Your Morning Basket

We all know that we should read to our children, but there are also benefits to the practice of telling our children stories.

On this episode of the podcast Charlotte Mason educator and master storyteller Sheila Carroll is here to talk about the benefits of sharing stories, some techniques to use, and how to enchant your children with wonderful tales.

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!