Table of Contents
- What is a Homeschool Morning Basket?
- How do you setup a Morning Basket?
- How long should Morning Basket take?
- What do you put in a Morning Basket for homeschooling?
- What is in my current Morning Basket?
- Why is it important as a Christian Family?
- What I love about our homeschool Morning Basket?
- Troubleshooting Morning Basket issues
When I first started homeschooling, I had no idea how to organize our day. I knew that I wanted to start out our mornings learning together topics like art, music appreciation, poetry and more. I just didn’t know how to do that until I stumbled upon the concept of a Homeschool Morning Basket. Join me today as I share all about Homeschool Morning Baskets, how we use it and why we love it.
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What is a Homeschool Morning Basket?
The idea of a Homeschool Morning Basket was originally created by Charlotte Mason, and its purpose was to create a time during the day where the entire family can learn together 1. That means school-age homeschooled children, younger siblings and parents all learning about something together.
It can be called many different things like Circle Time or Morning Meeting, and it does not need to be in the mornings. You can fit it in whenever it works best for your homeschool family’s schedule.
When I learned about this idea, I jumped at the opportunity to create a beautiful, educationally rich time together for my family. Typically, our Morning Basket time does start in the morning, but sometimes it takes place over the afternoon snack time.
How do you setup a Morning Basket?
I often see pictures of Homeschool Morning Baskets, and they are in such beautiful baskets. I want to remind you that there is no perfect basket for Morning Basket time. In fact, your educational material doesn’t even need to be in a basket. It can be in a tub, plastic bin, a box or whatever works for your family. We had recently downsized in our house size when I first started morning basket so I just use an extra basket that I had on hand, but if you need an idea, here is something similar to the one I have:
Morning Basket Ideas
I keep our Morning Basket tucked away in a corner of our Living Room. This isn’t the room that we homeschool in, but it is where everyone naturally goes after they finish breakfast. The light in that room is so beautiful in the morning, and I have cozy blankets, comfortable couches, good books and small toys (think magna tiles and blocks) for busy hands.
I would recommend keeping your Morning Basket material somewhere that is a natural gathering space. It could be your kitchen table, your homeschool space, your family room or your children’s bedroom. Wherever that favorite gathering space is for your family, keep your basket there for easy access.
Most often we do Morning Basket after breakfast, but sometimes it gets pushed later in the day depending on our schedule or on my youngest’s nap schedule. There is no right or wrong time to schedule Morning Basket time.
How long should Morning Basket take?
When I first began Morning Basket time, I felt like I needed to know a definitive answer to how long it should take to complete our Morning Basket. I quickly learned that there is no definitive answer because Morning Basket time can vary depending on what you put in the basket, the attention span of your children and how many subjects and activities you are doing.
I often schedule different subjects for different days. For example, in addition to our staple basket items I will add Art Appreciation on Fridays and Social Studies on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This switch up of subjects really changes how long it takes per day.
A general time frame is anywhere from fifteen minutes to an hour, but really you need to do what works best for your family with your situation and your subjects. If you want to spend five minutes or two hours on Morning Basket time, that is totally acceptable. Do what works for you!
What do you put in a Morning Basket for homeschooling?
Just like time it will take to do your Morning Basket, what you put into your Morning Basket for homeschooling needs to work best for your family. I want to encourage you to start with less in your Morning Basket. Then add or take away items as needed. It is also a great idea to change what things you are doing together based on your day. Here are some ideas for things you could put into or do during your Morning Basket:
- Family Devotional
This is a wonderful time to utilize being together and centering your family around God. One great way to raise Godly children is by showing them how to grow in their relationship with Jesus. Devotions together is a great way to do that. If you don’t know where to start with a devotional, I like these two depending on the ages of your children.
Elementary Children’s Devotional
Preschool Devotional - Family Prayer
Spending time with God as a family is a beautiful way to get things started off on the right foot. I always ask if anyone has any prayer requests, and then I offer for my children to pray first. Most of the time I finish with a blanket prayer over our family and our day. This Spiritual Discipline really does help our family grow together as Christians. - Family Worship
There was a season last year that I added in worship together in our Morning Basket. My kids really enjoyed this, and I think we will add it in again. If you love hymns, try out Happy Hymnody. If you would prefer more contemporary worship, try picking a channel on Spotify or YouTube from your favorite Christian Artist to sing along with. - Journaling
This is another Spiritual Discipline, and it is so beautiful to watch my daughter fall in love with journaling. I got her a very simple notebook (like this one), and she writes letters to God. If you don’t know where to start with journaling, I just want to remind you that it doesn’t have to be spiritual. You can just write letters to each other or letters about how you are feeling or what you are thinking. - Poetry
My daughter loves when we read poetry, and reading poetry is really helping my TK son know what rhyming is. I have a large book of poetry, and I let my kids decide which one I read aloud several times per week. - Memorization
If there is anything you are trying to memorize, this is a great time to do that. If you can’t think of anything to memorize, maybe start with a Bible verse, math facts or the books of the Bible. - Art and Art Appreciation
This could look like learning about a famous artist and recreating a drawing that looks like something from the artist’s collection. This could also look like doing an art project that goes along with something you are learning in another subject. The sky is the limit on how to incorporate art into Morning Basket. - Brain Teasers
These are a recent addition to our Morning Basket, and this has been a fun way to stretch our thinking skills. We like so many things from the Critical Thinking Company like this one and this one. - History/Geography
I personally think that Social Studies is a great subject to learn together as a family. My kids really enjoy reading Historical texts and biographies together as well as doing map work. - Science/Unit Studies
Like Social Studies, Science and unit studies are wonderful to do together as a family during Morning Basket. Learning together about God’s creation has opened up some beautiful spiritual conversations. - Read-a-Loud
After devotions and prayer, our read-a-loud is the base of our Morning Basket. I often read a chapter from a chapter book and several small books each day. I absolutely LOVE reading to my children, and I know they really love it too. If you are looking for a series, try this one or this one. - Podcasts
This might sound like a weird one, but my kids have a few favorite podcasts like Real Cool History for Kids and Kids Bible Stories. I personally enjoy them too! I don’t utilize these every week during Morning Basket time, but I will whenever I am feeling under the weather.
