This post will be part of a series of homeschool schedule and routine posts for homeschool moms and children.
Catholic Homeschool Mom Morning Routine and Sample Schedule
The Parts of a Homeschool Mom's Morning Routine
Over the years, I have learned that the more ordered by day is and the more disciplined and consistent that I can be, the better I can tend to the needs of my husband, children, and home. If I want my children to have an excellent education, I need to keep myself in order. This take a lot of self control, discipline, and obedience to what God wants, but it is always worth it!
I have broken up the essential parts of a homeschool mom’s morning below:
- Prayer
- Hygiene
- Chores
- Breakfast
- School/Study/Work/Reading
We will begin our day by ordering it around prayer.Â
A Few Rules for Mom
Before getting into the details, I have a few rules that have helped me be more efficient and present for my family.
- Wake up at the same time each day (before the children, if possible): If you are pregnant, postpartum, or have other physical limitations, give youself grace with this one. Buy an alarm clock (keep your phone out of your room so it won’t tempt you) and set it. Do not snooze (see the first prayer suggestion to help you with this.).Â
- Wear a watch: this helps me so much not to be attached to my phone. Make sure it has the time and date. I do not recommend a smart watch.
- Limit phone use throughout the day: Do what you have to do for this! Delete time sucking apps, make your smart phone a dumb phone, keep the phone in a different room (especially during school), shuut it off, or keep it on “Do not dusturb mode” as necessary. The phone sucks so much time away from the homemaker if we aren’t careful.
Morning Prayer for the Homeschool Mom
Morning prayer will look different for every mother in different stages of her journey. With smaller children and babies in the home, the prayer time will look totally different from having older children and teens.
Here are some ideas to start the morning with prayer:
Simple Spontaneous Prayer
I recently read a helpful book about sanctifying every part of your day. One practice that it suggested for sanctifying your morning was, after your alarm goes off, to immeidately go to your knees and pray. This is totally doable for a mom, so I loved it. You kneel by your bed, thank God for your day, and ask Him to bless it. Or, if you prefer a memorize prayer, see the Morning Offering (below).
Morning Offering
The Morning Offering is another doable and beautiful prayer for homeschool moms. If you wear the Brown Scapular, you may already be practicing this devotion.Â
Divine Office
This prayer can take a little more time, but I always feel happy and peaceful after I pray the Divine Office. You can use Morning Prayer upon rising to spend time in prayer at the start of the day. I also enjoy reading about the saint or feast of the day, if there is a feast day or memorial.
Daily Mass Readings
If you want to read more scripture but don’t know where to start, I highly recommend checking out the Daily Mass readings. They are in a logical order and match the readings we hear at Mass. We like to listen on the Amen app which is free and has great reflections. You can also find them on the USCCB website or in a print book such as Magnificat.
Bible Reading
Another great morning practice for moms is to read Sacred Scripture right in your Bible. It can be helpful to join a Bible study group for accountibility or follow a “BIble in a Year Plan.”
Spiritual Reading
Spiritual reading is also a great way to start the day in prayer. You could choose a seasonal devotional or a classic such as St. Terese’s Story of a Soul, St. Augustine’s Confessions, or St. Faustina’s diary.
Daily Mass
One of the best things about being a homeschool mom is the ability and flexibility to attend Daily Mass. You could attend early before the family wakes up (and Dad is home to keep the kid safe), or bring the kids along.Â
Morning Hygiene and Movement for the Homeschool Mom
Now that you have taken care of your spiritual health, we will move on to the physical. For hygiene you will probably brush your teeth, comb your hair, apply make up (if desired), and get dressed. If you are a morning shower person, then include that.
I think it helps my own mood and attitude when I just take a few minutes in the morning to take care of my appearance instead of hanging out in PJs all day with a messy bun. I think that dressing for the occassion is super important, and this includes homemaking!
It’s also a great idea to include some movement at the beginning of the day such as stretching, a walk, or a workout of your preference.
Morning Chores for the Homeschool Mom
Next we will tackle chores. The following chores can be done in the morning:
Make bed
Laundry
Set the table
Prepare Breakfast
Clean up after breakfast (plate to sink, wipe table, sweep or vacuum)
Wipe counters
If you have children who are able, you can delegate some of these chores to them. In our home, the children have set days to do their own laundry. This has been very efficient so that no one runs out of clothes and so that the laundry doesn’t pile up. If we put the load in first thing in the morning, it has plenty of time to be dried and put away.
Simple Breakfasts for Homeschool Families
This may sound very, very boring but I choose the same breakfast to make everyday. You may worry about picky kids, but I find that giving everyone fewer options is less stressful for all parties involved. The kids know what to expect, you don’t have to make yet another decision, and you can stock up on ingredients to save on money and time. I do tend to switch up the breakfasts by season (such as hot oats in cold weather and cold overnight oats in the summer). Pancakes or anything else sweet or complicated is saved for Sunday.
Breakfast is another gift of being a homeschool mom. We don’t want breakfast to take forever, but I can schedule my time to give my kids and myself a nourishing and warm breakfast each day. I also love starting the morning with my kids around the breakfast table.
Here are some easy breakfast ideas that are filling and nourishing:
Fried or scrambled eggs and fruit
Egg in a hole
Eggs and toast
Oatmeal (hot or overnight)
Morning School Time
Morning school time should be set each day. Do not skip it or make a bunch of appointments or errands during this time. Little minds are awake and fresh in the morning, so be sure to use this to your full advantage. Do not waste it!
Depending on the ages of your children, you may be able to get some of your own study, reading, or computer work done at this time.Â
Your first priority is to help your children accomplish their schoolwork. The younger your children are, the more one-on-one time you will need to spend with them. As your children become more independent, you will find pockets where you can work side-by-side on your own reading, studying, writing, or computer/table work.
Your primary jobs at this time are:
- Take care of babies and toddlers
- Train young children to sit and complete their work diligently. Assist and teach them religion, reading, writing, and arithmetic.
- Keep older children on track and assist as needed
- If you have down time or pockets of time, have something to enrich you that you can easily put down (not scrolling on your phone)
Ideas for mom to be available and productive during school time:
- Reading something light that can easily be put aside if a child needs assistance with schoolwork
- Studying to learn something new alongside your children (again, not to involved)
- Handiwork like knitting or embroidery
- Writing, computer or other work such as a blog, journaling, sketching, or doing other work that you may need to get done that, again, can be put down if needed.
How to Create a Homeschool Schedule
Take some time to plan each of these areas for yourself. Take each area at a time, and first consider how much time you can dedicate to each. Remember the legal hours that you are required to homeschool.
If you would like some ideas for scheduling, I wrote about that here.
Sample Morning Homeschool Mom Schedule
Here is how a morning schedule for mom may look:
6:00 am Wake and pray morning offering
6:05 Brush teeth, get dressed, makeup and hair
6:15 Morning prayer time: Bible in a Year
6:35 Stretch, strength training, or walk
7:00 Children wake, mom assists, and 1 load of laundry started
7:30 Make breakfast
8:00 Breakfast
8:20 Breakfast clean up
8:30 Put on shoes to head to mass
9:00 Daily Mass
10:00 Begin schoolwork
Work until lunch time