Breakfast is a critical meal of the day, and oftentimes, it’s more of a hassle and rush out the door. As a homeschooling family, I think some people think our mornings are laid back, with everyone in pajamas with all the time in the world. Nope!

My kids have morning routines that they are expected to follow as soon as they wake up (Does that mean they always do it? Absolutely not ;) ). They get dressed, brush their hair and teeth, say their prayers and read scriptures, say a few daily affirmations and work on memorizing an Article of Faith (as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we have 13 Articles of Faith that provide 13 short summaries about our core beliefs).

And then of course, they are supposed to make their beds and tidy their room. It all sounds nice and looks great on paper, but we definitely don’t have perfect mornings every day!

Once their morning routines are done, we sit down to breakfast. This could be the end, but this year we’ve been implementing something new at breakfast time, and I feel like it’s really helped us start the day off on the right foot.

Instead of just tossing breakfast to my kids while I get school stuff ready or try to get ready for the day, we try to start breakfast at 9 (obviously we do it a little later because we have some flexibility with homeschool, but you could absolutely do it earlier!). I try to make sure I have breakfast ready by then- whether it’s eggs and toast or yogurt with berries or scrambled eggs with veggies or even just cold cereal- and then we all sit down together. I use this time to then utilize 2 teaching tools that anyone and everyone can use.

The first is a scripture-based curriculum put out by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It’s called Come Follow Me, and this year we are focusing on the New Testament. It’s such a great way to start the day- delving into the scriptures, learning about our Savior and reading His words. While this doesn’t guarantee a perfect day, I definitely feel more prepared to face the day when we begin our focus on Jesus Christ. And I think my kids feel the same way, even if they don’t know exactly how to voice it. Their attitudes are certainly different ;).

The second tool I use is a neat little book by Brooke Romney, called 52 Modern Manners for Today’s Teens. It’s a spiral notebook that goes over a particular manner for each day of the year. And while it has the word “teens” in the title, most of the manners apply to all ages! It’s such a great way to have an open discussion about things I might not think to talk about otherwise. So far this year we’ve talked about forgiving and not holding grudges, saving conversations (not talking about things in front of people that might make them feel bad, like a future party), managing our time, being a good friend, not interrupting, etc.

It only takes a couple minutes to talk about the manner, and then I have it propped up where they can easily see it and we review it every morning at breakfast.

Some days, we have lengthy discussions about the Sermon on the Mount and the importance of managing our time. Other days, we maybe read a quick verse or watch a 3 minute video and I remind them not to interrupt. We’re far from perfect, but trying to do these two things at breakfast has been really great for our family. We’ve only been doing it since the beginning of the year, and I’ve definitely seen some improvement in the behaviors of my kids. I’m excited to see what changes come about by the end of the year! It’s a habit I’m hoping we can continue. Sure, we’ve missed a few days, and I’m sure we’ll miss a few more! But I think the consistency is the important thing.

If you’d like links to the Come Follow Me resource or Modern Manners, I’ve included them here:

Come Follow Me: This link will lead you to the actual material if you just want to view it online:

Click here if you want to order a hard copy.

Modern Manners. She has two books and both are great! I personally felt the second one had a few more that I could apply to my younger children, but both books are fabulous!

This is the first book.

Here’s to happy and peaceful mornings!

    Camille Hoffmann
    Monthly Newsletter Contributor since 2014
    Email the author! camille@dvo.com