Our Charlotte Mason Morning Time Plans + Family Subjects

Morning time has always been one of my favorite parts of our homeschool day. It’s the time when we all gather together and enjoy learning as a family. Inspired by Charlotte Mason, our morning time is where we weave in what she called the riches: the beautiful subjects that make education so full and meaningful.

This year, I’m excited to share our homeschool morning time plans with you. We’ll be continuing many of our family subjects and also adding something brand new!

What Is Morning Time?

Morning time (sometimes called morning basket) is simply a way to start the day together. Instead of diving straight into math or grammar, we open with truth, beauty, and goodness. It’s a time for shared learning, singing, reading, and discussion.

Charlotte Mason believed that children should be exposed to the best ideas and given living books and experiences that feed the mind and heart. Morning time is where that comes alive in our home.

The Riches in Our Morning Time

Here’s what we’ll be covering together this year:

• Artist Study – Looking at one artist’s work slowly over time, narrating, and appreciating beauty.
• Composer Study – Listening to one composer and getting familiar with his life and works.
• Hymns & Folksongs – Singing together connects us to both our faith and cultural traditions.
• Memory Work – Poems, scripture, and important passages that build a storehouse of language and wisdom.

I want to note that our mornings always begin with a prayer and a scripture recitation. My children each have their own Bible readings and catechism assignments that they do individually.

I put together a Morning Time Binder to keep all of this information organized. We are using the Ambleside Online rotation for Artist Study, Composer Study, and Folksongs. A mom in the Mater Amabilis Facebook group shared a file that she modified for Catholic homeschoolers, so we will be learning Catholic hymns instead of the ones from Ambleside.

My binder includes monthly sheets with our Scripture verse for the month, Catechism questions, a Habit/Virtue to discuss, our artist, composer, hymn, and folksong, along with some math memory work.

I have all of our sections divided so I can easily find what we are discussing. I’ve printed all of the artworks we will be studying this year.

Above is one of our hymns.

I have all of our folksongs in the binder.

As well as all of our group memory work. My kids also have individual recitations.

Morning Time A Liturgy of Love by Cindy Rollins is an amazing resource and full of ideas for memory work, so I tend to keep it in my basket.

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Built with Kit

I did not mention in my video our nature study plans because I wasn’t sure what we were going to do at the time. I’ve since found this lovely book, Slow Down 50 Mindful Moments in Nature. We are reading one 2-page spread per week and journaling it, in addition to our nature walks.

Diving Deeper: Shakespeare & Plutarch

Yes, even with younger children, we tackle both Shakespeare and Plutarch! Don’t worry, it’s not as intimidating as it sounds. We use gentle retellings and read portions slowly, making space for narration and discussion. These works build a strong foundation in literature, character, and citizenship.

I’m using Tales from Shakespeare and A Stage Full of Shakespeare Stories for our retellings. We will watch the plays after we have read them.

I’m still working on the best way to include Plutarch in our morning time. It can definitely be a tough read even for me.

Something New This Year: Manners & Etiquette

I’m especially excited about what we’re adding to morning time this year: manners and etiquette. As my children grow, I want them to feel confident in social situations and learn the small but important ways we show kindness and respect to others. This will be a simple, practical addition to our daily time together.

We are using both the Manner of the Week flashcards and wall charts from Memoria Press.

We are also reading one chapter from Connoisseur Kids every week and trying to put what we have learned into practice.

Current Events

We always end our morning time with current events by watching The World from A to Z with Carl Azuz on Youtube.

Why Morning Time Matters

Morning time isn’t just about checking off boxes. It’s about creating a shared family culture, building relationships, and delighting in learning together. These family subjects are what knit our homeschool together and give us memories that last.

If you’ve been curious about Charlotte Mason morning time, I hope this peek into our family subjects inspires you to try it. Start small by picking one hymn, one poem, one picture to enjoy together, and grow from there.

Homeschooling isn’t only about academics; it’s about nurturing hearts and minds. Morning time gives us that space to slow down and learn the good, the true, and the beautiful together.

Do you do morning time in your homeschool? What family subjects do you love to include? I’d love to hear in the comments!