{"id":48923,"date":"2017-09-19T11:15:39","date_gmt":"2017-09-19T15:15:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/simplehomeschl.wpengine.com\/?p=48923"},"modified":"2026-02-11T10:59:26","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T15:59:26","slug":"coffee-and-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simplehomeschool.net\/coffee-and-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Coffee and Books: An unexpected homeschool game-changer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Coffee<\/a><\/p>\n

Written by Caitlin Fitzpatrick Curley of My Little Poppies<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

S<\/span>eptember is here.<\/p>\n

Armed with fresh notebooks and colorful pens, we feel renewed and inspired. We are\u00a0determined to make this homeschool year\u00a0a memorable one.<\/p>\n

We have a plan for how we want the year to go, a vision<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And yet, sometimes, the best homeschool ideas are\u00a0un<\/em>planned.<\/p>\n

\"Coffee<\/a><\/p>\n

Take, for example, last winter.<\/p>\n

A lifelong morning person, I suddenly found myself unable to wake up before my children. I can see now, in retrospect, that it was the result of saying\u00a0yes\u00a0<\/em>to far too many people<\/a>\u00a0plus a case of the winter doldrums.<\/p>\n

My motivation was at an all-time low.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By not waking before my children, I lost my planning time.\u00a0Rather than enjoying an hour to myself, drinking my coffee in silence and setting us up for a peaceful morning, I woke up to rambunctious, hungry children.<\/p>\n

When my feet hit the floor on those cold wintry mornings, I already felt behind. I was overwhelmed by a sense of urgency, a need to accomplish all the things … and fast!<\/p>\n

\"Coffee<\/a><\/p>\n

I’d rush through breakfast so that we could tackle math. (Because don’t we all worry a little bit about math in our weakest moments?)<\/p>\n

This resulted in\u00a0colossal\u00a0<\/em>power struggles. And tears. And\u00a0general chaos.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, we didn’t accomplish much.<\/strong><\/p>\n

One morning, as I was laying in my warm bed, silently berating myself for not getting up and accomplishing all the things, I had a revelation:<\/p>\n

What if I start our mornings with what we love? What if I tackle the one area I\u00a0never worry about?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

And so I got out of bed, poured a cup of coffee, and grabbed a\u00a0book.<\/p>\n


\n\"Coffee<\/p>\n

When my kids arrived in the kitchen, sleepy-eyed and ready for breakfast, I read to them.<\/p>\n

I didn’t know it yet, but a tradition was about to unfold.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We had stumbled onto something good:\u00a0Coffee and Books.<\/em><\/p>\n

Starting our day with the easiest thing<\/h4>\n

I’m a reader. My first word was\u00a0bookie<\/em>. I’d follow my mom around the house, book in hand, and plead, “Bookie? Bookie-bookie-bookie-bookie?”<\/p>\n

I had a children’s book collection years<\/em> before I had\u00a0children.<\/p>\n

At any given time\u00a0I’m reading at least a half a dozen books<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I cherish read-alouds with my children. Reading is the one area I never<\/em>\u00a0worry about.<\/strong><\/p>\n

So, on that first morning of what we’d later call\u00a0Coffee and Books<\/em>, it didn’t feel overwhelming to pour a cup of hot liquid goodness and open a book.<\/p>\n

Coffee and Books<\/em> did not require any motivation. In fact, it felt almost too<\/em> easy.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

But here’s the interesting bit: by starting our morning with the easiest thing, we accomplished\u00a0more.\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Coffee<\/p>\n

At some point along the way, I started sharing our\u00a0Coffee and Books<\/em> on Instagram<\/a>. I didn’t share every morning, just on the mornings when I was waiting for a straggler to come to the table, or when I was especially excited about a particular book.<\/p>\n

And an interesting thing started to happen: others started to look forward to our Coffee and Books<\/em> posts. If I missed a couple days, I’d receive requests for more.<\/p>\n

It was only then that I realized we had stumbled into a new homeschool routine. <\/strong>Coffee and Books<\/em>\u00a0was completely unplanned and born out of desperation, but it had grown into a cherished family tradition.<\/p>\n

Sometimes, the best ideas are the simplest ones<\/h4>\n

I am not exaggerating when I tell you that Coffee and Books<\/em> revolutionized our homeschool.<\/p>\n

Here’s why:<\/p>\n