How To Create A Morning Basket For Homeschool

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morning basket

Morning basket seems to be one of the homeschool hottest topics at this moment. Everywhere you look there is one. To be honest, I understand the reason, morning baskets are simply perfect to get your day started.

When I first heard about the morning basket it really didn't make any sense to me.

Like, just grab a whole bunch of books and put it in the basket and that's it? Of course, at the moment I was not a homeschool mom. So I can only say today that we are morning basket believers!

If you are starting your homeschool journey you might like to read Best homeschool curriculum for working moms.

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In my house the morning basket has become a tradition where me and my kids go to the thrift store, yes you read right we go to the thrift store and get a new basket every year and get to choose some of the books we/they want in.

But let's see what a morning basket is and whether this is something you should be doing or start doing.

What is a morning basket?
Do I need a morning basket?
How to create a morning basket for homeschooling?
What should be in my basket?
- So here is what we have in our basket
Our morning basket schedule
How much time should we spend doing morning basket?
Morning basket ideas for multiple children
- Morning basket ideas for preschool
- Morning basket ideas for elementary
FAQs
Posts you will enjoy…

What is a morning basket?

It's a basket filled with books, poems, worksheets, devotionals or anything to start off the day. This is a time usually in the morning beginning of the day or first thing you do when you start homeschooling for that day where the family will gather and work together.

This is a great approach when you are teaching different grades. The morning basket has taught me to listen to my kids and learn to teach them since this is when we talk about anything and everything.

Do I need a morning basket?

The morning basket it's not for everyone! I know plenty of successful homeschool moms who do not use it. Now that being said I can tell you that after I implemented the basket into my homeschooling routine I feel that my routine it's a lot smoother.

My kids seem to enjoy it more and it sets the stage for the rest of the day. Sometimes when life happens in the morning basket it's the only teaching I do, which it's okay.

You may also want to read: The Ultimate Guide To Homeschooling and Socialization

How to create a morning basket for homeschooling?

Creating a morning basket does not have to be daunting or scary or perfect. There is no such thing as perfection let me tell you. Above you can see some of the things I have in my morning basket. Granted we do not use all at the same time we rotate them as need it.

But you want to include chapter books that are your child's grade level and easy activities that they can do while you read out loud. Such as

Handwriting
Small puzzle
Coloring pages
Math worksheet

If you child is struggling in a particular area this is the a good opportunity to create/buy worksheets that they find fun while at the same time reinforcing the skill they are having trouble with.

Related post: Homeschool Schedules from Veteran Homeschoolers

For instance, my daughter has trouble telling time, so you know have 1 timesheet in my basket everyday.

You want to set the tone for the day so starting with activities where kids can learn and have fun will be s good start.

What should be in my basket?

That totally depends on you and what you want to start your day with.

We start with a devotional followed by one of our reads out loud (you can find the devotionals we use above). Then we move on to usually a problem that my daughter is having right now is telling time so I have worksheets for her to do and color 🙃 so it does not make her feel like she is working.

So here is what we have in our basket

Readout loud name book pic
Memorization cards pics
devotionals
bible study
Handwriting
Coloring pages
Books

Our morning basket schedule

We first start with a family devotional where we read a passage from the bible or use one of the kids devotional books. During the devotional the little ones are playing around with whatever toy they have chosen for that morning basket, and trust me this changes a lot..

Yes, I let my twins pick one toy so they can play during the morning basket. This has improved our routine so much because they are entertained and I can focus more on my oldest daughter.

Then we move on to read out loud, we are currently using chapter books 2-3 times per week then we move on to our science book where I introduce what we are doing for the week.

Then we would do some sight words memorization work.

Moving on to the worksheets that I either create or buy according to the area where she might be struggling with. Right now she is having a hard time with telling time on analog clocks so guess what we are doing?? Yep, timesheets! One every morning.

Art study and coloring seen to be loved by all my kiddos. They all like to seat at the table and color especially the twins.

How much time should we spend doing morning basket?

The answer to this is as long as your heart desires, really. But in my house this lasts from 20mins to 1 hour.

It really depends on life and how everybody is doing that morning. As a homeschool mom you know that we can only plan but sometimes our kids decide.

Morning basket ideas for multiple children

Morning basket ideas for preschool

toddler morning basket ideas — My toddlers workbooks

For kids that are 2-4 years old, I will suggest letting them play with a particular toy that they like and love. That way you can focus on teaching the oldest kid.

Or if they are age-appropriate they can color during morning basket or trace. The point is to get them busy enough. I find that the dollar tree has a great variety of educational activities for preschool and to be honest, they are great.

Activities to include:

Coloring books
Phonics
Devotionals
Dollar Tree Puzzles
Dollar tree workbooks

Morning basket ideas for elementary

Some activities to include:

Books
Devotional
Workbooks
Science books
Art
Coloring (if they into that)
Writing practice
Memorization flashcards
Small Games

FAQs

Do you do everything in the basket everyday?

No, we don't. We choose one book to read out loud and once that is over we would be a new one.

How often should I change the materials in my basket?

This is totally up to you. You can change the materials according to your children's needs or when something is simply not working. Morning basket time is not a time to stress out but a time to transition easily into learning.

Should I use a theme for my basket?

You could if you wish so. I don't use themes just because it's something else to add to my plate when it comes to planning.

So keep in mind that kids like consistency and that if you do it once the expectation will be there all the time.

How much time should I spend on the morning basket?

I do not think you would need more than 1 hour to complete your morning basket. Even though sometimes the discussion and learning are flowing so well that I will continue for 15 minutes max. Remember the art of homeschooling is that we working according to the needs of our children.

Can all my kids participate in the morning basket?

Yes, absolutely! this is the main point of morning basket to bring the family together all ages so they can participate in learning.

Can the morning basket be done in the afternoon?

Yes, remember the purpose of the morning basket is to bring all family members together. Therefore the time of the day you choose to do does not matter at all.

Let me know in the comments below what do you have in your moning baskets and how to do it?