Our Morning Time Plans 2017-2018

Morning time has been my favorite thing to plan in our homeschool over the years. Every year my husband and I reassess what we want to focus on for our family and seek out the best resources to accomplish our goals.

Our Simple Schedule

We take about an hour in the morning together to start off the day. Here's the basic form we'll follow:

• 8:30 - Devotional: We Choose Virtues - Youth edition
• 8:45 - CNN10 - A quick update on world news
• 8:55 - Classical Conversations Memory work review
• 9:05 - Rotating Content:
  • Art Appreciation - Masterpiece Society Art Appreciation
  • American History - Exploring America Series by Notgrass
  • Shakespeare Studies - How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare
  • History of Astronomy - Living books about great scientists that studied the stars
  • Periodic Table - Memorize the Periodic Table
• 9:15 - Read Aloud

We have some rotating content because there are so many wonderful things we want to explore together, and just not enough time in the day. Here are some details about the new elements we're adding this year:

Art Appreciation

There is just something about contemplating beauty together that makes us put looking at and loving art together at the top of our list every year for our morning time. This year we're going to be using a brand new release by Alisha Gratehouse: Masterpiece Society Art Appreciation.

Masterpiece Society Art Appreciation exposes students to the great masters and their classic works of art. This program is intended to educate, inspire and help the student create rich relationships with the old masters. My desire is that it will encourage their own artistic expression, spark their inner creative abilities, and instill in them a lifelong love of art.

I printed off the PDF guides and spiraled them, because even though they are simple to use as digital resources, I love having physical copies to hold and read together.

I love that these simple lessons give a bit of info and then a simple coloring sheet to follow up with in your study. This will be a perfect activity to help my kids sit still while we read aloud.

No other materials are necessary with this program! Here’s some of what’s included in each PDF packet:

• Biographical information (and fun, quirky facts) on each artist
• Artist quotes for copywork, journaling or future art projects
• Historical background of the art movement in which he or she created
• Quality photos of each classic work of art we study
• Descriptions of the mediums and techniques used by the artist

Art Appreciation Release Dates:
***Set One: AUGUST 7, 2017 & Set Two: SEPTEMBER 4, 2017***

You can purchase single artist files at the pre-order price of $10, or a set for $48. If you want all of the artists, the pre-order price is $84 (a $60 savings)! This will give you ample material to weave into your morning time for the next couple of years.

Pre-order today and get a low, introductory price!
(Prices increase on August 7th.)

We Choose Virtues

Another new element that we are integrating into our morning time routine are the Youth Virtue Cards from We Choose Virtues. Even though we've talked about many of these things before, I'm really excited to incorporate these topics into our morning meeting.

What I love about the way that these virtues are introduced is that they provide two contrasting statements which offers a deeper understanding of the topic you're discussing. Here are some examples:

• I am Content: I am happy with what I have and what I am doing. I am not envious, bored, or greedy, and I don't whine or complain.
• I am Diligent: I start fast, I work hard, and I finish strong. I am not slow to get started, lazy or disinterested, and I don't procrastinate or quit early.

These are so convicting for me! The homeschool kit comes with:

• 12 full color, printed, 8.5x11 glossy cards
• 10 Youth Virtue Journal page styles and instructions (PDF)
• Youth Character Assessment (PDF)
• Youth Virtue Handbook (PDF)

We'll spend a week focusing on one character quality and then move on to the next one. Once we make it all the way through the cards, we'll cycle back through them.

Another great feature of this resource are the discussion questions on the back of the cards. They use questions similar to the five common topics questions of invention (definition, comparison, circumstance, relationship, and authority). I love that we can continue to contemplate these virtues as our kids get older.

History of Astronomy

Since my middle daughter will be in Challenge B this year, I thought we'd incorporate some of her personal studies into our morning time by reading some living books about famous scientists, with a little touch of chemistry.

Here are some of the books on our reading list:

• Archimedes and the Door of Science
• Johannes Kepler: Giant of Faith and Science 
• Isaac Newton: Inventor, Scientist, Teacher 

• Benjamin Banneker: Pioneering Scientist

• Maria Mitchell: The Soul of an Astronomer

• Look Up!: Henrietta Leavitt, Pioneering Woman Astronomer

• Albert Einstein and the Theory of Relativity
• The Mystery of the Periodic Table

On My List to Read Aloud

My read aloud wish list is always ambitious, but I figure that it's better to dream big. Since my youngest and oldest are both in the realm of American history, I tend to lean that way. However, there are always the other books that aren't historical fiction that we'd miss out on if I leaned too heavily that way. Here are some of our options:

• Man of the Family by Ralph Moody - This is the sequel to Little Britches and it is one of my favorites in the series. Young Ralph is such an inspiring entrepreneur and creative problem solver. I love to present my children with these types of characters.
• William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder - This one was recommended to me by a friend, and I can't wait to read it with my kids. William's love of Shakespeare is woven into the story and his acting out The Tempest to keep the children occupied is both a highlight of the story and an accessible introduction to the play.
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury - In Bradbury's "futurist" world firemen burn books to keep people under control. Mindless entertainment is fine, but thinking is criminal. A very clever, important work of the 20th century and great for transition to the dialectic.
• Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis - A young boy in the depression era sets out to find his father. I love reading Newbery Award books, and this one has been on my radar for a while!
• Lord of the Rings Trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkein - It's been about five years since we've read through this series, and I'm longing to hear it all again.

If you're looking for more inspiration for filling your morning time, check out my 10 Days of Morning Time series. Morning time is such a great way to connect your family in learning together.

What's on your Morning Time list?