Our Morning Basket for 12th and 9th Grades ll 2025-26 Picks!

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 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... it still brings us into shared experiences and stories... 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 our older kids.  How we hit the subjects that bring us the most joy and keep challenging them, even in their 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.  However, I have one student who really hates singing and one who really loves it.  Instead of requiring my kiddos to sing the songs, I use them as a call to Morning Time.  We utilize Folksongs and Hymns on YT and rotate through Hannah's songs of the month.  This way my students hear each song every other day, and it gives them 2-4 minutes to gather their things for meeting at the table.  My kiddo who loves to sing can do so, and my other child just has to hear it and meet us to start.  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 itwould 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 2 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 8.  Level 7 and 8 both go over the New Testament, specifically the culture, customs, and background information of the time.  And then the curriculum ties it into what the authors were actually saying when they taught.  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.

Ballet Study:

This year we're using a study I personally created covering Coppelia.  It utilizes several easily available books to study the ballet from several angles.  We did a ballet study last year from Delightfully Feasting.  We enjoyed it immensely, but wanted to study some ballets that she didn't have study guides for.  I spent the summer preparing a few studies of my own that we're excited to explore.  We will do this once a week, and this study will cover approximately 12 weeks.

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 Pissarro, Fragonard, and Bierstadt. 

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 last year. 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 12th grader if she wishes to follow along with that as well.  And we're pairing it with lots of discussion.  We'll be studying Othello in the fall.

Nature Study:

We really enjoy nature lore books.  While my kids are aging out of them, there is still something there for my 9th grader to delight in.  We'll be picking up a few books here and reading a few chapters a week.

Misc:

I also try to include picture books related to our curriculum as they apply.  It's a good way to whet my kids' 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 25-26, 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 2025-26 Morning Time and how I'm making it work with older students.  

Do you do Morning Time in your homeschool?

And what are some of your favorite resources?