I homeschool in the mornings before leaving for my second-shift job. We have six children, so lessons share that part of the day with breakfast, cooking and getting the household ready for the hours ahead. There is a real leaving time. School cannot depend on having an unlimited afternoon to finish everything.
We have used RightStart Math and Moving Beyond the Page since 2017, and ABeCeDarian has been part of teaching each child to read, beginning in 2017. I have loved these resources. I am glad to have familiar resources to draw on as I plan for our children.
Our family follows GAPS, so cooking is part of the morning alongside the schoolwork. Lessons, meals and the household handoff all need room before I leave for work.
What Our Weekday Mornings Include
Our weekday flow includes breakfast, homeschooling and work on my side businesses: blogging, book writing and clothing resale. Lunch and dinner also need attention before I leave for second shift, unless something is already made. Weekends are family time.
I cook in the morning before work. I am not currently relying on a big weekly batch-prep session, and that can make weekdays harder. Some mornings involve getting today’s food made alongside today’s lessons.
The practical question is how to fit the work together. A reading lesson that needs me sitting beside a child is different from work a child can already manage. A meal that is ready to serve is different from something that still needs cooking. The more clearly those jobs are separated, the easier the morning is to understand.
Start With the Time You Need to Leave
If you also work outside the home, put your actual leaving time at the top of the plan. Include the time needed to get ready and make the handoff at home. That makes it clear how much teaching time is available before your shift.
Then choose the work that most needs your direct teaching. Put that beside the appointments, meals and other fixed commitments already in the day. You can see where a lesson will fit, where it needs to be shorter and what should be planned for another available teaching period.
Use the framework below with your own leaving time and your children’s needs.
| Part of the Morning | What to Decide |
|---|---|
| Before lessons | What needs cooking, which materials need to be out and what time you must begin getting ready for work. |
| Teaching time | Which child needs you for new reading, a math lesson or another explanation that cannot be replaced by independent practice. |
| Practice time | What each child already understands well enough to work on, and when you will check it. |
| Meal break | When everyone will eat and what still needs an adult’s attention in the kitchen. |
| Before leaving | What is finished, what still needs follow-up and what the household needs to know for the rest of the day. |
Separate Teaching From Reinforcement
We began using IXL and Essentials in Writing for extra reinforcement. Essentials in Writing is EIW, not the Institute for Excellence in Writing, which is a different program. Keeping the names straight matters when you are comparing lessons or shopping for materials.
A helpful planning question is whether a child is meeting a new idea or practicing something already taught. If the work is new, allow time to explain it and see how the child responds. If it is practice, decide what help is still needed and how you will review the work. Choose practice the child already understands and plan when you will check in.
This distinction is useful when more than one child needs you. Write down the next clear task for the child who is ready to practice, then make room for the child who needs direct teaching. Choose a task the child can actually do rather than assigning unfamiliar work simply to fill a gap.
The Curriculum We Have Used
RightStart Math Second Edition and Moving Beyond the Page have been with us since 2017. For Moving Beyond the Page, our experience is with science, social studies and language arts. We have not used its math curriculum. ABeCeDarian has been our reading resource for each child, starting in 2017.
The RightStart and Moving Beyond the Page links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission. Both programs have been part of our homeschool since 2017.
| Resource | Our Use |
|---|---|
| RightStart Math, Second Edition Read My Review | Math, used since 2017. |
| Moving Beyond the Page Read My Review | Science, social studies and language arts, used since 2017. We have not used its math program. |
| ABeCeDarian | Reading with each child, beginning in 2017. |
| IXL | Extra reinforcement alongside our other work. |
| Essentials in Writing | Additional writing reinforcement. |
I have loved the resources we have used. When you compare curriculum, look at what a lesson asks of both you and your child. Parent teaching time, materials, how the lessons are organized and the work a child needs help with all matter. Those are the details to compare when deciding whether a program will fit the time you have before work.
