How To Build A Simple Morning Basket To Start Your Homeschool Day Strong

Homeschool days can feel so chaotic! Jumping from subject to subject and child to child. I’ve found the best way to create peaceful rhythms in my day is to use anchors where we come together as a family. And one of our main homeschool anchors is our morning basket time.

Mornings are my most productive time, so that’s when we do the bulk of our schooling. But I’ve found that it’s hard for my boys to jump right in, so we decided to start our days with the subjects that don’t feel like work. For us, that mostly means books!

Another discovery I’ve made over the years is that the best way to ensure full attention and open hearts is to fill their bellies (and their mouths!).

This is how our morning basket time became lovingly known as Breakfast & Books. The boys and I sit down together at the table, and I read to them while they eat breakfast. 

The things I include in our morning basket change from year to year, and sometimes from season to season. Morning time is an opportunity to start our day by connecting with one another, and I never want it to become a burden, so when something isn’t working, we swap it out.

I’m going to walk you through what’s in our basket for the coming year and what we decided to leave out and why. Please keep in mind that what works for my family, may not be what’s best for yours. 

The key here is to keep it simple, and remember that you don’t have to do it all. 

Resources We’re Using

Bible Study:

We’re using The Playful Pioneers for our core curriculum for first grade this year, and it includes a daily Bible study.

For the first half(ish) of the year we’ll use The-Ology.

For the second half of the year, Pioneers recommends The Jesus Storybook Bible, which I LOVE, and if you haven’t used it, I highly recommend it! But we just finished reading it this past year, so we’ll be using:

Our 24 Family Ways by Clay Clarkson. 

Sally Clarkson (Clay’s wife) is one of my favorite authors and podcasters, so I’m really excited about Our 24 Family Ways. It’s a blend of both Bible and character which I’m looking forward to.

Scripture Memory:

One of my favorite resources for making theology accessible for little ones is Tiny Theologians.

This year we’ll be walking through their Armor of God and Fruit of The Spirit sets.

Family Read Aloud:

I’m going to start our morning with a book from my upcoming preschool curriculum – A Child’s Tale – which will release in September. It’s a collection of literature units that incorporates both preschool and tot school.

Then we’ll let the little guy go and do his thing while we read an American history picture book to coincide with our Classical Conversations study.

Calendar & Weather: 

We use these printable cards from Stephanie Hathaway designs for our morning calendar and weather time. We hang a length of twine on the wall and use clothes pins to display the date, season, and weather!

Beauty Loop: 

Last year we used a morning menu, but we’ve decided to do away with it. Instead of adding beauty to our mornings, it ended up feeling like busy work. So this year we’ve simplified.

This is what our beauty loop will look like:

Monday: Art Appreciation – We’ll be doing picture study with The Playful Pioneers.

Tuesday: Hymn – The Playful Pioneers includes a hymn for each month, but I plan to substitute a few with selections from Happy Hymnody.

Wednesday: A Fable or Hero Tale – For the first semester we’ll read some of Aesop’s Fables. For the second, we’ll slowly make our way through A Dangerous Journey.

Thursday: Folk Song – My kids love the seasonal songs and handily from Rooted Childhood, so we’re going to make them a part of our mornings this year!

Spanish: 

We’ll finish our morning time with Spanish because my boys absolutely love it, and I want to end our time together with a favorite!

We are using The Cultured Kid, and it’s so amazing! Instead of your normal listen, speak, write method of learning a language, it’s play based. 

We’ve learned actions by playing freeze dance and follow the leader, numbers by counting while we exercise, and animals by playing guess who. It’s such a fun time that even I’m learning!

And that’s it. I’m keeping it simple.

Your morning basket time is an opportunity to help your kids get excited about what’s to come, not weary before the day even begins. 

The most important thing is to remember is that morning time is first and foremost a coming together. It should start your day strong and provide an opportunity to connect with one another. 

There’s no right or wrong. If you’re new to this, I would start with a book or two each morning and see how it goes. As you get into the habit, add another element. 

It’s okay if something isn’t working. Change it up and try again. That’s the beauty of a homeschool education. It can, and should, be tailored to spark wonder and delight in the learning process.

What do you include in your morning basket? Leave a comment and let me know!

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