When we first began morning time I didn’t have a name for it.  What I had was three kids in diapers, sleep deprivation and a raging case of PTSD.

I knew that I wanted to homeschool. I knew that I wanted it to look completely different than my classroom experiences thus far. I knew that I had a tiny house, next to no money, a husband in grad school, a three year old that refused to potty train, a two year old that I was convinced would grow up to be a serial killer and a nursing baby.

We dove in.

My first problem was figuring out how to get all these active children gathered up and settled into one spot for any given length of time.  It was hard not to notice that the boys were constantly eating. The only time it was relatively quiet and peaceful was when little mouths were stuffed with apples or cheese or yogurt.  I decided to lure them in with food.

Our very first morning time lasted five minutes. It consisted of myself, two small boys strapped into high chairs and one baby in a sling.  I had set out a small vase of flowers from the garden and lit a candle. I placed chopped fruit on table trays and started nursing the baby. I cracked open a random book selected three minutes prior and began to read aloud.

They pretty much ignored me as they wolfed down their snack and mere minutes later they were all chanting “down! down! down! down!”

That was it.

Our very first morning time.

What we have now is quite different of course. Starting with the fact that we now have a name for it after discovering other families had been doing the same thing all along. Morning Time. On most days its beautiful and wonderful and so engrained in our family culture that if we skip the boys get upset.  It is honestly my favorite thing we do as a homeschool family. The road from that very first morning time till now is quite a bumpy one, paved with the stubborn determination of a mom too thick headed to throw in the towel.

Building up our morning time was the work of thousands of days. Stretched in the most minuscule daily increments that have started to pool together into something truly life-giving and refreshing.

I have posted a series of short videos on Instagram with tips for Morning Time and at the request of followers have decided to begin a series on Morning Time here on our blog. I am not a Morning Time expert. I don’t have all the answers. I can only testify from what we have walked through the last six years.

If you want true expertise, read Cindy Rollins book “Mere Motherhood” without delay. She has a smaller accompanying book called “Morning Time” packed with wonderful suggestions. Cindy Rollins, of course, is the woman behind Morning Time. While many of us may have started our own version of it in our homes, Cindy was the gal who ordered the philosophy of it all. You can visit her blog at Morning Time Moms.

Join us on our series, “Road to Morning Time.” You can subscribe over on the left somewhere and have each post delivered to your inbox.  If you have any specific questions you would like answered over the course of the series, leave them in the comments below!