My morning time loop has transformed my homeschool day.
I started looping a few years ago. Looping is when you schedule subjects in sequence rather than assigning to a specific day of the week.
Looping is particularly useful for irregular schedules because if you just have things assigned to Monday but you end up with an appointment or other conflicts it can mess up your whole week.
By looping, you can take the days as they come.
You can read more about looping here. Different people loop in different ways. There is no one “right” way. The big idea is that you going with the flow of life rather than fighting it.
I have a regular curriculum loop for each of my students but I also created a “morning time loop” that we do together.
This morning time loop includes lots of what we call “the feast” in Charlotte Mason circles — art, music, poetry, etc.
Looping these subjects helped me to get consistent and also to start our days off with great joy.
I have chosen to schedule a 4-day loop because we participate in a co-op one day of the week. I do have an “extra” loop day that I can use if co-op is cancelled.
So What’s In My Morning Time Loop?
There is no magic in how I divided the subjects throughout the loop although I did give some thought to general time for each one. For example, you wouldn’t want to put Shakespeare and Plutarch on the same day.
In general I try to keep the loop to less than an hour. Some days it is much shorter depending on what we are working on.
Day 1
Poetry (10)
Bible (15)
Folk Song (10)
Family Read (20)
Review terms/Memorization Work
Day 2
Poetry (10)
Artist (10)
Grammar (15)
Family Read (20)
Day 3
Poetry (10)
Shakespeare (30)
Composer (10)
Grammar (15)
Memory Work
Day 4
Poetry (10)
Bible (15)
Hymn (10)
Plutarch (10)
Extra Day
Poetry (10)
Constitution (10)
Review Terms/Memory Work
Family Read (20)
This schedule gives me the general outline for morning time all year. The books, poets, songs may change based on our schedule but the basic framework is consistent.
This morning time loop has really helped me to not leave out parts of our curriculum that give it life. Also, I added in Grammar a few years ago because it was something we could do together in just a few minutes a week which made it more enjoyable for everyone.
How do you loop? Do you use a morning time loop? Share your ideas below.
Get started with your own loop schedule using my Loop Schedule Worksheet. Download yours today!
For More Homeschool Ideas…
How to Homeschool with Ambleside Online & Love It!
How to Fall in Love with Poetry in 10 Minutes
Best Podcasts for the Charlotte Mason Mom
I love the loop! My well-planned schedule serves US, rather than being a task-master. I tend to use my books as a reminder of rotation. Plutarch read, and book goes to the end of the shelf. I copied off your template to have a fantastic visual for that necessary answer to “what’s up?” for us all. Thank you!!