The idea of starting a Morning Meeting for your homeschool may sound both amazing and overwhelming. There are a ton of options of what to include, and complicated plans on the market. And does it have to be in the morning?
Sometimes you need a hand to hold as you start a new thing, so grab my hand and we’ll walk together through some tips for getting started with your own homeschool Morning Meeting!
What is a Morning Meeting in homeschool?
A Morning Meeting in homeschool is a time of day where the whole family gets together and learns as a group. It may be at any time of day, not just in the morning, and can go by many names as well. Every family will choose different approaches and ideas of what to include, which will give your Morning Meeting it’s own personalized touch.
Other names for Morning Meeting may include Morning Basket, Morning Time, and Circle Time. With the variety of names, there may be associated history and philosophy that comes with each, but the basics will apply to all. Bring all your kids together and learn something!
Read: Morning Basket Made Easy: Group Learning Time in your Homeschool
Common things that may be done in a Morning Meeting include reading books together, checking the calendar and weather, and doing a daily devotional. Others may use this time to work on History and Science resources together or so many other things. The choice is yours what to include, and the sky is the limit!
5 Tips for Starting a Morning Meeting in Your Homeschool
If you’re looking to start a Morning Meeting in your homeschool, it can be a little overwhelming. Just like anything with homeschooling, there are so many choices and ideas of what to do, so you can easily get bogged down with all the things.
I have come up with 5 quick tips for starting a Morning Meeting in your Homeschool.
Let’s get to it!
1. Start slow
Everyone is a beginner at some point. And it is good for beginners to start slow with new things. Not only will this help with not overwhelming yourself, but it will also help you to develop a new habit in a way that is sustainable.
If you jump in to a Morning Meeting and decide to do it for an hour with 10 different resources each day, you will quickly burn out.
So start slow. Pick one thing to begin with and do it for 10 minutes each day.
It may not feel like much, but it’s better than no minutes! And those 10 minutes each day will end up being 30 hours of time by the end of the school year. Not too shabby!
Read: Morning Basket Made Easy: Group Learning in your Homeschool
Decide on a time of day that works for you and get started. When you consistently make those 10 minutes happen, after a week or two you may be ready to add another resource/topic or even some more time to your Morning Meeting. Or you may realize that 10 minutes is just right for you and your kids.
Before long, you’ll be a pro and have a good idea of what you can accomplish through your Morning Meeting.
2. Be flexible
Not everything you want to do will work out as planned. So allowing flexibility in your plans will keep you continuing on despite the speed bumps of life.
Some days may be so crazy you can’t mentally handle having a Morning Meeting. So skip it sometimes.
Over time, you might realize you planned too many things for your kids to pay attention to each day. So you may start the year with 5 resources and end with only 1. Do what works for you!
Read: How to have a flexible homeschool schedule
It’s fun to dream up the plans, but in reality life often looks different. So make realistic plans, but also hold them lightly. Holding on too tight to your Morning Meeting ideas can lead to quitting altogether.
Maybe it’s hard with a baby. So rather than pushing through and burning out, perhaps you could do your Morning Meeting at nap time.
If your kids are rowdy, you may need to reset your expectations. Shortening Morning Meeting may help, or allow your kids to do a little bit of quiet coloring or other activities they enjoy while you read to them.
Give yourself and your kids some grace as you figure out what works for your family.
3. It takes time to develop
Every new thing will take time to develop. But stick with it and it will become second nature in your homeschool.
A good tip for starting a new habit is to attach your new thing to something already well established in your day. This is why some people will do a Morning Meeting during breakfast or lunch. At the beginning of your school day may also be an easy place for you to start.
Also remember that even your kids will be adjusting to a new thing. In the beginning, they may not understand how to behave during a Morning Meeting. Discussing expectations with them in advance will help. But also try to include some fun things they enjoy to keep it fun and light.
I have also found it good to let my kids do some quiet activities while I read to them, rather than requiring them to sit still the whole time. I don’t have huge rules other than they have to be able to listen well.
My kids are allowed to move around but not talk or be a distraction. They can do whatever they would like as long as it doesn’t require too much brain work. Like coloring, crafting, or a puzzle is great. But math or a writing assignment is not.
My daughter has even been known to do hand stands while she listens. Moving around can sometimes help them engage even better!
4. Don’t overcomplicate it
Doing a quick google search for ideas might bring up a ton of comlpicated Morning Meeting plans. Lots of options and themes and ideas. It’s easy to want to do it all.
But when just starting out, it’s best to not overcomplicate your Morning Meeting. The more resources you use with looping lists and charts and links to all the things will be neat. But it will likely lead to unneeded stress.
When your plans get complicated and stressful, it’s harder to stick with it. Having a Morning Meeting is supposed be enjoyable and to help you simplify your homeschool day. Complicated plans will do the opposite!
So maybe start with just a couple simple books and read a chapter a day. Or look up one artist’s work each month rather than a new one each day.
Find ways to make things easy and enjoyable for yourself as you ease into a new routine. Over time and as you are ready, you can slowly introduce new ideas with more complicated plans.
Be sure to read my other post about group learning where I lay out a whole process for deveoloping your own plan for your Morning Meeting. Check out Morning Basket Made Easy: Group Learning in Homeschool.
5. Different seasons, different approaches
Every phase of life brings it’s own struggles. Raising kids amplifies this. And when homeschooling, you just can’t escape it!
As you homeschool, you will quickly learn that each phase of childhood will require different approaches to everything. From discipline, to conversation, to schedules, to curriculum, to food, and everything in between!
The same is true for a Morning Meeting in your homeschool
When you are only homeschooling elementary age kids, you may use a lot of picture books and use some fun songs. As your kids are older, the books will get longer, more difficult, and everything gets more involved. Though I will add you may be surprised at how much older kids will still love picture books – though they may not want to admit it!
If you have babies in the mix, many things will be up in the air. At the other end of things, your teenager may have a job to work around so your schedule will need to incorporate that.
Choosing what to do in a Morning Meeting as well as when and how long to do it will all be influenced by all of these things. Everything depends on the season of life your family is in.
Allow your Morning Meeting and homeschool in general to morph with these changes. Be flexible in your schedule to accomodate everyone, and give yourself grace as you work through it all.
What works this year will likely not work in 3 years. and definitely not a couple years later.
As time passes, feel free to experiment and change things around that no longer work. Move with the rhythm of your kids and what they bring to your family and your homeschooling experience will be so much richer!
Read: 5 Reasons to have a Morning Time in your Homeschool
Free Group Learning Printables
If you’re looking to plan out your own Morning Basket, be sure to download these free group learning worksheets! They will walk you through every step of my process, from deciding on your why to picking the right time of day!
There are also free worksheets to list the resources you choose and plan out your daily schedule! Download them now!
Starting a Morning Meeting in Your Homeschool
Don’t be afraid to jump in to starting a Morning Meeting in your homeschool. But be sure to give yourself grace in the process. Start slow, don’t overcomplicate things, give time to adjust. And remember to be flexible, especially as you move through the seasons of life within your homeschool. You’ve got this, mama!
What tips do you have for starting a Morning Meeting in their homeschool?
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