she was younger, we did poetry, including working on memorizing some, we used the poetry linked, its a great one. Scripture memory, we would pick out 15-20 scriptures andd read them until she memorized them naturally. It didnt take too long with this method, and once she memorized them we would cycle through and do about 5 a day. Text, some kingdom songs, and other songs, sometimes a nature show and tell, Brain gym to help integrate the brain, math facts with bean bags, or a math deck, or some other math game, and then reading from a read aloud sometimes, and switching off with nature books, from ambleside, or Queen ir the christian libertu nature readers, or other read alouds, and picture study. This all took about 45 minutes. And then we'd take a walk for 20 minutes after. It was ways the favorite part of our day as I'm sad she doesn't want to do it as much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NatureMomma Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Ugh... Stupid auto correct. That is, we would read the scriptures, until we naturally memorized them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I wrote a blog post about our Morning Meeting resources for this year. It has been a great time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonflyer Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 We are doing: Bible Scripture/Poetry/Geography Memorization Hymns Read-Alouds I am also doing once a week artist and composer studies. The kids are allowed to do puzzles, build with a variety of blocks, color, or do any other kind of handiwork during this time. They listen much better with busy hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AStableBeginning Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I like the idea of the joke books. Which ones do you recommend? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Cindy Rollins' 1.5-2hr morning meetings were likely with big kids. I'm revamping our morning meetings (which sometimes happen in the afternoon...and sometimes are broken up 1/2 in the morning and 1/2 in the afternoon). I think of everything I combine with all the kids as "morning meeting." Tea Time (real tea), as talked about here, is much the same idea. Bible Literature History Nature Study Picture Study Music/Composer Study Drawing/Painting/Sculpting Shakespeare Poetry We don't do everything every day. I try to make as much of this list as possible a part of family culture rather than school. I think that's the ultimate goal in a Classical/Circe/Charlotte Mason paradigm...to graft these things into life. It isn't that these things are on some sort of checklist (though I might use a checklist). We stop when we need to stop. The above list are the things we do as a Break and a Reward for the work of the day. If these things lose the feel of an invigorating or restful reward, then I take that to mean that I need to change the way we are doing something. When we slack off, like this summer, I notice their affections migrating towards the video games and ridiculous things that their peers are doing. Starve them from the Good and they will graze on junk. We will likely have some "ugh" moments when I start to ramp up our morning time b/c while Shakespeare is invigorating and stimulating, it is harder to chew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 I like the idea of the joke books. Which ones do you recommend? I don't actually have one on hand, but based on the reviews I've put this one on my wishlist. :) http://www.amazon.com/dp/0800788036/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=11NTXVBDZ5DS9&coliid=I1165WXXLNRYP1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Poetry (I think I've decided on this book) I added this book to my Amazon cart, so thanks for the link. It looks great. Did you decide on it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajfries Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 I added this book to my Amazon cart, so thanks for the link. It looks great. Did you decide on it? I've stopped looking at other poetry books, for what it's worth, but I don't have it in hand yet :) I think it's cheaper at Rainbow Resource, so I'll probably order from there with all my other curriculum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mswin15 Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I can't imagine any of my kids at 3 sitting still for table time. I feel like we are almost there with the 5 year old and I'm requiring more time sitting still for her. Morning time is definitely not table time here. We are most often on our porch or sometimes in the living room and the kids keep hands busy by drawing, doing the perplexus, using pattern blocks etc. or they move around using our balance board or doing handstands :) I've thought about getting mini trampoline too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 I actually wrote another post about Morning Meeting which deals with beginning a Morning Meeting and the why and how of it. Morning Meeting Makeover; Starting Our Day with Truth, Beauty, Goodness, and Wisdom I am loving all of the ideas being shared in this thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 There is a new Facebook group about Classical Education that I hope a few of you might be interested in: https://www.facebook.com/groups/681499701938306/ I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't really have many (read 1) people to talk about this with in real life, and would love to have a dynamic group of people to discuss and debate topics related to these ideas with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korrale Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Morning time is independent time for my son. He is a morning person, I am not. He often does some social studies or science related work. Either reading books, watching a show or doing an app. Somedays he just okay a snap circuits or Legos... Others he build contraptions. So yeah.... No real morning time in our house. School starts after noon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamamindy Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Like a PP, I consider all things we do together - which is A LOT - to be like a Morning Time/Circle Time/whatever. I really like what 4blessingmom said about the goal being just making all the beautiful things just a part of life. Thank you! I tried to make ours look like some others I've seen blogged about, and it really was a disaster here. My kids can smell when the ideas are really all about me (they're not!) and they revolt. Right now we do our devotional at breakfast time and scripture/poetry memory and pray. That is truly all I can manage at breakfast time, while remaining calm, with my small children. We listen to hymns (and my readers have the lyrics) while cleaning up breakfast. Then we have chores, a chore check, and meet back together for whatever we have going for the day. I'm still trying to figure out all the rest of our day in fact! ETA: I found that when I had a certain resource picked out for our particular morning time, it kinda stressed me out. For us anyway, it has been better to have something very flexible/free flowing, or to yes, maybe purchase resources, but relax my expectations of them. I don't want our Morning Together Time to feel like must get done or else kind of time. I feel like enjoying each other, and sharing lovely things is building our family culture. That doesn't mean I don't TOTALLY APPRECIATE Chelli's list of resources, as I always need ideas. I think it's important to be careful how you approach it so you aren't discouraged like I was. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wind-in-my-hair Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 You mentioned you are on the fence about doing SOTW during morning time. Did you know there is an audiobook version of SOTW available? Your post made me think of this, because I have been overwhelmed by my read-aloud load and really want to do SOTW starting in September. My 6 yo DS is not an independent reader so I end up reading everything aloud, and for a change I would like to sit back and get to listen, to be inspired and take down notes to ask him follow-up questions while we both listen, and allow that to launch us into a hands-on project. I can imagine this fall having history in the morning, in which we listen to SOTW, re-read the parts we want to focus on (since I already have the book), do our activity, coloring sheet, or mapwork, and then get prepared for our regular workout of skills lessons. Its such a nice idea to begin the morning with something inspiring, instead of hitting the drills as soon as breakfast dishes are cleared out of the way. Maybe you could use the audio version of SOTW as part of your morning time, as a suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 ETA: I found that when I had a certain resource picked out for our particular morning time, it kinda stressed me out. For us anyway, it has been better to have something very flexible/free flowing, or to yes, maybe purchase resources, but relax my expectations of them. I don't want our Morning Together Time to feel like must get done or else kind of time. I feel like enjoying each other, and sharing lovely things is building our family culture. That doesn't mean I don't TOTALLY APPRECIATE Chelli's list of resources, as I always need ideas. I think it's important to be careful how you approach it so you aren't discouraged like I was. :) Oh, no! I totally didn't mean to make my resources sound that way. I am trying to get away from the locked down approach. Those are my resources, but I use them very free-flowing. Some days we don't even get to everything on my "list" and if those resources aren't used up in a perfect 36 week school year, then I use them next year. It's more like free-flowing within a list. I'm not sure if that makes sense. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that your Morning Time works for YOUR family. I need to have resources because I have NO clue how to do most of this (Plutarch/Shakespeare/poetry) so the resources are to help me feel less stressed. But within those resources and my "schedule" it is VERY free form and relaxed. We read, we discuss, we move on. I just have planned out what I'd like to read (remember type A and all that)! I don't think there is a right way to do a morning time. If I alluded that there was, then I am truly sorry. That was not my intention at all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Cindy Rollins' latest post (for 7/10, The Little Way to Success) over at Ordo-amoris.com addresses how to ease into a good morning time....well worth a read. (sorry, unable to link right now...