How We Homeschool ~ Morning Time (part 1)

I thought I would begin sharing a little bit about how we homeschool. We're constantly tweaking our schedule and finding ways to make things run a bit more smoothly. 

I'm a big advocate of reading aloud and realized that if I say it's a priority, then I need to make it a priorty and begin our day with reading time. We used to read a lot before bedtime, but often I find excuses at night not to read. 

Currently we are working our way through the Little House Series and we've found this much easier to listen to than to actually read. Cherry Jones does a FANTASTIC job narrating this series and I love how the recorded versions have recordings of the fiddle tunes that Pa plays. It adds so much to the story.

Because read aloud time is a priority, we start with it immediately after breakfast and morning chores. If we are listening to a book (like Little House), then we listen through breakfast and linger in the kitchen until we've completed several chapters.

I find that reading aloud in the morning often leads to more read aloud time during the day. Plus, it's a great way to start the day and just enjoy each other first thing. And when you have to spend the whole day together, it's a very good thing to start off enjoying one another.