Morning Basket has been a part of our homeschool for so long.... I don't even remember what year we implemented it. It must have been a long time ago because I just can't imagine starting our days any other way. As I've said before, Morning Basket first became a foundational part of our homeschool day out of necessity. A way of bridging the gap between waking up and charging full force into learning. A way of sweetening our morning, building shared experiences, and finding time for delight and beauty.
Now entering year 14 of our homeschool, morning time is still going strong. It grows and changes with our family and needs. But it still unites us... still brings us into shared experiences and stories... still brings us into rich discussions and lively opinions... into family memories and fine arts.
Today I'm sharing with you how we make morning time work with older students How we hit the subjects that bring us the most joy and keep challenging our minds, even in the teen years.
Folksongs/Hymns:
I love the idea of learning hymns and folksongs in our homeschool. There's so much rich theology and history woven into music. Now that I'm down to one student, he loves to sing. So I'm hoping we'll do more singing this year. I use our hymns and folksongs as a call to Morning Time. We utilize the channel "Folksongs and Hymns" on YT and rotate through Hannah's songs of the month. This way my 10th grader can hear each song every other day, and it gives him 2-4 minutes to gather his things for meeting at the table. We do one song a day.
Memory Work:
We use a memory box system. I found a nice Sterlite box from Dollar Tree a few years ago, and now it's filled to the brim with Scripture we've memorized over the years. We use this system for memorizing Scripture, but it would be great for any memory work you have in your homeschool. Adapt it to work for you. Again, this is something we do every morning.
Current Events:
We found World Watch News 3 years ago, and love it. It's 10 min segments of world news presented at the student's level. It's very similar to CNN10, but from a Christian perspective. And it's been great for me to learn what's going on in the world as well.
Bible:
We're continuing our way through Rod & Staff's Bible series. This year, we're picking up about 1/3 of the way through level 9. Then the curriculum ties it into what the authors were actually saying when they wrote the Bible... exploring culture and context before analyzing and applying. I introduce the lesson on Monday mornings, the kids work independently throughout the week to cover the material, and we discuss the lesson on Friday mornings.
Additionally, we'll be adding in a Not Consumed Christmas Bible study in the fall as well as a topical study in the spring.
Artist Study:
We're again using Ambleside Online's artist study. I love that this one is free and only takes about 5 min a week. It's taught us so much about artists we've never even heard of. This year we'll be studying Rockwell (my favorite), Renoir, and van Ruisdael.
Shakespeare:
Shakespeare and I have a love/ hate relationship. I love Shakespeare, but I couldn't find a way to draw my kids into it... until 2years ago. We used Lamb's Shakespeare and Nesbit's Shakespeare for Young Readers to read a paraphrase of the play. Then we found a YT production to watch together, broken into approximately 12 weeks. making it bite-sized for morning time. We're going to watch the play rather than read it as that's how it was originally meant to be enjoyed. I'll have a written copy for my kids as well if he wishes to follow along in print. And we're pairing it with lots of discussion. Typically we go through two plays a year, but we might try to add a third this year. We'll be starting with Julius Caesar as it's included in our Notgrass World History curriculum.
Composer:
We've been trying to add more composer/ music study in our homeschool the last couple of years. I started by following the Ambleside schedule, but did re-arrange a few things last year when the local symphony hosted a field trip based on American composers. So we're planning on listening to Bernstein, Debussy, and Bach, but that may obviously change. I like using Classics for Kids for giving a background on each of our composers.
Misc:
I also try to include picture books related to our curriculum as they apply. It's a good way to whet my son's' appetite for further study.
Read Alouds:
We always end our Morning Time with a read-aloud. I still like to read before bed, but as the kids have gotten older and are out more evenings of the week, we've also added a block of reading in our mornings so our books don't linger. I shared our Read Aloud List for '26-27, but it's ever-growing. Sometimes we detour off that list. However, I try to at least prioritize the read-alouds that go with our history curriculum.
So, that's what I have planned so far for our 2026-27 Morning Time and how I'm making it work with a 10th Grader!
Do you do Morning Time in your homeschool?
And what are some of your favorite resources?
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