Homeschool Morning Meeting: Start Your Day by Bringing the Family Together

A family morning meeting can really lay the groundwork for your homeschool day, especially when you begin with God’s Word! Keep reading to learn how to start your day by bringing the family together!

As we start a brand new homeschool year, there are always a lot of questions. How do you start your homeschool day? What time do your kids get up? What time do you start? Do you need to be intentional about how you start your day?

If you’ve wondered about any of these things, keep reading! Starting your homeschool day intentionally can really lay a solid foundation for everything you do throughout the day, especially when you do it with God’s Word!

In our home, we start each homeschool day with a morning meeting. Over the years, the time of this meeting has varied. We have started at 8 a.m., 9 a.m., and even 10 a.m. depending on the season we were in.

Here’s a little peek into our homeschool morning meeting.

Morning Meeting God Time

I want to INVITE my kids to join me in a conversation about God instead of INDICTING them for falling short. I’ve found that starting our morning with one simple question is the best way to do this.

I ask, “What has God been teaching you in your quiet time?”

This question is open-ended so they can share as much or as little as they want. It also doesn’t require them to say exactly WHEN they learned this either. My goal is to encourage conversations and show my kids how powerful it can be to spend time in God’s Word. If no one has anything to share, you can bet that I’m ready to talk about something that God has been teaching me. I try to point out how my time in the Word helps me with daily frustrations as well as the tough stuff in life.

This gives kids a reason to want to read the Bible. It’s not just because “good Christians” have a quiet time. We read the Bible because God is able to help us with our daily life. He guides us, comforts us, and encourages us. Plus, the Bible is the only way we can know who He is, and that’s how we learn to trust Him.

If no one else shares, that’s fine. I NEVER point fingers or guilt trip them. By simply showing up each day and asking this question, I’m setting an expectation and an example. My kids rise to the occasion more often than not.

We use this method even when we are studying something together, such as one of our Bible studies. Everyone does their own study, and then we come together and talk about what God is teaching us. I find that going through a lesson line by line is frustrating, belittling, and has limited benefit. When kids can get into the Word for themselves, they make it their own!

Need help with kids’ devotions? Check out the Kids Devotional Method course. It’s free!

Morning Meeting Prayer Time

Once we’ve discussed what God has been teaching us, we have family prayer time. Over the years, we’ve used either the JOY Prayer cards or the ACTS prayer cards for this. We rotate them every other year.

I pull out a card, and we pass it around the table as we pray. These cards have prompts to help us think of things to pray for, so we never get tired of using them.

Most days, our prayer time lasts about 5-10 minutes. It really just depends on how long-winded the kids get. I never feel the need to rush it when my kids are talking to God!

Check out all of our kid’s prayer tools here.

Morning Meeting Announcements

Let’s face it. Sometimes we just have to get practical. After our family prayer time, we spend a few minutes going over the events of the day to make sure everyone is on the same page. We go over appointments, music lessons, and anything else that might impact the day. This is a great opportunity for the kids to fill in that planning section of their planner.

Morning Meeting Family Study

This is my absolute favorite part of the day. Many of our subjects are done independently, but our family study time gives us a special opportunity to learn and grow together. We’ve done our To Every Nation study together during this time as well as hymn studies. Most recently, we’ve been working through our apologetics flipbook, Faithipedia.

I read the day’s lesson covering theology words, books of the Bible, names of God, timelines, and more. The kids jot a few notes in their notebooks and add fun stickers. We love the discussion that comes from this time together.

Morning Meeting Tips and Tricks

• Keep It Simple. Perhaps the most important thing to remember is to keep this time simple! Most mornings, our entire meeting is less than 30 minutes.
• Keep Materials Handy. Pick a spot to store everything you need for this time. I keep a basket in the china cabinet behind our table. It works perfectly.
• Keep It Age Appropriate. Don’t expect deep theological discussions out of your little people. Likewise, use Bible studies and materials that are on the right level for your kids. More about Bible study age levels here.

Helpful Resources

• Learn how to help your kids make connections in the Bible in The Secret To Making Bible Lessons For Kids Come To Life.
• Need help with getting started with family Bible Studies? Read more here: Bible Study With Kids: 8 Tips to Make it Amazing.
• Check out our Family Bible Studies that Reach the Hearts of Kids.
• For more tips on family devotions, read Easy Family Devotions: What You Need To Know.
• See 7 Tips for Finding the Perfect Morning Routine for more ideas to make your morning go smoothly.
• For more on planning, read How To Create the Best Homeschool Schedule for Your Family.