Mornings can be stressful! Amidst the craziness of a full house with seven boys, it is so tempting to rush through our mornings and get on with what we “need to get done”. So today, I’m sharing our homeschool morning routine, one with a focus on a slower togetherness to center our day around fellowship and God’s Word.
The moments we are given are precious, but that doesn’t mean they always feel that way, in fact, they rarely do. It is often that someone’s attitude needs to be corrected or we have to start where we left off multiple times from the same spot, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t making progress. Every day spent in small moments of intentionality in your homeschool morning routine will bear fruit. The more and more you incorporate the elements to your morning that you long for, the more it will feel natural and you will meet with less resistance from your kids and even yourself.
The next day starts the night before
My desire is to have a slower pace to our mornings and time for togetherness before we have to get to our to do list. A little extra preparation the night before goes a long way towards not feeling rushed the next morning. Some evenings I prep a baked good or another dish I can quickly bake- like a quiche or some muffin batter. We make sure the kitchen is cleaned, do a quick tidy, and sort out a load of laundry to put in in the morning before tucking in for the night. Having an evening routine that helps me sleep better and wake feeling ready for another day is so helpful for setting our mornings off on the right foot.
Using Time blocks for more flexibility
We schedule our day in what is commonly referred to as time blocks. We aim to accomplish certain tasks within a set timeframe and leave what isn’t done in that block until another day and move on to the next block. I stick to the priorities so if we have extra time we can do a little more, but at least we are getting to the most important things in that block. These blocks of time usually are plenty to get done what we need to and still be able to maintain this schedule. Each day making progress forward is the goal.
Progress is the goal, not perfection.
I used to try to schedule our days for each item on our schedule. But it would leave me feeling panicky and behind if we couldn’t fit in what we needed to get done. I would push each undone item into the next time block and constantly felt behind. Now, I have made our blocks with plenty of margin to get done what we need. If there is an unexpected interruption or delay, we just move to the next block and drop what’s not finished as needed.
No day is ever “perfect” and that’s precisely why the schedule is so helpful for me. I don’t have to think about what I should do next when something is off rhythm or try to “catch up”. We just keep plugging forward! By the end of a week we have generally balanced out anyways. The things maybe dropped earlier in the week have a chance for recovery and I don’t stress it if not. Progress is the goal, not perfection.
How our homeschool morning routine begins
6-7:30
I love the slow quiet of morning before the kids all wake up. I try to get up before they do so I can calm and quiet my soul before I am taken up with directing the show. Even after a rough night’s sleep, waking up early enough to be able to orient my heart to the Lord’s will for my day renews me for another full day more than an extra bit of sleep will. I typically get up at least 30 min to an hour before I wake the kids up. I aim to at least have enough time to get ready and read my Bible. If I’ve had enough sleep, I will try to wake up even earlier to sneak in a quick workout or write.
Waking up early enough to be able to orient my heart to the Lord’s will for my day and quietly listening to His word, renews me for another full day more than an extra bit of sleep will.
My older kids get up earlier, as needed, to begin their school. Our younger children like to sleep in, so we don’t have a household of kiddos up at the crack of dawn, like I know a lot of families do. Our struggle is more in getting the kids UP! 🙂 In this block I set out any breakfast things, start tea and coffee or do a quick prep (preheat oven) right before I wake up the children that aren’t awake yet. I try to wake us up earlier than we would want to so that we can have TIME to enjoy the morning together.
Our homeschool morning worship routine
7:30-8:30
I turn on their lights and cheerfully rouse them, but then I go out and let them wake up. Eventually they make their way out to snuggle on the couch by the fire. They usually chat with me, while having tea or coffee. I love this slower moment with snuggles and time for a chat with my kids before the pace picks up for the day.
Then we begin morning worship. Even though it is never easy or peaceful, and can feel tempting to skip it, this is the most important part of our morning routine. At some point in here the baby wakes up and I feed her or she joins in on the readings.
Even though it is never easy or peaceful, and can feel tempting to skip it, this is the most important part of our morning routine.
Our morning worship flow includes the following:
- A chapter from a passage of scripture, alternating OT & NT, Psalms and Proverbs
- Recite together a verse from our Bible Verse memory selection-currently Romans 8:31-39
- Reading from a short devotional- currently using Training Hearts Teaching Minds & Leading Little Ones to God
- Sing a hymn or Psalm
- Reciting our term poetry memorization
- Prayer requests and prayer time
- Go over the plan for the day and dismiss the kids for the next block
This usually takes us 20- 30 minutes to complete. If we are having more interruptions or have a busier morning, I will just read the Bible reading for the day and pray. Sometimes I have slept in, have discipline issues to deal with a child or everyone is not getting up in time. But I have learned it is better to do less and stick to it, than throw it all out because it’s not ideal every morning.
