The concept of a morning basket is to have a collection of resources prepared and ready (in a basket if you like) to use daily for a sort of circle time in your homeschool. These resources ideally encompass a wider range of ages than other subjects, so that the whole family can gather together each day for a memorable time of reading before going their own ways with individual studies. Today, I want to share my morning basket favorites for a Christian Homeschool, as I’ve carefully curated and put a lot of thought into what we’ve used for this special morning time over the years.
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In some seasons, it can feel hard to pull everyone together to read aloud, even for a short 20 minutes. But looking back at how my mom read to me every day when I was young and how special and memorable that time was, it gives me an extra push to offer that to my own children. I hope that they, too, will remember it fondly one day.
Some subjects that are great to incorporate into a morning basket are: nature lessons, poetry, Bible study, memory work, classic literature, calendar/weather activities, art appreciation, etc.
I have chosen to keep ours mostly to Bible reading and devotionals, music, character-building books, read alouds that encourage our faith, or read alouds that correspond with our history studies.
Here are some of our very favorite resources that we have incorporated into our Christian homeschool morning basket time:
Our Morning Basket Favorites
God & Science Devotions by Louie Giglio
My family has thoroughly enjoyed these little devotional books by Louie Giglio. For the younger years they are a great little daily dose of scientific facts plus devotional. So far Louie Giglio has released:
In addition, they offer an Activity Book for Kids, Indescribable for Little Ones (a board book), and Indescribable ATLAS adventures. We have all of them, and they are all fantastic and worth owning!
The Millers books
These books were a favorite of mine when I was a homeschooled kid! This is one of the resources that I chose to carry over to the next generation in my family. My boys have loved them too! The Miller family I believe are Mennonite, so while I don’t align with them on everything, I find these books to be primarily lessons from the book of Proverbs and applicable to a wider audience. Your kids will learn about integrity, excellent character, and work ethic through memorable short stories as they follow the Miller children in their daily lives. These books have the perfect length of chapters to incorporate into your morning time, though my kids always beg for more!
Some of their titles are:
Proverbs and the Millers
….and more.
You may choose to preview them and omit a story or two that you don’t quite agree with. Overall, I just love these and find them excellent in making children think about their actions and what it means to be a person of integrity and character.
Little Pilgrims Big Journey
Little Pilgrims Big Journey is a trilogy by Lithos Kids, based on the classic Pilgrim’s Progress. This is a really sweet adaptation for younger kids. Mine were always begging for more when we would read a chapter! They are geared toward ages 2-10, though I would notice my 12-year-old picking them up as well or reading them to the younger kids.
Lithos Kids also offers accompanying coloring books if desired.
Happy Hymnody
Happy Hymnody is a free monthly resource for kids to learn one new hymn per month. My husband and I grew up singing hymns, not primarily, but we both value them and greatly love many of them. When I found this resource, I knew I wanted to add it to our homeschool so that our kids would have a chance to learn these amazing old songs.
Each month you can print out the lyrics, as well as copywork sheets or sheet music so the kids can learn the lyrics and/or learn to play the song on an instrument.
A Favorite Vintage Find
Character Sketches from the pages of Scripture is a cool vintage find that I enjoyed as a kid and my boys have enjoyed as well. Each chapter starts with a nature story, then goes into a story in Scripture and teaches about a specific character trait. These big volumes will be a favorite if you like a bit of an old-school style. My nature nerd loves reading these on his own as well.
Consider finding them on Ebay to keep the cost down.
The Sowers Series Biographies
This is my favorite biography series. They are well written and interesting. We’ve loved learning about famous Christian men and women in history through these books. I’ve read them aloud as part of our morning basket, and my boys also reach for them again and again on their own. These include scientists, inventors, missionaries, pastors, and more.
The Children’s Book of… Series by William J. Bennett
The Children’s Book of Virtues and other titles by William J. Bennett feature short stories that are excellent lessons in character and morals for children. My kids have loved these books since they were little, both the stories and the pictures, and they work well with a morning basket since you can pick one story at a time and either read straight through the book or choose stories that reinforce other current studies.
Some of his titles include:
The Children’s Book of Virtues
The Children’s Book of America
A few ideas on implementing a morning basket
Try using this morning basket time for children to practice reading aloud, standing up in front of others to read or recite, or to practice oral narration.
This can be a rich time together as a family, developing relationships and inspiring deep conversation.
I hope these living books and other literature suggestions inspire you as you plan your homeschool year.
Have you used a morning basket in your homeschool?
I’d love to hear some of your favorites in the comments!
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Looking for more homeschooling ideas?
Check out:
Quality Literature Summer Reading Challenge (For Christians!)
Homeschooling 6th Grade: Everything We Used
