Bookish Family: A Year of Morning Time: Ancient Times through the Middle Ages

I've been doing morning time for over 3 years now. I began my morning time practice with just one thing: a poem I chose to read every day for one week. It was easy to pick another poem at the end of the week and keep the habit going. Plus I loved the beautiful words and ideas we were sharing as a family. We still have favorite lines from poems that we bring up years later. You can find my list of poetry to read aloud here.

Eventually, I added another book to the rotation and then another. I was not familiar with Charlotte Mason's recommendation of short and varied lessons, but I quickly noticed that we could read and absorb so much more if we read only a few rich pages or a small chapter each day. Moreover, the kids who were 4, 3, and newborn, could keep their focus on morning time longer if we switched books and subjects.

I did not have time to make elaborate plans. Instead, I added varied books serendipitously and intuitively as we finished others. I still use this loose planning technique today. Ideally, I have some folk tales, classic stories, and religious stories, and books from several of the following categories--math, history, arts, science, nature--going at one time.

Here are the resources we used during the 2016-2017 academic year with a first grader, preschooler, and toddler. If you look closely, you can see that we studied the ancient world (east and west), then shifted to studying medieval times. In fact, many of my choices were keyed to the chapters we read from The Story of the World, Volumes 1 & 2. We also prepared for performances of Hamlet and Macbeth and enjoyed some of our favorite short chapter books, as well as other folk tales, fairy tales, nature stories and holiday titles.

Maybe you will be inspired to share some of them with your family.

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Mozart, Music Magician by Clair Huchet Bishop
The First Olympic Games by Jean Richards
Yeh-Shen A Cinderella Story from China by Ai-Ling Louie
Classic Animal Stories compiled by Lesley O'Mara
Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni
The Trouble with Wishes (Pygmalion) by Diane Stanley
Diogenes by Aliki

Great Wall of China by Adele Richardson
Story of the World, Volume I, by Susan Wise Bauer, Chapters 26-33
Confucius: The Golden Rule by Russell Freedman
Silly & Sillier: Read Aloud Tales from Around the World Told by Judy Sierra
What Are the Summer Olympics? By Gail Herman

Stage Fright on a Summer Night by Mary Pope Osborne
Egyptian Myths by Jacqueline Morley
Earthquake in the Early Morning by Mary Pope Osborne
Sunset of the Sabertooth by Mary Pope Osborne
Thunder at Gettysburg by Patricia Lee Gauch

Lentil by Robert McCloskey
Grover Cleveland Again! A Treasury of American Presidents by Ken Burns (through Ulysses S. Grant)
Carnival at Candlelight by Mary Pope Osborne
The Easter Story by Anita Ganeri
Night of the New Magicians by Mary Pope Osborne

Around the World in 80 Tales by Saviour Pirotta
Hamlet: No Fear Shakespeare Graphic Novel by Neil Babra
Parables: Stories Told by Jesus by Mary Hoffman & Jackie Morris
The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davies
John Midas in the Dreamtime by Patrick Skene Catling
Biography of an Ant by Alice Hopf

The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones
Story of the World, Volume I, by Susan Wise Bauer, Chapters 34-42
O, Say Can You See? America's Symbols, Landmarks, and Inspiring Words by Sheila Keenan
The Gift of the Tree by Alvin Tresselt
Odin's Family: Myths of the Vikings by Neil Phillip
The Thieves of Ostia by Caroline Lawrence

The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin
Sarah Gives Thanks by Mike Allegra
An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving by Lousia May Alcott
Favorite Celtic Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs

A Tree is Nice by Janice May Udry
Beowulf Illustrated Edition translation by Seamus Heaney
Under the Ramadan Moon by Sylvia Whitman
Muhammad and Islam by Kerena Marchant
Joy to the World: Christmas Stories and Songs by Tomie dePaola

The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry in Book of Virtues for Young People
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
Amahl and the Night Visitors by Gian Carlo Menotti
Aladdin and Other Favorite Arabian Nights Stories by Philip Smith
Story of the World, Volume 2 by Susan Wise Bauer, Chapters 1-10

Maestro Classics: Peter and the Wolf CD
Ernie Dances to the Didgeridoo by Alison Lester
A Christmas Carol by Dickens (December)
Seasons of Splendour by Madhur Jaffrey
Maestro Classics: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel CD

Maestro Classics: Casey at the Bat CD
Who Was Leonardo da Vinci by Roberta Edwards
The Saga of Erik the Viking by Terry Jones
Maestro Classics: The Sorcerer's Apprentice CD
Maestro Classics: The Soldier's Tale (L'Histoire du Soldat by Igor Stavinsky) CD

Maestro Classics: Juanita the Spanish Lobster
Perceval: King Arthur's Knight of the Holy Grail retold by John Perkins
King Arthur and his Knights as told by Jim Weiss
Maestro Classics: The Story of Swan Lake
The Wonder Clock by Howard Pyle

Tales from the Odyssey Part I by Mary Pope Osborne*
Parzival: The Quest of the Grail Knight by Katherine Paterson
Exploring the World of the Vikings with Elaine Landau
When Insects Are Babies by Gladys Conklin
Prairie School by Avi

The Making of a Knight by Patrick O'Brien
Castle by David Macaulay
Castle Under Siege by Andrew Solway
Eyewitness Viking by Susan M Margeson
Buddy: The First Seeing Eye Dog by Eva Moore

Knights and Castles by Will Osborne and Mary Pope Osborne
Castle Life by Struan Reid
Maestro Classics: My Name is Handel
Story of the World, Volume 2 by Susan Wise Bauer, Chapters 11-22
Into the Unknown: How Great Explorers Found Their Way by Land, Sea, and Air by Stewart Ross (selections on Pytheas, Leif Eriksson, and Marco Polo
Da Vinci Picture Study
Maestro Classics: The Tortoise and the Hare

Marco Polo by Gian Paolo Ceserani
Maestro Classics: Merry Pranks of Master Till
Jamie O'Rourke and the Pooka by Tomie DePaola
Bach: The Boy from Thuringia by Opal Wheeler and Sybil Deucher
The Polar Bear by Jenni Desmond

The Blue Whale by Jenni Desmond
Cathedral by David Macaulay
Sir Gawain and the Green Night translated by Simon Armitage
Constellations: spinning through space by Eva Hans
First Animal Encyclopedia

Tales from the Odyssey: Part II by Mary Pope Osborne
Animal Poems for Children selected by DeWitt Conyers
My Father's Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett
The Magic Gourd by Baba Wague Diakite
Elmer and the Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannet

The Dragons of Blueland by Ruth Stiles Gannet
Titanic: Voices from the Disaster by Deborah Hopkinson
Catwings by Ursula K. Le Guin
Catwings Return by Ursula K. Le Guin
Wonderful Alexander and the Catwings by Ursula K Le Guin

The Blue Fairy Book edited by Andrew Lang
Ola by Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Song of the Swallows by Leo Politi
Pedro's Journal by Pam Conrad
Jane on Her Own by Ursula K. Le Guin