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. A Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Cindy Rollins' latest post (for 7/10, The Little Way to Success) over at Ordo-amoris.com addresses how to ease into a good morning time....well worth a read. (sorry, unable to link right now...) I was just about to come post this here! Here's the link: The Little Way to Success Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimk3 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 I like the idea of the joke books. Which ones do you recommend? We have these three: A Joke a Day Laugh Out Loud Jokes for Kids Knock Knock Jokes for Kids I am thinking about getting this book to throw in the mix, but I want to check the content first before I buy it: Jokelopedia I want to add that I have a child that tends to be a little grumpy right away in the morning and the jokes bring this child into a better mood. Also, this same child likes to make people laugh (once no longer grumpy) and will choose less than stellar ways to go about that. So, having some appropriate ways to be funny and entertaining through jokes has helped with some behavioral habits we are working on. :laugh: Oh, and here are some poetry books that we have enjoyed this year during poetry tea: Julie Andrew's Treasury for All Seasons We have a couple Poetry for Young People (Lewis Carroll and Emily Dickinson) and want to collect some more. A Poetry Atlas of the United States A Child's Garden of Verses Where the Sidewalk Ends We will do a bit more of an exploration this year with the following book: A Child's Introduction to Poetry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. A Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 We have these three: A Joke a Day Laugh Out Loud Jokes for Kids Knock Knock Jokes for Kids I am thinking about getting this book to throw in the mix, but I want to check the content first before I buy it: Jokelopedia I want to add that I have a child that tends to be a little grumpy right away in the morning and the jokes bring this child into a better mood. Also, this same child likes to make people laugh (once no longer grumpy) and will choose less than stellar ways to go about that. So, having some appropriate ways to be funny and entertaining through jokes has helped with some behavioral habits we are working on. :laugh: Oh, and here are some poetry books that we have enjoyed this year during poetry tea: Julie Andrew's Treasury for All Seasons We have a couple Poetry for Young People (Lewis Carroll and Emily Dickinson) and want to collect some more. A Poetry Atlas of the United States A Child's Garden of Verses Where the Sidewalk Ends We will do a bit more of an exploration this year with the following book: A Child's Introduction to Poetry A.A. Milne's poetry would probably be a great addition for those who like the joke book idea and want to do poetry. He's very funny and the poems are pure fun to read and to memorize. Not suggesting to do Milne instead of joke books, but if you like to laugh think about adding him in. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairProspects Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 Do any of you who do morning time have children with LDs? How does this change your approach? We've been sort of doing a morning meeting and really enjoying it but using web-based unit studies and read alouds. I plan to add our Bible/character study into that time in the fall as well. The ideas of adding a hymn or artist study are appealing too and we could possibly do poetry appreciation, but memorizing poetry or hymns is a sure way to frustrate my dyslexics who struggle significantly with language processing. My other concern is that the remediation of 2 dyslexics already takes so much time that I just don't have more than half an hour or so for MT or we will be schooling all day. Any other moms of LD students care to comment on these concerns and how it works for you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AimeeM Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 While it won't work for us the way most use it (too large of an age gap to include core subjects, even content subjects), I do plan to do this as our "morning circle" time: Prayer/Rosary (when we do not attend morning Mass) Calendar Time (Confessions of a homeschooler, so it includes calendar, days of school, weather, etc) Memory Work (separate, given their ages) Catholic Mosaic (reading or activities) After that, DD will do her independent study period, with her independent work, while I work with DS5 and keep DS2 occupied. After DS5 is finished with me, DS2 goes down for his nap, and I'll spend a couple hours with DD's mom intensive subjects. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rimk3 Posted July 12, 2014 Share Posted July 12, 2014 A.A. Milne's poetry would probably be a great addition for those who like the joke book idea and want to do poetry. He's very funny and the poems are pure fun to read and to memorize. Not suggesting to do Milne instead of joke books, but if you like to laugh think about adding him in. :) Thanks for the recommendation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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