The What's and Why's of the Morning Basket?

For the past year or so, I've shared our family's morning basket here and on our Youtube channel.  Each month, I lay out the resources, books, activities that we are using to start our homeschool morning together and enhance our family's learning.  And over the months, I've been asked a handful of the same questions.  So I thought I'd take a few minutes to address some of those questions about the What's, Why's, and How To's of the morning basket?

*What is a morning basket?

A morning basket is a collection of resources to start your homeschool day with beauty and excitement.  In our family, it's a way of fanning the flame of curiosity for the lessons to come, and a way of reinforcing what we've studied previously.  It's often stored in a basket and thus labeled a morning basket.

*Does it have to be a basket?  Does it have to be in the morning?

No, to both.  We currently keep our morning basket items on a shelf in the living room.  But these items can be stored in a number of places: crates, shelves, baskets, desk area, etc.  We like to use our morning basket as a way of launching us into our school day.  But it can be used at any time of the day.  Some families use their at lunch and others at bedtime.  But really any time that works for your family, works for your morning basket.

*What do you put in your morning basket?

Morning baskets vary from family to family, but often include several books, games, and some music.  Currently ours include: a book based on our history and science units, some poetry, a devotional, CC cards, Scripture memory box, and a read aloud chapter book.  Other ideas could be items related to music and art appreciation, math or language flashcards, logic books and games, other games, etc.

*How long does morning time last?

Our morning time runs about 30 min, but some families will linger together up to 1 hour.  You can make your time as long or as short as your and your children would like.

*Do you cover all your topics each day?

Again it's what works for your family.  We rotate our history and science books based on our block scheduling, and sprinkle in music and art 1-2 days a week.  Daily we read from our devotional, chapter book, and poetry, as well as our memory work.

*How often do you change the items in your morning basket?

We rotate some of our subjects on a monthly basis, while others last a few months at a time.  Some families rotate on a seasonal basis or even by term.  My favorite morning basket to prepare is always our December basket with a focus on Christmas and some of the handicrafts and art work that are an added bonus to the season.

*Still have questions?

Feel free to search my Youtube channel for recommendations and resources.  Or leave a comment below and I'd be happy to help.

Do you use a morning basket in your homeschool?