Morning Time Teens ™ : A Year of Ancient Literature
Morning time lesson plans to guide and connect with your middle and high schoolers
A Year of Ancient Literature!
Your morning time doesn't have to (and shouldn't) end just because your kids get older!
I know I certainly didn't want to stop it with my own kids.
The teen years are the best for wonderful discussion times and making sure that your kids have the solid grounding that you'll want them to have before they leave home.
That's why I've created Morning Time Teens™!
The second is the series is what I'll be doing with my teens for the 2023-2024 school year: A Year of Ancient Literature!
(The first in the series that I did with my kids last year is A Year With Lewis & Tolkien. Check it out, too!)
This course will provide you with a plan to follow to read 10 historical novels all set during ancient times.
It includes the schedule, discussion questions, and other activities such as art projects, music to listen to, and recipes to make, alongside your read-aloud time.
FAQ:
What is morning time?
Morning time is when a homeschool family gathers all the kids together to do group activities such as read-alouds, projects, memorization, music, art, poetry tea time, presentations for each other, etc. before the kids head off to do independent work. It's also known as circle time, couch time, morning basket time, and other names.
What is Morning Time Teens™?
Since most morning time lesson plans focus mainly on the elementary ages, I wanted to create something meatier for my teenagers, to make their last years in our homeschool meaningful. I plan to create others, but the first in the series is A Year With Lewis & Tolkien and the second is A Year of Ancient Literature.
What do I need to buy in addition to this course?
You can actually do the whole course without buying another thing!
You'll need the ten books or audiobooks, but those will be really easy to find in the library or borrow from friends.
I'll share other resources that I own and will be using with my kids this year (such as writing curricula and an art course), but those are optional.
How long should morning time with my teens be each morning?
You should plan for an hour each day, 5 days a week, 35 weeks for the school year. This will allow for 30-45 minutes of reading aloud of the book (or listening to the audiobook) and companion activities.
What are some of the companion activities?
I have 4 categories of companion activities that we will for each book.
- Art
- Music
- Writing
- Tea Time or Celebration recipes
Will my student get high school credit with this course?
If you read and do discussions for all the books in A Year of Ancient Literature, your student can get a half high school English credit. Add writing and/or grammar to it, and it will be a full credit.
Do you grade my student?
No, you as the homeschool parent will give the grade your student deserves for the course.
What books are included in A Year of Ancient Literature?
Old Testament Times:
- Perelandra by C.S. Lewis
- Adam and His Kin by Ruth Beechick
- God King: A Story in the Days of King Hezekiah by Joanne Williamson and Daria M. Sockey
Ancient Egypt:
- The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
- The Cat of Bubastes by G.A. Henty
Ancient Greece:
- Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Ancient Rome:
- Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare (Oxford School Shakespeare Edition)
- The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff
New Testament Times:
- The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
- Ben Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace
Can I see a free sample?
Yes! Here you go. . .
See a free sample of Perelandra's Morning Time Teens™ plan here!
Some of the Food and Recipe Ideas Included:
Here are three options for Perelandra's book discussion foods/recipes.
- Exotic Fruit Platter: Create a platter of various tropical and exotic fruits to symbolize the strange and unfamiliar environment of Perelandra. Include fruits like dragon fruit, star fruit, passion fruit, papaya, and pineapple.
- Floating Island Dessert: Prepare a classic French dessert known as "Île flottante" or floating island. This dessert consists of poached meringue islands floating on a sea of custard. It can represent the floating islands and the vast ocean of Perelandra. Here is Ina Garten's recipe.
- Green Smoothie: Blend together a refreshing green smoothie using ingredients like spinach, kale, green apples, and lime. This vibrant drink can symbolize the lush greenery and vegetation found on the floating islands of Perelandra.
Green Smoothie recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 cup fresh spinach leaves
- 1 cup chopped kale leaves
- 2 green apples, cored and chopped
- Juice of 1 lime
- 1 cup cold water or coconut water
- Optional: 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup for sweetness
Instructions:
- Wash the spinach and kale leaves thoroughly.
- In a blender, combine the spinach, kale, chopped green apples, lime juice, and water (or coconut water).
- Blend on high speed until all the ingredients are well combined and the smoothie is smooth and creamy. If desired, add sweetener like honey or maple syrup and blend again.
- Taste the smoothie and adjust the sweetness or tanginess by adding more lime juice or sweetener, if needed.
- Pour the green smoothie into glasses and serve chilled.
You can also customize this recipe by adding additional ingredients such as a banana for added creaminess, a handful of fresh mint leaves for extra freshness, or a scoop of protein powder for a boost of protein.
What are the Discussion Questions like?
Perelandra discussion questions:
Week 1:
- If you could have a chance to ask the author (C.S. Lewis) of this book one question, what would it be?
- Which character in the book would you most like to meet and why?
- Would you want to visit the setting of the book? Why or why not?
Week 2:
- Did the characters seem believable to you? Did they remind you of anyone?
- Did the book’s pace seem too fast, too slow, or just right?
- Which recurring themes do you notice throughout the story?
Week 3:
- How well do you think the author built the world in the book? What would you do differently?
- What do you think the author’s purpose was in writing this book? What ideas is he trying to get across?
- This book is the second of a series: C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy. Are you interested in reading books 1 and 3? Why or why not?
What does the Schedule look like?
Here's an example for the book Perelandra, but blank schedules are also included so you can make it your own!
Your Instructor
Gena Mayo is a homeschooling mom of 8 who has been teaching music in various forms for 30 years. She has a Bachelors degree in Music Education and a Masters degree in Vocal Pedagogy (teaching voice lessons). It has been her joy to teach elementary and junior high choir, high school voice classes, private voice lessons for teens through adults, early childhood music and movement classes (babies through preschool), elementary general music, and music appreciation for elementary through high school. But, her favorite music teaching experience has been as musical director for stage musicals such as Seussical, Shrek, Singing in the Rain, Newsies, and Beauty and the Beast. It is Gena's desire to help all homeschoolers easily include music in their homeschools!
Frequently Asked Questions
By the way, are you looking for a Music & Fine Arts Membership experience?
The Music in Our Homeschool Plus (MIOH+) Music and Fine Arts membership experience for Preschool - High School is open for enrollment in January, May, and August each year.