Hi friends!
If you are a homeschooling family, I am sure you have come across the concept of a morning basket. I am a big fan of Pam Barnhill’s podcast and blog, Your Morning Basket. If you are curious about it, head over because she is the resource!
But to quote her, she says morning basket is:
“A Morning Basket is a time in the day when everyone in the family can come together and learn together about specific subjects. All ages can homeschool together doing activities like reading aloud, studying the arts, or even efficiently combining students for subjects like history and science.”
With a preschooler and toddler, our morning basket is simple. By simple, I mean a whole lot of books with a few little things thrown in here or there. We do ours right at the breakfast table. It helps that their hands and mouths are busy so I can get a good chunk of reading in without interruption. ;)
We do not do everything in this basket everyday. I choose 2-3 items to start and we see how breakfast unfolds. Sometimes we get through more if they want me to keep reading or sometimes less! Because you know… toddlers!! But all in all, I can usually get 25-30 minutes of focused time before they start to wander off to play.
What I put into the basket will shift, because our days and weeks are very much inspired by the seasons, but here is a general look at what I like to include.
Library books ~ I try to grab a wide variety of topics for the week. I typically check out 25 books a week ranging from classic picture books or any that catch our eye, living math books, books that coincide with our weekly nature theme, seasonal books, living history books, character books, fairy tales, fables, etc. The bulk of our morning time is spent reading from this pile because I truly believe reading aloud has the most impact on our homeschool day. They are not only learning to focus, but new vocabulary, comprehension, facts (especially from the math, history, and nature books), and increased attention span. It is also an opportunity for connection and bonding. If you only put picture books in your morning basket, that is enough! I wrote a whole post on how I find good books for our homeschool.
Book of poems ~ there are so many great poetry collections and I have found a few secondhand for only a couple bucks. I keep one in our basket and read one a day. We are really enjoying seasonal, nature-based poems at the moment. A few I recommend: When Green Becomes Tomatoes, The Earth is Painted Green, Sing a Song of Seasons
Calendar ~ I created our own magnetic calendar by upcycling a few bits and pieces I had around the house. (My printer and laminator are my best friends.) Every morning we fill in the date, talk about the season, and observe the weather. It takes under a minute but it’s a great introduction into the concept of time for the early years.
Chapter book ~ I always keep our current read aloud in this basket. We don’t read it every day but we try to get through a chapter or two a week.
Handwriting/tracing sheets ~ We don’t always do this, but I keep their tracing/handwriting sheets in here and if they are in the mood, they can do that.
Junior mad libs ~ This is a fun thing we have in there lately. It breaks up the reading and is interactive.
Sometimes it helps to break out the watercolors, kinetic sand, or play-doh to keeps them at the table, but mostly we are able to get through a good amount in under a half hour and then they run off and play. Since they are 5 and 3, I do not push or keep them still for long. Play is where all the magic happens, anyways! But I really love this routine and it brings us together and kicks our day off on a beautiful note. If you do morning basket, share what your family enjoys below or with me on Instagram. I’d love to be inspired. x
