Your Morning Basket

We love to say that Morning Time is for everyone from toddler to mom. No matter what your age, you can always take something from the subjects in Morning Time. This week Meghan Dempster is here to emphasize that message and add to it. Morning Time is beneficial to everyone no matter their abilities and needs as well. Meghan and I chat about how Morning Time can help kids with special needs as well as how to meet some of the unique challenges that come with doing Morning Time with special needs kids. It's a lovely episode.

Sometimes as much as we want to create an ideal Morning Time habit in our home, something stands in our way. That doesn't mean we have to give up. Our guest today, Hayley Beck found that by putting aside the idea of an ideal Morning Time she was able to create something that works very well for her family. Hear all about how it works for them in this episode.

Hymn study has long been a staple of many homeschool Morning Times. One of the greatest gifts you can give your non-readers is the ability to sing along during worship. This week we are chatting with Kari Bass of Hymns at Home about the benefits of studying hymns and some of the resources she has available to make it easier on homeschool families.

Over 2000 years ago Socrates used questioning techniques with his students to help lead them to truth. Today, homeschoolers are interested in using the same techniques for the same purpose -- but they wonder how exactly to do it. This week on the podcast Matt Bianco, Classical homeschooling dad and director of the Lost Tools of Writing for the Circe Institute joins us to explain what Socratic questioning is, why we would want to use it, and how to implement it in our Morning Time.

Sometimes I have a love/hate relationship with technology. Yes, I know there is bad in some, but also that the good in others parts far outweigh those bad things. I love the world that is opened to us because of the technology we have access to. That is why I loved finding Lynna Southerland. This mama has created a Morning Time that focuses on Truth, Goodness, and Beauty -- and it's almost completely digital. I think you're going to get some great ideas from this one! That is why I loved finding Lynna Southerland. This mama has created a Morning Time that focuses on Truth, Goodness, and Beauty -- and it's almost completely digital. I think you're going to get some great ideas from this one!

You know you love Morning Time but there is something that pulls at you each time you sit down to do it -- especially if your time is short or your day hasn't gone exactly according to plan. We are often faced with the temptation to skip the true, good, and beautiful so we can get on with the "real" learning -- the math, handwriting, and science. But why?   Join Jennifer Dow and me as we talk about this tension that so many of us feel. In this conversation we discuss that and the meaning of real education.

Just over a year-and-a-half ago Audrey Wilkerson and her husband welcomed three little girls into their home through overseas adoption. Facing three children who didn't speak English and had never even been inside a classroom, Audrey used Morning Time to help build relationships in this burgeoning family and the academic and English skills these girls so desperately needed. This is the story of how Morning Time built a family. Enjoy.

One of the struggles we hear about often here at the Your Morning Basket podcast is how do you do Morning Time with boys -- especially resistant boys. To answer that question we brought in an expert. Kathy Weitz has five boys all of whom are in their teens or older. She knows what it is like to do Shakespeare, poetry, and literature with a passel of males and come out on the other side able to tell the tales. We are fortunate that she is sharing those stories and tips with us today.

Morning Time planning. I bet there is a good chance you either love it or hate it. Or even if you love it, you might also be one of those people at a season in life -- newborn, toddlers, new to Morning Time, BUSY -- that still doesn't want to spend much time actually doing it. You know, though, it is important. In this special episode Dawn, Jessica, and I chat about Morning Time planning -- why it is important, ways to make it happen, and how we can help you out with a special new product if it isn't something you want to do. Enjoy!

We wrap this season of Your Morning Basket up with an interview with Cindy Rollins. Cindy has experienced the joy of Morning Time with all of her now grown children. In this interview, we talk a little bit about Morning Time, a little bit about Mere Motherhood, and a little bit about real family life. Cindy is no stranger to the messiness of homeschooling, and she shares some of what she has learned in a way that is both humble and encouraging for other moms to hear. We delve into using your philosophy of education as a tool, the importance of appropriate education in the little years, and how a remembrance of the past is quite possible the most important thing for your Morning Time. If you need an encouraging look into what it looks like to be towards the end of the long haul of homeschooling or a refocusing on what is truly important in your family life, grab a hot beverage, breath deep and listen. Cindy's warmth and frankness are sure to bless you.

It is a question English Moms and Math Moms both dread, "What about the arts?" How am I going to help my child appreciate and love beautiful art, music, and dance? Why should I even bother? Why is this so important when the crowd is clamoring STEM? Prof. Carol Reynolds is here to answer your questions and more. She is passionate about art, music and how it defines a culture. We are reminded that our children are very expressive beings who naturally find joy in creativity and admire beautiful things. She encourages us with practical advice on how to help our children keep their natural tendency for creative arts, how to integrate the arts into our She encourages us with practical advice on how to help our children keep their natural tendency for creative arts, how to integrate the arts into our everyday lives, into every subject we teach, and how to do this all without a strong arts background ourselves. With a gentle reminder that the goal is not to produce an artistic prodigy, but someone who appreciates and

Your loving your Morning Time with your kids. You have gathered a feast for their minds with living books, poetry, scripture, and Shakespeare, but something is missing. Where are all the deep meaningful conversations you had hoped to have with your children about the big ideas of life? In this episode, Brandy Vencel joins us to talk about the marriage between facts and ideas, how to draw out big ideas from your living book read alouds using good questions. She encourages us to be patient as we introduce the ideas of virtue to our children. She also talks about more practical issues such as how to introduce virtues without moralizing, how and why to choose the best literature when introducing big ideas, and which ideas might be more accessible for different ages. Join us as Brandy helps us tackle the idea of ideas in our Morning Time.

