An American Morning Basket

I’ll be honest— I really didn’t enjoy American history as much as the history of other parts of the world when I was homeschooling my older kids. I think there were two very good, equally important reasons for it. First, we lived so far removed from most of the landmarks and locations relevant to much of what shaped out nation. I love, love, love the Pacific Northwest. But truly, unless you’re discussing indigenous Americans or Westward Expansion, you’re left out of much of the fray. But the biggest reason, I think, is that while most of my own education in world history had been of the hit or miss, out of context public school variety, I felt like I knew American history. There were very few big revelations for me. So yes, I taught it. But no, I did not love it in the same way I loved Asian history, or the history of Africa.

Of course, the deeper down the rabbit hole I have traveled, the more I realized that while I spent years learning to recite the preamble to the Constitution, the issues behind the Civil War, how the U.S. ended up in both World Wars, and why the Civil Rights Movement was necessary, I was taught a narrow, rather simple version of American history. Personal study and yes, homeschooling my own family, has added depth and fullness to the outline painted for me in a classroom. And sharing it with my children now feels every bit as important and, dare I say, fun, as digging in to the early Mali.

The bulk of the “why” behind that newfound joy has to do with being able to step outside of the bare bones approach of names and dates and events. Those bits of information are the very needed skeleton framework of knowledge, but they’re stripped bare of the human experience as well as the fullness of the story which God is writing, even now, in our country.

That, for me, is the beauty of the Morning Basket concept. While we dig deep into our CC history sentences and take some rather winding rabbit trails along the way, I don’t want to miss the bigger picture. I want to make sure I’ve left room for the good, the beautiful, the heart, the voices. And oh… the voices. The men and women of American have been, from its beginning, a people of vastly different backgrounds, experiences, and expectations. Their perception of seasons, events, and developments all reflect the diverse tapestry that is a nation comprised of so many threads.

Writing these plans for my own family, I was able to weave in American poets whose names are familiar, like Walt Whitman, but also those less familiar, like Phyllis Wheatley. I was able to cover an amazing scope of music in this nation, from the nearly forgotten Charles Ives to the celebrated John Williams. I included hymns and spirituals. Sprinkled in are portraits of American whose stories are integral to the time periods being studied, people who may or may not have jumped off the page of a history book… and whose stories are hyperlinked for your own rabbit trail fun! And, of course, the Cycle 3 artists are all there, but every other week features an exclusive parade of Americans whose works deserve special highlight. Trust me, there is good stuff in this cycle!

For Bible this year, our family will be expounding upon the cycle’s Latin focus and reading, slowly and purposefully, through the book of John. That’s scheduled out in the Morning Basket Plans as well. And, like all of the streams, the readings are hyperlinked so that all you have to do is open the document in whatever app or site you choose, and click. I love the idea of a basket of vintage books with well-worn covers at my side while my children gather around. But guys, that’s not what life looks like for me. Am I alone here? The easiest way for me to be consistent is to admit the kind of homeschooling mom I am, and it’s this: the mom with a lot of kids, and a lot of moving parts in her day who needs the path of least resistance to help her work in the things she values in a stress-free kind of way. That’s what drives me to write these plans for my own family, and to make them available for others.

Scheduled into each quarter are three possible read-aloud adventures. New World Echoes, a CC publication, is scheduled for each week. I recommend it as a solo read-aloud for Abecedarians, and as a supplement for older ages. Like it’s predecessor, you’ll find poems, fables, and stories that correlate with each week’s geography grammar. For those ready for longer listening, I’ve selected books my family has personally loved. There are so many truly wonderful stories set in America! I tried to schedule those less likely to have already been encountered so that read-aloud time can be as fresh and exciting as it should be. These books, should you choose to use this portion of the plans and aren’t able to make use of your local library, are the only outside purchases you’d need to make. Everything else is included in the pdfs.

This is not a day by day, check the boxes schedule that makes you feel pressured when you miss a day because your toddler just wouldn’t sit still long enough for you to read a poem to your first and third graders. These plans are written with a whole lot of grace for the homeschooling mom in the trenches. You can set your own rhythm (“We do poetry on Monday, hymns on Tuesday…”) and stick to it. You can look at the clock at 10 a.m. on Thursday and decide that you have exactly enough time to study a painting. Or you can repeat the streams each day, taking a leisurely approach that fits your family as it is in this season. There’s no right way to do this… and there’s no wrong way, either!

All four quarters are now available individually on Etsy for just $4.99. If you’d like the full year’s set, it’s $19.99. I hope that these plans bless other families in their study of American history. We live in a unique country at a turning point. Looking backward this upcoming year will, I think, bring so much perspective as we move forward!