Welcome to the Russia Morning Time Session!
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Schedule
Recommended Books
Prayer & Scripture Memorization
For Bible reading, we will make suggestions for your morning time reading. However, if you’d prefer a more in depth schedule, we recommend checking out various plans that will help you read the Bible through.
For a one-year plan, we recommend YouVersion’s One Year Bible: https://www.bible.com/readingplans/60. You can also listen to it being read aloud on the app.
This session, we will learn Ephesians Prayer and focus on writing and memorizing the Psalm 23.
Artist Study
This session’s featured artist is Wassily Kandinsky. We’ve included four art selections for your kids and teens to use for picture study. They are:
- Blue Mountain
- Squares with Concentric Circles
- Composition VII
- Circles in a Circle
Composer Study
Our featured composer is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. We’ve included four of his pieces (with links to each) to listen to. They are:
- Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
- Swan Lake
- The Sleeping Beauty
- Romeo and Juliet
Listen to each piece below:
Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy
Swan Lake
The Sleeping Beauty
Romeo and Juliet
Hymn/Folk Song
Hymn
The hymn for this session is “Amazing Grace.” It was written in 1772 by a man named John Newton, a former slave trader who experienced a profound transformation. Early in his life, John Newton was involved in the transatlantic slave trade, a dark chapter in history where people were captured, sold, and enslaved. However, Newton had a spiritual awakening during a storm at sea. Fearing for his life, he cried out to God for mercy, and miraculously, the storm subsided. This event marked a turning point in Newton’s life.
Over time, Newton abandoned the slave trade and devoted himself to Christianity, later becoming a minister. He went on to become a staunch abolitionist, advocating for the rights of those kept in the bondage of slavery at numerous parliamentary meetings and even before the Privy Council. The words of “Amazing Grace” reflect his gratitude for the divine mercy that changed his heart. The lyrics speak of a wretch like him being saved and someone who was lost becoming found, emphasizing the power of redemption and forgiveness through God’s grace. The lyrics were set to different tunes over the years, but it became best known when it was set to the melody of the song “New Britain” in a popular hymnbook published in 1847.
Listen to the music and sing along with it below:
Folk Song
The folk song “Little Birch Tree” has a charming history that stretches back through time. This sweet melody has its roots in traditional Russian folk music, where it has been cherished for generations.
The song tells the story of a little birch tree standing in the meadow. The lyrics describe the tree’s slender branches and delicate leaves swaying gently in the breeze. The narrator of the song cuts down some branches to make wooden flutes and a balalaika, a traditional Russian string instrument. Whenever they play their new instruments, they think of the birch tree they created them from. It paints a picture of nature’s beauty and the simplicity of rural life.
Listen and sing along with it below:
Poetry
This session’s featured poet is Osip Mandelstam. We’ve included four poetry selections for your kids and teens to read, listen to, memorize, and recite. They are:
- Alone I stare into the frost’s white face
- Stone: 103 The Twilight of Freedom
- From Stone
- I don’t remember the word I wished to say
For copywork, we have included Zaner-Bloser style handwriting sheets for primary, elementary, and cursive, as well as college ruled for older students. The poems we have chosen are:
- Alone I stare into the frost’s white face
- Stone: 103 The Twilight of Freedom
Copywork
Tea Times
In this session we are giving you four recipes for our hospitality tea: Russian Black Bread, Russian Pound Cake, Apple Cake
Sharlotka, and Strawberry Cheesecake Vatrushka Buns.
We will also have four Fairy Tale teas:
Fairy Tale Tea: Old Peter’s Russian Stories, “Baba Yaga” by Arthur Ransome
Fairy Tale Tea: Old Peter’s Russian Stories, “Sadko” by Arthur Ransome
Fairy Tale Tea: Old Peter’s Russian Stories, “The Christening in the Village” by Arthur Ransome
Fairy Tale Tea: The Russian Garland, “Ivan the Peasant’s Son” by Robert Steele
Shakespeare
For our Shakespeare selection, we have chosen “King Lear.” Read it from Charles and Mary Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare in the following pages. But we also recommend reading the actual play together as a family if you can.
Your older kids and teens may enjoy watching a movie adaptation (please pre-screen these first). And if you can take in a live performance, your family will never forget it!
Watch a performance of King Lear below:
Nature Study
Each Friday morning, you will go through two of our nature cards. They are labeled in the upper right corner with the corresponding week. These are short, factual cards with images to help your child become familiar with objects in the natural world.
As you progress through our sessions, you may find it handy to keep your past nature cards in a binder for easy reference when your children come across a familiar object. These seeds you are planting will grow into a wonderful garden of knowledge for your children in years to come.
As you explore nature outside your home, watch and listen for newly discovered delights.
Handicraft
For our handicraft lesson, we will be creating friendship bracelets! You can choose to keep them or to give them away
to friends and family- or better yet, do both!
Pick up some colorful string from a nearby craft store and have fun creating these memorable pieces for you and your friends!
Art Lesson
In this lesson, we create Saint Basil’s Cathedral in markers, which is located in Moscow, and is one of the most important buildings to Russian history. It was constructed over the course of 5 years, from 1555 to 1561, however, all of it’s beautiful colors weren’t added until over a century later in 1683. The 9 pillars are built to look like pillars of fire, and the colors were meant to represent the throne of God, which is surrounded by a rainbow.
Supplies needed:
- Watercolor or mixed media paper
- Pencil
- Kneadable eraser
- Markers (red, orange, yellow, green, turquoise, blue)
History & Geography
For this session’s History & Geography, we have included a biography of Anastasia Romanov for you and your family to study, as well as a map of the Russian Federation.
We also recommend reading CM Geography: Book 4 – The Countries of Europe: Their Scenery and Peoples, Chapter 12: “Russia” (pp. 224-249). This is linked in your Geography reading below.
We have also included an optional study of Communism linked below. Communism isn’t specific to Russia, however, Lara was compelled to include ”The Iron Curtain” in this study because of the trajectory of many Western nations. It is your decision whether or not you want to include this study for your students.
Additionally, you can learn more about Anastasia Romanov and her sisters, the History of Russia, the fall of the Soviet Union, and more in documentaries linked below!
Content warning: In the last minute of the documentary on the Grand Duchesses, there is a brief, bloodless reenactment of the Tsar being shot and falling to the ground. If you have younger children that might be disturbed by this imagery, we recommend stopping the documentary at 40:00 to avoid this scene. (This occurs after the last words of the documentary have been spoken, so none of the educational information will be missed if you choose to skip it!)
The History of Russia – Rurik to Revolution, by Epic History
OTMA: The Romanov Grand Duchesses Documentary, by the Romanov Royal Martyrs. *See content warning above*
Days That Shook the World: The Two Russian Revolutions of 1917, by Epic History
Real Reason Why The Soviet Union Collapsed, by The Infographics Show
Solfa
Charlotte Mason incorporated solfa lessons twice a week for about 10 minutes each. These lessons are intended to be repeated and you can stay on any lesson for as long as you like. Here is the YouTube channel Lara and her boys enjoy and recommends for practicing solfa, Children of the Open Air:
Brush Drawing
Brush drawing builds motor and observation skills. We have included a link to videos by Bestowing the Brush below which are great for all ages to learn together:
