Morning Baskets have become very popular in the homeschool world. They are a fantastic way to start your day and ensure you are getting to the things that are most important to your family.
Frequently Asked Questions About Morning Baskets In Your Homeschool
In an effort to help you become an expert on morning baskets in your homeschool, I will address the questions I see pop up most often in my Morning Basket Facebook Group.
What is a morning basket?
Simply put a morning basket is a collection of things that allows you begin your day with beauty, goodness, and truth as a family and is normally placed in a basket. It is a time to bring everyone together to connect before transitioning to the more individualized subjects. Most people fill their basket with books, quiet activities for their kids to do while reading and maybe a quick game. Morning basket can look different for each family, no two are the same.
What do you put in a morning basket?
Most people include a variety of books. Some topics include poetry, a read aloud chapter book, and a nonfiction title, etc. Most of the time morning basket includes memory work, music and art appreciation, nature study and poetry because those are things that get laid to the side in homeschool most often.
You can see all the things we have included in our past morning baskets here.
Do you do everything in the basket every day?
Most people do not do everything in their baskets every day. Some people work off a loop system and others work on a Day of the Week system. We have things we do every day and we have things we do some days, we kind of just alternate through things throughout the month.
How often do you change the materials in your basket?
We personally change our materials our once a month to keep things fresh and exciting, even though some items may linger longer. Some people change them seasonally and other people change them out by term. You can choose what works best for your family.
Do you have to do a theme?
Absolutely not! In fact, most people don’t do a theme. My daughter is an intense kiddo and she likes to dive deep into topics. I found that when I kept trying to do a more traditional morning basket it never seemed to fit just quite right for us. By using material that is all on one topic I am allowing her dive deep while still enjoying our morning basket together.
How much time do you spend on morning basket?
This will also vary for each family, from my research I would say the average is about an hour. We spend approximately 30-60 minutes a day depending on interest. My daughter is still young enough that I do not force anything at this time.
What are my kids going to do while I am reading?
Quiet activities are perfect for kids to do while you are reading aloud. This is also a great way for you to personalize based on ages. You can listen to a podcast from the Read Aloud Revival all about this topic here. You can see my top ten favorite things to do while reading aloud here.
Does it have to be done in the morning?
Absolutely not! It has commonly become known as “Morning” Basket, but it can be done anytime of the day. Some people have a bedtime basket or an afternoon tea time basket. We often times don’t start our basket until around noon. We also frequently enjoy a bedtime basket as well.
Is it only for young children?
No, it is for children of all ages. That is the biggest positive to morning basket is that it is a time for everyone to gather together. Your children will just each take away what they are mentally capable of. You can see more about morning time for all ages here.
Where do you find a basket?
I bought mine from Michael’s with a 40% off coupon. Most craft store have a great selection of them. Also, don’t forget to check thrift stores they commonly have a great selection as well. But keep in mind you don’t even have to use a basket. You can use a bin, bucket, shelf, or even the ever popular three tier cart.
Help! I want to try morning basket, but I am still lost!
My first suggestion is to make sure you have joined The Morning Basket Group on Facebook, there are so many amazing people in that group and they are very helpful. The group it also full of inspiration to get you started. My second suggestion is to check out Pam Barnhill’s Morning Time Plans they are ready made plans that tell you what resources to use and when to use them.
I also recommend the Your Morning Basket Podcast if you start with episode 1 you will even get to hear Cindy Rollins (the creator of morning time) explain morning time and how it came to be.
If you have older kids make sure you check out How to Plan a Morning Time with Teens.
CHECK OUT ALL OF OUR PAST MORNING BASKETS
Related Blog Posts:
- How to Turn Around a Bad Homeschool Day
- Everything You Need to Know About Homeschooling with Interest Led Morning Baskets
- The Ultimate Guide To Children’s Podcasts for Learning
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