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Morning collective is a time where we sit down together (usually on the couch) and prioritize the things that get pushed outside of school time like poetry and artist study, and Shakespeare. Most importantly, it’s a time when we open the Bible, memorize scripture, and sing songs of worship, orienting our hearts for the day ahead. Morning Collective is a great way to begin the homeschool day full of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Today in the ‘How We Do’ series, I’m going to walk through our typical morning time with a 6 and 3-year-old. For our family, morning collective started very small, building upon the categories we found essential. When we have hard days or sick days, I will slow us down and go back to the spine of morning time which is Bible, Poetry, and Songs.
Morning Collective Structure
In our homeschool, I like to implement loop scheduling, which means each day we read and recite different things. I don’t choose one particular day for each reading, such as Monday is Shakespeare, Tuesday is Nature Lore, Wednesday is Little Pilgrims Progress, etc. Sometimes we may miss a day, which would throw us off if we had to wait until the following week for that reading. Instead, I have a list of our morning collective read alouds and subjects, and then just go through them in the week. Some days we start with Little Pilgrims Progress, some weeks it’s Shakespeare. However we start, we are usually only doing one read aloud and one memory work from the loop a day along with the daily morning collective list.
Morning Collective Loop
Read aloud loop:
- AO Year 2 Literature
- Shakespeare
- Little Pilgrims Progress
- Nature Lore (Picture books that go with our current Nature Study Topic)
- Free Reads (From Ambleside Online Year 2 list or what we have in our own home library, usually chapter books)
Memory work loop:
- Previous scripture memorized
- Catechisms
- Planets
- 10 commandments
Morning Collective Daily
As soon as we finish breakfast and say our goodbyes to dad as he heads to work, we begin morning collective around 8:45/9 am, thus beginning the homeschool day. We’ve been enjoying morning collective cozied up on the sofa, and using our big TV to stream our songs from YouTube. We are typically done with morning collective by 9:30/9:45, which then we will break until it’s time for our daily work (math, language arts, reading, writing).
What Does Your 3-Year-Old Do During Morning Collective?
Short answer: He sits with us.
During Bible readings, he might pull out an activity from a cabinet we have in the living room which includes blocks, or magnets, but not usually. He’s usually on my lap eating the last of his breakfast. What I love about each category/subject is that it only lasts 10 minutes or less. I like to include him in morning collective because although we aren’t doing any formal lessons yet, Bible reading, scripture memorizing and songs are all things he can take part in. Even when we have Literature readings scheduled for my second graders, he is listening nearby. In the end, I know including him is building valuable skills he will need for when it’s his time for formal lessons such as the habit of attention, and a stronger willingness to do what he ought.
Our Morning Collective is simple. You’ll find nothing extraordinary if you came to our house and participated with us during this time. My kids are usually in their PJs still, and I am probably still sipping on my coffee in my PJs. There are days when there are more grumbles than smiles and lots of little interruptions. Morning Collective isn’t the magic key for a successful homeschool day, and every family will approach their own morning time differently. Our morning time has changed over the years and I predict it will continue to do so as we grow and learn. Nonetheless, I am grateful for the time, as it has become my favorite time in our homeschool.
