Welcome to the Scandinavia Morning Time Session!
Click on the button above to download the entire PDF,
or download only the sections you want below.
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.
Download a two-year reading plan from the Gospel Coalition here:
https://media.thegospelcoalition.org/static-blogs/tgc/files/2010/12/TGC-Two-Year-Bible-ReadingPlan1.pdf
If you prefer to go even slower, Ambleside Online offers three, four, and five-year Bible reading
plans: https://www.amblesideonline.org/L/Lbiblesch.html
This session, we will learn A Student’s Prayer and focus on writing and memorizing Colossians 3:16-17.
Artist Study
This session’s featured artist is Helene Schjerfbeck. We’ve included four art selections for your kids and teens to use for picture study. They are:
- Clothes Drying
- Portrait of a Girl
- Mother and Child
- The Convalescent
Composer Study
Our featured composer is Edvard Grieg. We’ve included four of his pieces (with links to each) to listen to.
- In the Hall of the Mountain King
- Wedding Day at Troldhaugen
- Puck
- Morning Mood
Listen to each piece below:
Peer Gynt: In the Hall of the Mountain King
Lyric Pieces, Book 8, Op. 65: No. 6. Wedding-Day at Troldhaugen
Lyric Pieces, Op. 71: No. 3, Puck
Peer Gynt- Morning Mood
Hymn/Folk Song
Hymn
“For the Beauty of the Earth” is a hymn that resonates deeply with many people due to its timeless message of gratitude and reverence for the natural world. Written by Folliott Sandford Pierpoint in the 19th century, its origins are steeped in both personal reflection and the broader cultural context of the Victorian era.
Pierpoint, born in 1835, was an English poet, teacher, and hymnist. His composition of “For the Beauty of the Earth” is said to have been inspired by the scenic beauty of the countryside surrounding his hometown of Bath, England. The hymn is a celebration of the wonders of nature, from tall trees to delicate flowers, and it reflects Pierpoint’s profound appreciation for the beauty found in the world around him.
Listen to the music and sing along with it below:
For the Beauty of the Earth – Michelle Swift
Folk Song
“My Mother Told Me” is an ancient Viking song that dates all the way back to the 13th century. It was originally part of a book called Egill’s Saga. This tale was allegedly written by its titular character, Egill, though it is more likely to have actually been written by an Icelandic poet and historian by the name of Snorri Sturluson.
“My Mother Told Me” is a poem by Egill, the main character, after his first fight with someone as a young boy. He is victorious over the other boy, and he makes up this poem to celebrate, setting a precedent for his future as a warrior poet. The verses describe how his mother told him that he would one day get his own ship and sail to distant lands, fighting many battles and defeating his enemies.
Listen and sing along with it below:
My Mother Told Me
My Mother Told Me (Old Norse)
Poetry
This session’s featured poet is Dan Andersson. We’ve included four poetry selections for your kids and teens to read, listen to, memorize, and recite. They are:
- Childhood
- Log Fire Smoke I
- The Fiddler
- Homesickness
For copywork, we have included Zaner-Bloser style handwriting sheets for primary, elementary, and cursive, as well as college ruled for older students. The poem we chose is:
- Childhood
- Homesickness
Copywork
Tea Times
In this session we are giving you four Scandinavian recipes for our hospitality tea: Cheese Danish, Norwegian Sandnøtter Lemon Cookies, Easy Swedish Crispbread (Knäckebröd), and Icelandic Spice Cake.
We will also have three Fairy Tale teas and a Mythology teatime:
Fairy Tale Tea: Little Thumbelina, by Hans Christian Andersen (Danish)
Mythology Teatime: Asgard Stories, “The Hammer of Thor,” by Foster & Cummings (Norwegian)
Fairy Tale Tea: The Ugly Duckling, by Hans Christian Andersen (Danish)
Fairy Tale Tea: The Swedish Fairy Book, “The Werewolf,” by Clara Stroebe (Swedish)
Shakespeare
For our Shakespeare selection, we have chosen “Hamlet,” the bard’s classic tragedy set in Denmark.
Read it from E. Nesbit’s Beautiful Stories 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! We are including a link on our website to watch a pre-recorded stage performance.
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 making a flower pot bookmark out of felt!
The region of Scandinavia is filled with beautiful varieties of wildflowers that grow throughout the thick forests, tall mountainsides, and moors.
Choose your favorite colors for the petals and center to make it your own, or make yours white with a yellow center to represent the marguerite daisy- the national flower of Denmark!
Art Lesson
In this art lesson, we create beautiful cards inspired by Scandinavian folk art, which is characterized by the use of repetitive and symmetrical patterns, created in bright colors and simple shapes. Typically, Scandinavian folk art makes use of florals, animals, and mythology in their designs, and are contained with simple, round shapes. All you need for this lessons is your choice of colored markers and mixed media paper!
History & Geography
Scandinavia most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. For this study, we will focus only on these lands.
However, sometimes it is used as a synonym for the Nordic Countries (which include Finland, Iceland, Greenland, and the
Faroe Islands). If you wish to included the other countries in your geography study, then you can include the optional chapters as well.
We have included a biography of Hans Christian Andersen, the beloved Danish author who wrote many of the world’s most
famous fairy tales, below.
Additionally, we have included a videos for further study on Hans Christian Andersen, the history and culture of Vikings, and Scandinavian culture and traditions below!
We recommend reading CM Geography: Book 4 – The Countries of Europe: Their Scenery and Peoples, by Charlotte Mason.
- Chapter on Denmark (pp. 249-254)
- Scandinavia pp. 261-276
- Optional: Russia (section on Finland and the Finns) pp. 224-227
- Optional: Iceland pp. 255-260
Introduction to his life and works | Hans Christian Andersen
Farmers To Raiders: The Mysterious Origins of the Vikings
Scandinavian Traditions
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:
