Say “Good Morning” to Highschool Success!

Posted by Lee | 0 comments

Looking for a strategy for success? One great idea is to initiate a “Morning Meeting” each day!

With each of your children, meet with them individually each morning when you are doing school.  Discuss what they completed the previous day.  Go over their recent writing or assignments and provide feedback.  A simple “Great job” or “I love it, but please correct this paragraph” can go a long way.  It will help you feel confident too, as you provide feedback on what they have completed.  Grading papers may be unnecessary as you provide oral feedback, and request verbal reports or quizzes.  That can cut back on your work load.  After that quick review, you can discuss your plans for the current day.  A quick list of assignments can set expectations for the day.  You can assist your teenagers in prioritizing, and thinking through their schedule.

In our homeschool, our Morning Meeting lasted 15-30 minutes for each child. When they were younger, I gave them spelling words and dictation, I asked them to narrate stories from their books and recite their memorization.  Then I would instruct them in their daily math lesson.  When they became high school age, I continued with the Morning Meeting, but it changed to meet their needs.  I would quiz them on their geography lessons and science vocabulary.  I gave them feedback on their writing and asked for additional correction.

A Morning Meeting conveys a lot to your children.

It sets an expectation for the day, and conveys the gravitas of education. It shows them that THEY are important, not just as “students” but as unique individuals of value in your home.

When a Morning Meeting is missed, it’s possible to miss important details.  Without daily check up, you may not know if homework is turned in – which can set the stage for failure.

Naturally our home wasn’t perfect.  There were times when my lovely expectations didn’t result in those expectations being met.  However, with clear expectations given on a daily basis, it was much easier to provide consequences when necessary.  With clear and consistent expectations, I could provide a direct natural consequence of slacking off.  With a direct cause-and-effect consequence provided in a matter-of-fact way, the result was correction rather than punishment.

Lee Binz is a veteran homeschooling mom of two and the owner of The HomeScholar, “Helping parents homeschool through high school.” She has a new free minicourse called “The 5 Biggest Mistakes Parents Make When Homeschooling High School”. You can sign up for her free email homeschool newsletter, The HomeScholar Record and get your daily dose of wisdom via e-mail from her homeschool blog, The HomeScholar Helper. Get homeschool transcript help with her Total Transcript Solution. Get comprehensive homeschool support as a member of her Gold Care Club.