Redeeming the Homeschool Morning Time

You Have Turned my MORNING into Dancing

Type B momma. Introvert. Night owl. Oh so tired.

Whatever you name it, I was hugging my pillow and losing precious time with my kiddoes. There was a constant battle between wanting to stay up late to get a minute to think without the constant chatter of little voices, and needing to sleep. So I spent plenty of time with myself and was a miserable mom because of it. If mommy is grumpy, everyone knows.

But the words like a balm to my weary, unfulfilled spirit found me in my selfishness.

She rises also while it is still night And gives food to her household And portions to her maidens. Proverbs 31:15

In the midst of trying to teach God’s word to my children, He taught me. The morning holds beauty and precious moments with your children when they first wake up. I have never, ever, ever been a “morning person.” But when I think about all the sweet snuggly times I would have missed with my children if I had been sleeping in or waking up just as they were waking up, I am so glad this night owl chose to heed the Lord’s counsel and set her alarm!

Redeeming the Homeschool Morning Time with great tips for making it a good day!

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5 Tips for Redeeming the Homeschool Morning

  1. Start Today – Okay so it isn’t the beginning of the week or the beginning of a new year. You haven’t been as diligent with your morning time as you would like to be. Start anyways. Start now. The Bible tells us that His mercies are new every MORNING. If you are being convicted to make a change so that your homeschool morning time can be more meaningful, just do it! Making it a habit starts one day at a time. 
  2. Begin in the Night – I have heard it said, that the day really begins the night before. Getting your mama act together in the evening can make your mornings abstain from drudgery. Choose and lay out everyone’s clothing. Look over your calendar for your plans or appointments for the next day. Spend some time talking with your husband and enjoying his company, set your alarm, then get to bed at a decent hour even when you feel like staying awake.
  3. Have a Plan – Sometimes the word “plan” scares those with type B tendencies. This isn’t a schedule that is set in stone or written in blood. You can alter it in the changing circumstances of your family and children. But having a plan to shoot for that is thought through and written down (it can be in pencil!) will help make it happen most or even some of the time. Make a reasonable plan that is easily obtainable. For example, start with waking up before the kids by 15 minutes. That’s enough time to start the coffee and pray over your day. And oh what a difference those well spent minutes make!
  4. Make it fun! – Maybe you are in a season where you can wake up before your kids to get ready and have your own quiet time. When everyone gets up, you can prep the hot chocolate and coffee and have a snuggly jammy reading time before everyone gets ready for the rest of the day. Maybe you are in a season where your children are little, and you need them to be entertained in their high chairs while you read the Bible to your older ones. Maybe your children are all still little, and you can just cuddle before the happenings of the day begin. Or maybe you all need to get outside in the fresh air to explore the wonder of the world before everything gets going. Choose to start your mornings with something fun and restful so that you will look forward to it, and special so your children will remember it when they are all grown up. Choose something that lights your mama heart ablaze and fills you with joy that you can pass on to your children. It will set the tone for your entire day to day lives.
  5. Give Yourself Grace – You are going to have sick days. You are going to have nights you were up all night with the teething baby, or your family stayed up too late. Mamas need sleep to function, and God knows that. Give yourself the same grace that Jesus died to give you. Let me say that again so the full weight of what I am saying sinks in: Give yourself the same grace that Jesus DIED to give you. If we really know, that we know, that we know that He gave up His live to save us from our sins, then we can accept fully the new mercy and grace that He is faithful to give us each day. Shouldn’t we then be merciful and graceful when we are dealing with our own shortcoming? Or the effects of living in a fallen world? If you are being obedient to His calling, He is faithful to meet you there. He will give you the strength to not only redeem your homeschool mornings but to remind you of His promises, and His mercy that is new every. single. morning, and His grace that abounds has surrounded you in your homeschool calling.

Our Homeschool Morning Plan

I LOVE peeking into other homeschool mama’s days! It helps me get ideas and encouragement to make the most out of our precious time teaching and training my children. Here is a glimpse of what we do to set the tone for our homeschool day:

Mama gets up a couple hours before the kiddoes to drink coffee, spend some quiet time alone with the Lord to read scripture, journal, and pray. I usually get up early enough to get myself ready (because showering with kiddoes in the room spells STRESS), and sometimes I get up early enough to get some work started too.

Once the kids are up, they have checklist to complete before we start our time together. This ensures we are ready for the day and have a clean work area so we can start our school work. Sometimes we are in a season where we are able to read at the table during breakfast, but right now we have a crazy toddler who needs a lot of entertainment. So breakfast isn’t a time for calm reading, it is man to man defense and total survival mode.

Once we start our “school work” for the day, we begin by having a “morning basket” or “circle time” all together. We get the special toys out that the toddler only gets to play with during this time (that’s my secret weapon for keeping the toddler out of trouble! 😉 ). We start by singing a hymn from our new hymn study: Hymns for your Homeschool. Once we have learned the words and are able to sing along, we dive in to learn more about the author or composer of they hymn.

After we praise, we pray as a homeschool and invite the Holy Spirit into our day together, and to take over our plans where He sees fit. The we start reading through our basket of books that I have selected for this time. We use this as our Bible and story time. Because I am able to spend time cuddling, answering questions, and even playing beside each of my children, we start the day with little love tanks full. This ensures if we get NOTHING else done, we have gotten the most important thing done, pouring into my children and teaching them God’s word. Bring on the rest of the day!

Are your mornings where you want them to be? Setting the tone for your homeschool day? If not, redeem your homeschool morning mama!

 

Here is a freebie just for you!! 

This FREE worksheet helps you create your own small unit study using some of your favorite hymns. 

Hymn Study Worksheet

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******Giveaway***********

Tiffany is offering a copy of her Hymns for Your Homeschool unit study! Inside you will find lyrics, pictures and a place for your children to really study the song and it’s orgin. 

Must be 18 or older to enter and in the contiguous U.S. states. Giveaway ends August 17th at 11:59PM PST. Winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to reply before a new winner is chosen. This giveaway is sponsored by Tiffany and she is responsible for the fulfillment of prize. 

 

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Tiffany is an outmatched mama to three crazy amazing kiddoes, Jesus follower, homeschooler, and blogger. Her goal is to encourage and equip mamas like you to be the women God created them to be, even when life’s circumstances leave you completely outmatched. Check out her FREE two week Bible Study for busy mamas – get into the Word even in your busiest season of life!

 

 

 

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