If you are just starting out with a Morning Basket, I would only do two or three of things each day. When your children get into the routine and the flow, then adjust as needed.
What is in my current Morning Basket?
Our Morning Basket changes throughout the school year, but here is what is currently in our Morning Basket.
- Elementary Children’s Devotional
- Preschool Devotional
- My Bible
- Poetry book
- Social Studies book
- Constellation Cards
- Our read-a-loud (currently Read-a-loud book)
- Brain Teasers (Dr. DooRiddles and ThinkAGram)
We always do devotions, prayer and our read-a-loud, and then we sprinkle in the other things throughout the week.
Why is it important as a Christian Family?
As a Christian Family, I believe it is a gift and a responsibility to teach our children about God. Finding time to teach our children about God and about spiritual disciplines can sometimes be difficult. If you are like me, it can often be an inconsistent part of your homeschool day without having a little help to make it a habit.
When we sit down for Morning Basket time, seeing the devotional book and the Bible helps me remember to start our day centered around God. I truly believe that centering your day around God sets the tone and mood for the rest of your homeschooling day.
I have found that when we gather together around the Morning Basket and spend time reading the Bible and praying together, we are more expectant of how God is working in our lives and where He is showing up.
As it says in Psalms 5:3 2
What I love about our homeschool Morning Basket?
Here are three things I love about doing a Morning Basket time each morning:
- Family time with God
Doing devotions and prayer (as well as worship and journaling occasionally) together has really brought us closer together as a family and closer to God. This time has been wonderful in shaping Godly children, but it has also been beautiful in shaping me (the mama). - Family learning
I listed this as one of the eleven good reasons to homeschool. It has been such a blessing to read, learn and grow together. These memory making rhythms for us are so special, and I am hoping it will positively impact my children emotionally and spiritually for the rest of their lives. - Sets the daily tone
Centering your day around God as a family really does set the tone for the rest of your day. I have found that our day goes smoother, calmer and more joyful whenever we begin our day together during Morning Basket.
Related Content: Top 11 Good Reasons to Homeschool Your Child
Troubleshooting Morning Basket issues
- How do I incorporate younger siblings?
I have a 3rd grader, TKer and 18 month old. If anyone needs to get creative for Morning Basket time, it’s me. Two approaches I have found successful: keep hands busy or schedule around naps.
I always have something available for my younger two to do with their hands while we are doing Morning Basket. That often looks like play-dough, sensory bin or magna tiles. Busy hands are often more likely to sit and quietly listen.
I have also scheduled Morning Basket around nap times if I know that we are doing something more in-depth like an Art Appreciation study. - How do I deal with short attention spans?
When I first started out, I wanted to do all the things. Let me just tell you…all the things are good, but not possible. Pick things that you know will peak your child’s interest, and remember that simple is best.
Also, having things for my older child to play with has been helpful just like it is for my younger children. - What do I do if my child has a poor attitude?
I focus a lot on naming our feelings, getting to the root of why we feel that way, and practicing a “mindset” shift if needed. I think it is important to acknowledge our children’s feelings, and then work together to figure out why they feel that way. It might be as simple as they are hungry or as deep as missing a loved one. Whatever it is, their feelings matter and so does giving them the tools to process their feelings.
We do practice “mindset” shifts when needed. For example, instead of thinking “this is hard and I can’t do it” we shift our thinking to “this is hard, but I can work through it.” Having a positive mindset goes a long way for the everyday flow, but also helps set up your child for emotional health in the long run.
Even if a homeschool Morning Basket isn’t right for you, I encourage you to find a time of the day where you come together for time as a family. This can be such a beautiful opportunity to teach your children about God. If that time together is over dinner, try out my Dinner Questions for Families free printable.
I would love to hear from you. Do you have a Morning Basket time? If so, what do you include in it?
If you liked this post, check out this past post:
–Top 11 Good Reasons to Homeschool Your Child
Footnotes
- Put, O. (2022, September 11). What is the Homeschool Morning Basket? (And How To Use It). Spanish Academy. Retrieved August 3, 2023, from https://www.spanish.academy/blog/what-is-the-homeschool-morning-basket-and-how-to-use-it/#:~:text=The%20idea%20of%20the%20Homeschool,learns%20or%20does%20something%20together
- NIV Beautiful Word Bible. Zondervan, 2016.