Make Room for Music, Languages and Art
Our resource list also includes Faber Piano Adventures, the Simply apps for singing, piano, guitar and drawing, and Duolingo. These deserve space in a homeschool plan rather than being forgotten as soon as the core lessons are written down.
For planning, separate a new lesson from practice here too. Learning a new piece of music and practicing a familiar one may need different kinds of help. So might starting a drawing lesson and continuing a project. Decide what the activity needs before putting it into a slot you are counting on for another child’s lesson.
You do not have to give every activity the same place every day. Look at the week as well as the morning in front of you. A plan can leave room for a subject to receive more attention on one day without making every weekday carry every possible lesson.
Let Meals Support the School Day
One of the routines that made GAPS doable for us was starting a pot of meat stock first thing in the morning. It gives the family stock to drink or a base for soup. What goes into it changes with the budget, the time, what is in the fridge and what is available or on sale. There is not one stock recipe that describes every day in our house.
Before lessons begin, look at what is actually ready and what still needs cooking. If lunch depends on a pot that has not been started, that belongs in the morning’s plan. If something is already cooked, include the time needed to serve or reheat it. The aim is to see the work clearly before teaching and cooking are both asking for your full attention.
Our family has followed GAPS since July 2024. The GAPS basics guide explains that part of our family’s approach, and the recipe collection gives you concrete food ideas. Choose ingredients and preparation that fit each person’s phase so the food planning stays connected to where everyone is in GAPS.
For the kitchen side of the day, my Weekly Kitchen Rhythm Planner is listed in the WFLI Shop. A short list of breakfast, lunch, dinner and the cooking still needed can do the same immediate job of making the morning easier to see.
Leave Space for Cleanup and Getting Ready
Dirty dishes left for the morning can drive me a little crazy. So can waking up to a mess when the weekday is already full. Unplanned events are harder to absorb when the timing is tight. Those are ordinary household frustrations, and they belong in the discussion of what makes a homeschool morning work.
Include cleanup and getting ready for work in the plan itself. If every available minute is filled with lessons, there is no space left for closing books, putting materials away or dealing with the kitchen. Make the last part of the morning visible instead of treating it as something that will somehow happen after everything else.
When the Morning Does Not Go to Plan
Start with what needs attention now: a hungry child, a lesson that needs explaining or the work departure that cannot move. Then look at the next realistic piece of schoolwork. You can record what remains and return to it at the next available teaching time without pretending the interrupted morning went exactly as planned.
It helps to write a useful stopping point. “Finish math” can mean several different things. A note identifying the lesson or the point that still needs explaining gives you something clear to return to. The same is true of a reading lesson or a piece of writing that needs another look.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do All Six Children Use the Same Materials?
Our homeschool uses several resources for different subjects and needs. I would not assume that one lesson or one level suits every child simply because they are in the same household. The useful comparison is what each child needs to learn and how much direct teaching that work requires.
Do You Prepare All the Meals on the Weekend?
No. My current routine is cooking in the morning before work, and I am not currently doing a large bulk-prep session. Weekends are family time. That means our weekday plan needs time for cooking as well as teaching.
Have You Used Moving Beyond the Page Math?
No. Our experience with Moving Beyond the Page is science, social studies and language arts. We use RightStart Math Second Edition for math. Both have been part of our homeschool since 2017.
Plan the Next Morning
Choose the lessons that need you, write down the meals that still need work and leave room to get ready for your shift. That gives you a starting point you can use tomorrow. My Kids’ Morning Routine Chart is listed in the WFLI Shop for making the child’s part of the morning easier to follow. A simple written list is enough to begin.
Curriculum Sources
- RightStart Mathematics Second Edition, official curriculum information.
- Beyond the Page, official curriculum overview. Our personal use covers science, social studies and language arts.
- Essentials in Writing, official program website.
- Simply, official overview of its music and drawing apps.
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