Morning Meeting {Unit Study}

Morning meeting, sometimes known as morning basket or circle time, has been a long term staple in our home. It is essentially a time in the day when the whole family comes together to chat, to learn and to generally hang out.

What is a Morning Meeting?

A morning meeting is exactly what it sounds like. It is a time when everyone comes together each school day. We had these right from the time the older ones were tiny and it has always been a time they have enjoyed and looked forward to. Even now with only two almost teens (15 and 12 year old) homeschooling, we still meet each morning and they still love it!

We use the morning meeting to do everything we don’t do during the rest of the day but think is important. For us, that means the following (although it does change depending on ages and stages:

• Time spent in the Bible
• Reading non-fiction books the children might not pick up on their own to read, linked with the current unit study
• Reading fiction books which are above their reading age, but linked to our unit study and perfect to be read aloud
• If there is a specific subject we want to teach, perhaps using a curriculum. For us that would be science. Whilst we do include science in their units, I also like to read the Apology Elementary science books, which lend themselves well to read aloud and ensures they get a good amount of science each day.
• We use morning meeting as an opportunity to address any character issues in a non confrontational way, allowing for discussion and input from each child.
• It is also a time to plan ahead for the unit or an end of unit presentation, outlining expectations and making sure we are all on the same page so to speak.
• Best of, it is a special time for more cuddles. Even now, my 12 year old snuggles up to me whilst I am reading from her famous artist encyclopaedia. When the children were younger, we always had lots of picture books to read. Snuggling, whilst looking at the pictures, as I read from them was everyone’s favourite time of the day ❤️

Why Do We Have Morning Meeting?

For us, it is an anchoring time in our day. And it includes everyone who is schooling. It is expected, unhurried and relaxed, giving us a perfect time to address issues before they get out of hand. It is also the perfect opportunity to cover harder more challenging topics or books. Last but not least, it is a useful time to cover boring stuff like grammar. Doing it a little bit at a time reduces boredom.

Where and When Do We Have It?

We’ve always had ours in the living room. It is the most comfortable place in the house. It also has enough room for playing on a patchwork quilt on the floor and to have a small table and chairs. This gave the little ones something else to keep their little hands busy if they started to get antsy. When our children were growing up, we had a huge chair. It was so big, our younger two could snuggle on my lap, the twins sat on each large padded arm, whilst Thomas sat along the back, looking over my shoulder. We always had supplies of fluffy blankets, throw cushions and bean bags. It was quiet, warm and cosy. There was also a TV and CD player which I sometimes used, adding another dimension of interest.

Even now, with just two daughters left homeschooling, we come together each morning. In fact, for us in this season, we have it first thing, at nine, before we do anything else. In the past, when I had five of different ages, we tended to have it around break time. It was such a relaxed time, the children thought they were getting a break!

How to Have Your Own Morning Meeting

The first thing is to decide when to have it. I chose 1030 because it fell during our snack time. We would make frothy hot chocolate, a couple of oat biscuits with cheese and a few cherry tomatoes. This kept little hands and mouths busy…and quiet!

Make it a looked forward part of your routine. Your children will be more likely to expect it and therefore respect it. Try to make it as comfortable, cosy and inviting as possible. In the winter, we have been known to bring duvets down and snuggle in whilst I read. One of the children always lit a scented candle.

Try to make it as interactive as possible. Children and teens (especially teens!) love giving their opinion. So let them. Encourage it, encourage respectful discussion and make sure to listen to everyone, even when an opinion differs widely from your own. Don’t be scared of their opinions – just because they think something at 12 doesn’t mean they will think the same when they get older. Opinions change and open discussions help that change.

Set out activities for younger children or even for older children who may struggle to sit still. We always had an alphabet quilt on the floor with PlayMobil or Lego. We also had a small portable table and chairs where I would set out PlayDough or something else tactile. For older children you could try fidget spinners or an exercise ball. Just because a child is always moving doesn’t necessarily mean they are not listening. In fact, aiding the movement might help them concentrate. That said, we found morning meeting trained the children well for sitting still in church. However, even then I offered fruit snacks and an activity bag to keep their little hands busy.

Outline expectations. We were very easy going and relaxed. But the children knew not to talk if I was reading out from a book. They were expected to listen and narrate back to me what they had understood. Choose one or two firm rules and stick to those until they are an expected and accepted part of morning meeting.

Keep everything together in a basket or box. We have a large basket which we keep on the windowsill behind the sofa. When the children were younger, we would have Bible stuff, picture books, Apologia text, a fiction book, a non fiction book, our patchwork quilt and a bag of toys. Now, with a 12 and 15 year old, we have a Bible curriculum, Mystery of History, an adult ‘living’ science book (for Abs) and an artist encyclopaedia (for Becs).

I hope this has given you some ideas for your own morning meeting. They are some of my fondest memories of homeschool. And even now, they are a firm favourite with both girls (and their mother!)

To learn more about the way we homeschool visit my Homeschool UK page.