The key to a successful homeschool day is often nestled right in it’s very beginnings. A homeschool morning basket is an excellent way to start the day off right and set you and your children up for a day of learning. Children thrive on routine and predictability. Beginning each day in the same fashion gives them that stability they so very much desire. 

 

What is a Morning Basket?

A homeschool morning basket is typically a selection of books and/or short activities that are repeated each morning before the serious and brain thirsty work begins.

It may contain poetry that is being memorised, or your current read-aloud book. You may decide to break down your week into different topics for each day. For example you may focus on poetry Monday and, growth mindset on Tuesdays.

This could also be the time to reflect on and evaluate the goals you have set together for your homeschool. Younger children will benefit from a simple board to display the date, weather and expected program for the day.

Christian homeschoolers will sometimes use this time to complete simple bible studies. You may want to also include scripture memorisation or studies of biblical characters. It could also be a chance for the children to share testimony with you and their siblings.

 

Why have a Morning Basket?

There are many reasons to implement a homeschool morning basket. In our homeschool the biggest reason is routine. My children love routine. They like to know what’s happening and what to expect. There are many times that the rest of the day may turn into a whirlwind of chaos. If we have had our morning basket time those days seem to be far fewer.

When you start your morning basket it signifies the transition from pre-school activities to active learning time. The tv goes off, breakfast is finished and it is time to start the school day. I have found that without this transition I have kids wandering in and out, and doing pretty much as they please. It definitely sets the tone for the day.

Homeschooling is wonderful in that it allows parents to educate their children altogether. However as the children grow, their independence increases and they will become less reliant on you as the parent to completely facilitate their education. A morning basket brings everyone together to participate in at least one learning activity before separating to individual work.

 

How Long Should a Morning Basket Take?

This is entirely up to you, however I have found that 30 minutes or less seems ideal. Younger children seem to really enjoy this time. The love to listen to the stories and share their thoughts. It is a good way for them to get all their little conversations out before they sit down to work on their reading and math.

Older children may enjoy a longer morning time as they delve in deeper to some of the topics presented.

It really is a bit of trial and error to decide what works best for you and your children.

 

What Do I Put in a Morning Basket?

If you still need some ideas I have plenty!

One aspect of my children’s education that I am focusing on is developing a growth mindset. This has been immensely beneficial to my perfectionist child as well as my child who struggles a bit with realising his abilities. Big Life Journal has so many incredible resources that are perfect for morning baskets. As a bonus if you purchase any product from them they send you free printables each week. Homeschool mamas love free stuff!

Character studies are also something that we have used during morning basket time. There are so many amazing pre-made like this one  You can however just as easily make up your own studies based on what you feel you children would benefit from most.

You can use this time to teach the days of the week/months/seasons. This can be as simple as having a child fill in the date and weather on a white board or something similar.

I think most children…if not all children love to listen to someone read to them. Use this time to read high quality literature to them. Many times, if left to their own devices they will choose books well below their level, and filled with poor writing and twaddle. The classics are always a good place to start. Even the youngest children are usually capable of listening to chapter books from and early age. That is not to say you should neglect those wonderful picture books. They definitely have a place in our morning basket too.

Children’s brains are like little sponges. It is easy to fill them with all sort of knowledge and they retain everything, even the less desirable! We include memorisation in our morning basket. We do a mixture of poetry, scripture and inspiring quotes. There are so many books on Amazon and Book Depository that are perfect for this. A quick search of “children’s poems/quotes” will give you a million and one options. The poetry book that we use is from the early 1900’s that my mother found at a second hand store for 50c!

 

Theme Ideas for Morning Baskets?

As I said previously, some families like to base their morning baskets around different themes. Here are some ideas you could use if that interested you.

Christmas

• Lot’s of christmas books
• Origin of Christmas
• Christmas in different countries
• Learn christmas carols
• Write Christmas cards
• Memorise poems about Christmas
• Plan for service projects to do as a family

Seasons

• Books based on the different seasons
• Seasonal poetry
• Weather chart

Art and Music

• Composer or artist study
• Discussions on styles of art/music

New Year/New School Year

• Goal setting
• Growth Mindset work
• Journaling

Character and Manners

• Character study on particular positive character traits
• Practice good manners. How to introduce oneself, shake someones hand, table manners etc

 

Who Benefits from a Morning Basket?

EVERYONE! It has it benefits for every member of the family. The slow ease into the day results in less meltdowns (both parent and child!). Every homeschooling parent will vouch for me when I say that sometimes the days are just  disasters. Nothing seems to go right, children fight, the child that could read yesterday can no longer read even the simplest word and if you have to pick up another bowl of cereal that has been launched across the table you might just admit yourself to an asylum.

The time you spend doing this at the start of your day will usually give you a good indication of how the rest of the day will pan out. If your children are super enthusiastic and excited you might want to add a few more things to the plans for the day. If your children are full dragging the chain and obviously not prepared to learn, perhaps few changes will be needed before you tackle long division that day. We all know how that will turn out!

 

To conclude…

These are your children and no one loves them more or knows them better than you. It will take a lot of trial and error to figure out a morning routine that will work for your family. Once you think you have it figured out it will time to change it up again. That is just the nature of homeschooling, it is ever evolving.

I would love to know what works in your families. Do you do morning baskets? Let me know below if you have any great resources!