Orthodox Christian Morning Time Curriculum Tips and Information

One of the reasons I created the Orthodox Christian Morning Time Curriculum the way that I did was so that it could easily be added on to any curriculum, whether a traditional all-in-one curriculum, Charlotte Mason style or even online coursework. Right now, there is not much in the way of academic Orthodox Christian homeschool curriculum available, so my hope is that the Orthodox Christian Morning Time Curriculum can help families to add an Orthodox Christian element to their schooling more easily, whichever curriculum they use.

The Orthodox Christian Morning Time Curriculum revolves around reading the Lives of the Saints, has Orthodox Christian copy work, and was inspired by some of the general concepts found in the Charlotte Mason method and classical education, while allowing families to use this as an add-on to the homeschooling method of their choice. When I started the curriculum, I was participating in a classical memory work program called Catholic Schoolhouse (which is similar to Classical Conversations.). Mostly there for socialization, I realized that I could make an Orthodox Christian version of this sort of curriculum for use at home that could be more geared to the formation of an "Orthodox phronema."

The Orthodox Christian Morning Time Curriculum contains:

A Saint per week to focus on (The Great Collection of Lives of the Saints by Chrysostomos Press is encouraged, but any source will do.)
A short paragraph of memory sentences about the saint
Catechism excerpts for memorization by St. Philaret of Moscow
The Troparion and Kontakion of the Saint of the Week (links to sheets music, and audio files are available for most of these.)
A Bible Memory Verse
Daily copy work that corresponds to the poem, saint's lives, and Bible verse
Journal prompts for each week
Thoughtful poetry, with a spiritual emphasis, for memory work
A recommendation/checklist at the beginning of the curriculum to rotate between Arts/Crafts, Foreign Language, Art Study, and Journaling (assuming most families school for 4 days per week.)

There are 32 weeks available (which could take many families two years to finish) and I made sure to include a variety of Saints in the curriculum, from ascetics, those known for charity, to Fathers of the Church like St. Athanasius, with a mix of both male and female saints. I also chose the copy work from the Lives of the Saints very carefully so that if someone was not able to attain the full volumes, their child could still be exposed to key moments of the lives written by St. Dimitry of Rostov. In fact, if someone didn't want to use the full curriculum, the copy work portions alone would be beneficial!

The Orthodox Christian Morning Time Curriculum, is most suitable for ages 7 to 16, especially since it's encouraged to read the longer lives from a Synaxarion over the course of a week (editing as appropriate for the age of children listening.). If you have older children, and the youngest is 6, I would definitely use it for everyone for the sake of convenience, but the copy work and most of the curriculum is ideal for ages 7 and above.

Whichever homeschooling method you choose, I hope that the Orthodox Christian Morning Tme Curriculum will help your family to learn more about the Saints, the Church, and form an Orthodox Christian rhythm to start your day!

Tips for Using the Curriculum:

- I wanted to include a warning/guidance that when reading any book of Lives of the Saints, whether The Prologue or the Lives of the Saints by Chryostomos Press, you will have to edit certain parts at your discretion considering the age and maturity of your child/children. For example, we just read the Life of St. Spyridon in Week 3, and there was a page that I skipped. Sometimes I also change words, or summarize a paragraph to make it more appropriate for young children here or there. Parents/teachers will have to do this at their discretion.

SAMPLE SCHEDULE

While parents should choose how to best incorporate the curriculum in their homeschool, St. Irene Press recommends using this curriculum after the family has completed morning prayers and is ready to begin school.

First, read the scheduled portion of the lives of the saints
Sing the hymns of the week which are the troparion and kontakion for the saint (Links to sheet music are made available below, mostly from the OCA website, or send an email for access to the audio files.)
Begin the memory sentences for the saint. The parent can then quiz the children on pertinent information related to the saint (not from the longer life, just the memory sentences).
After this portion is completed, the parent should have the memory verse, poetry stanza and catechism sentences written on a whiteboard, and use typical strategies for encouraging memory of the selection, while adding in any relevant context that the parent wishes to share.
Students should complete the copywork page.
The family can start the enrichment activity scheduled for the day: art study, art project, foreign language, or journaling assignment (journaling assignments are provided by the curriculum).
When my boys are I are short on time, we only sings the hymn once for the week. The priority for us is the memory of the Bible verse, catechism, poem and completing the copy work.

LINKS TO SHEET MUSIC / AUDIO FILES FOR HYMNS

Please see below for links to the sheet music that accompany's that Orthodox Christian saint hymns found in the curriculum.

Audio Files are also now available for the Orthodox Christian Saint's hymns that accompany the curriculum. Please send me your email address if you would like access to those. (For the hymns that do not have sheet music available, I am hoping to have those added eventually. It might be easier to find a choir director with extra time after the busy summer season is over : )

1) Week 1 - St. Basil (Jan. 1)

2) Week 2 - St. Maximus the Confessor (Jan. 21)

3) Week 3 - St. Spyridon (Dec. 12)

4) Week 4 - St. Benedict of Nursia (Mar. 14)

5 )Week 5 - St. Catherine the Great (Nov. 24)

6) Week 6- St. Sylvester, Bishop of Rome (Jan 2.) (I can't find sheet music at this time. I will need to get ask the choir director about this one.)

7) Week 7- St. Nina, Enlightener of Georgia (Jan 14) (Only troparion available)

8) Week 8 - St. Athanasius the Great (May 2.)

9) Week 9 - St. Gregory the Theologian (Jan 25.)

10) Week 10 - St. Cosmas and Damian (Nov. 1)

11) Week 11 - Venerable Paisios of the Holy Mountain (July 12) - (I can't find sheet music at this time. I will need to get ask the choir director about this one.)

12) Week 12 - St. Donatus the Bishop - (I can't find sheet music at this time. I will need to get ask the choir director about this one.)