In this episode of Your Morning Basket we talk with Dr. Kevin Vost about the virtue of studiousness and the value of memorization. In this fascinating conversation, we are introduced to memory methods taught by church fathers that can help us today. In the fast paced, information overloaded world we live in today we sometimes loose sight of the value of holding information in our own heads. Dr. Vost encourages us to work our memories because it is our past memories that guide our future behaviors.

As a child Christin Ditchfield devoured the Chronicles of Narnia over and over again. As an adult she found that she kept returning to the truth's found in Lewis' work for guidance. As a result she created the Family Guide to Narnia, a book that highlights the Biblical parallels in the works, to help families see the connections between Narnia and Scripture. Today she is on the podcast to chat with us about Narnia, what we can learn from stories, and easy ways for us to discuss the deeper meanings of literature in our Morning Time.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is on my Homeschool Field Trip Bucket List. Yours too? I want to share the wonder and awe I felt as I looked at the larger than life paintings for the first time. But how? I am no where near the Met. I know little to nothing about art, except that I do like to look at it. Is this enough? How do I start a picture study with my children? What are we looking for? How can I expect them to respond? Emily Kiser to the rescue! In this episode of Your Morning Basket, Emily answers these questions and more. She gently tells us how we can add picture study to our basket in baby steps; exposure, enjoyment, and analysis.

Shakespeare. Whatever feelings you have about the Bard, we can all agree that he was the most influential English writer in history. But why should I bother with Shakespearean language for my littles in Morning Time? Won't there be plenty of time for that when they are older? More importantly how would I introduce such a daunting mass of literature? What if I don't know much Shakespeare myself? What if I don't even think I like Shakespeare? Ken Ludwig is a playwright and father who has an infectious love of Shakespeare. He began sharing his love with his children at a very young age. Recently he published How to Teach Your Children Shakespeare, a book detailing this surprisingly simple way to teach the Bard's great works to our children. Come and enjoy as Ken tells us why and how we should teach Shakespeare, as well as how we can handle the harder concepts. Most importantly, Ken encourages us to push past our fear and enjoy Shakespeare in our Morning Times.

Classical music is part of the true, good, and beautiful feast I want to spread before my children. Unfortunately, most days I am at a loss as to how to enjoy it myself. Is there more to classical music than a bunch of strings making, what sounds like to me, just noise? How do I choose which pieces and composers to introduce? What if we don’t like a piece? Why should I even bother when my child enjoys other types of music? In this episode of Your Morning Basket, Pam interviews Bonnie Simon, creator of Maestro Classics. Bonnie has found memories of her parents playing the violin and cello as she went to bed, and Saturday classical music concerts on the radio. She gently explains how you can give your child found memories of classical music through stories. By using stories and listening to classical music together, we can help our children develop a relationship with classical music that will stay with them their whole lives. Come listen and learn how to make musical memories with your children.

We're starting off a new season of Your Morning Basket with an episode all about planning and preparing for Morning Time. Pam and her good friend Dawn Garrett, who is the coordinator for the Your Morning Basket online community, discuss everything from the first ingredient of a solid Morning Time plan to how to pull ourselves out of those Morning Time slumps. Whether you are brand new to Morning Time this year or a seasoned vet looking for a little inspiration, enjoy!

We know there must be more to math than just slogging through page after page of multiplication facts, but what? Last time I checked, wondering at geometrical patterns in God's creation was not in the scope and sequence of my math curriculum, but it's something I long for my kids to have opportunities to do. When can I fit in a math read-aloud or few rounds of one of the logic games collecting dust on the shelf? What about hands-on exploration with big math ideas like probability, estimation, or measurement?  How can I make time for this kind of math in my homeschool? We are joined on this episode of the podcast by Kate Snow of Kate's Homeschool Math Help. Kate explains that, while skill work in math is certainly important, it really is okay sometimes to play with math without a lesson plan and Morning Time is the place to do just that. By weaving math explorations, stories, and games into Morning Time, we can put our kids in touch with big ideas and expose them to the beauty found in mathematics.

Tricia Hodges is a homeschooling mother of five and the co-creator of the art curriculum You Are an Artist.  Tricia is all about a stress-free approach to sparking a love for art in our children, and she joins us on this episode of the podcast to talk about weaving some easy art projects into Morning Time. Tricia's go-to medium for simple, forgiving projects is chalk pastel, and she offers a multitude of free chalk pastel tutorials at her blog Hodgepodge. She gives us step-by-step instructions for set-up, clean-up, and everything in between, including some tips for encouraging the reluctant artist (even if that artist happens to be mom). So grab your art smock and get ready to enjoy a great interview!