I have learned it is better to do less and stick to it, than throw it all out because it’s not ideal every morning.
Breakfast & Chores
8:30-9:30
When devotions are finished I dismiss the kids for their morning “dailies”. I finish getting breakfast ready, and finish my own morning chores. As the older kids finish their chores and breakfast they start right into their independent work. It is tempting to do everything myself because it’s faster and more efficient, but it is not as effective for the goals we have in parenting children. We desire to give our children real life skills and instill competency, a good work ethic, and diligence. Which means, they all have chores. This home belongs to ALL of us, and we all have a key role to play in how it runs and shapes our lives.
This home belongs to ALL of us, and we all have a key role to play in how it runs and shapes our lives.
My Morning Dailies
- Finish making breakfast and serve littles (older kids serve themselves)
- Prep dinner (defrost meat if needed)
- Put in a load of laundry set out from the night before
- Make bed
- Help littles get dressed
- Finish getting ready if needed
- Soak dishes and clear counter
The Children’s Dailies Include
- Get ready
- Make bed
- Animal chores
- Breakfast cleanup chores: clearing and wiping table, sweeping kitchen and dining room, unloading and loading dishwasher
Lessons with Form 1: 1st-3rd
9:30-10:30
Next, I head downstairs to our homeschool room to check in on what the kiddos have started. After I’ve put the baby down for her nap, I begin read alouds with my Form 1 kiddos.
We focus on short lessons, so we usually only spend 15- 30 min on phonics, copywork, reading, math help, map drills and another 15-30 min. on read alouds.
Current selection of read alouds include:
- Geography- Elementary Geography, Me on the Map
- American History- Pocahontas by D’Aulaire, North American Indians, Indians, Follow the Dream, Exploration & Conquest
They listen to one of these during the afternoon or on car rides:
- Natural History- Birds of the Air, Burgess Animal Stories (both via LIbrivox)
- Literature- The blue, Red & Pink Fairy book stories (via Librivox)
- Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare (also on audio)
Afterwards they are free to play outside or quietly in the basement while I move on to Form 2 lessons.
Lessons with Form 2: 4th-6th
10:30-11:30
They each have a notebook with their independent subjects and a daily to do list to check off. They begin right after their chores and breakfast are finished. Whatever they don’t complete before I start work with them, they have to do later. This is their free time and screen time, so that usually motivates them to get right to it. 🙂
Independent work includes:
- Phonics
- Math
- Copywork
- Geography map drills
- Math
- Assigned readings
We have about an hour, while the baby sleeps to do some subjects together. Sometimes we get to spend more time and work on fun projects. Otherwise, we get our reading done, take notes and narrate through 2-3 subjects on rotation.
This current rotation includes:
- Geography- O Canada! Seterra
- Ancient History- A History of the Ancient World, Cleopatra by Diane Stanley
- World History- Leonardo DaVinci, Our Island Story (via Librivox),The Story of the World Volume 1 (audiobook)
- Grammar – IEW Fix it Grammar
- Natural History- Nature Readers
- Science- The Way things Work, DaVinci’s Amazing Inventions
- Literature- 50 Famous Stories, Tales from Shakespeare (both via LIbrivox)
Lunch prep & Forms 3 & 4: 8th, 10th &12th
11:30-12:30
I finish up downstairs and we do a quick tidy before heading up to prep lunch. I check in with the big kids during this block to help with math etc. They have a meeting with me in the morning and are working on their own studies during the previous hours. If they need my help they will usually come in and sit at the bar while I work in the kitchen. Sometimes I’m finishing breakfast dishes here, or just letting some lunch heat up while doing math and science help. Some days I have a chance to sneak in a quick workout or some cleaning here as well. I prioritize the most important thing in this block, and whatever else I can get done is just a bonus.
Well, that wraps up our homeschool morning routine! Now we begin moving into lunch and the afternoon finish school, housework and hopefully some rest during quiet time. 🙂
Conclusion
We all certainly have overwhelming mornings, and they aren’t bad, but they don’t have to be like that everyday, and certainly don’t have to be the norm. Believe me, our mornings are in no way idyllic. With younger ones still learning to sit quietly, and some kids not even wanting to be awake yet, we definitely have our bumps. However, if I expect every morning to look like our perfect ideal, I will never intentionally carve out a realistic way to actually accomplish what we desire. I desire a gentle start to our day centered around God’s word, NOT just my to do list. Keeping this as the focus helps me remember that those small conflicts won’t really matter in the long run if we stay faithful and keep persevering.
Those small conflicts won’t really matter in the long run if we stay faithful and keep persevering.
I hope this glimpse into our morning has encouraged you! Please share with me your own biblically centered family morning rhythms below!
Blessings on your mornings!
In His service,
It would honor me so much if you would please share this if you’ve found it helpful or insightful.
Thanks for stopping my my little corner of the interwebs! 😉
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