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The sun has risen, breakfast has been eaten, the chores are done for now, and you and your family are getting ready to start the school day. It is at this point that you debate on how to start. Should you start with math or maybe English? As I have researched more about homeschooling, I have found that many people enjoy having what they call a “morning basket” which is a small collection of activities they do at the beginning of each school day to help everyone get on the same page and come together before starting their individual study routines.
Though I did not have one growing up, the more research I do, the more intrigued I am by the idea of having a morning basket. If you have not heard of it before, like I had not, some people include things like a song, a chapter book, a list of things to memorize, or a poem in their morning basket. Since you go through the basket everyday, I think it is neat to add new items to your morning basket after a certain length of time has passed. With that in mind, it is also neat to stick to a specific theme for your morning basket. Today, I would love to walk through several different themes you can use for your morning basket routine!
1. A Music Theme.
For a music homeschool morning basket theme, you could put things in it like a hymn book, music theory flash cards, and maybe a book about musical composers or even hymn writers. It may even be neat to learn the sign language for a song together. In order to learn how to sign a song together, you would have to find a song then discover the new signs day by day until you can sign the whole song together as a family!
As far as a Bible passage that could be memorized together, you could maybe pick a Psalm about music. For example, Psalm 95:1-3 says,
“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods.”
Here are a couple more suggestions for a music morning basket theme!
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Then Sings My Soul Special Edition By Robert J. Morgan / Thomas Nelson Start your day with devotions based on your favorite Christmas carols, Holy Week anthems—and traditional hymns—and soon you’ll be singing to the Lord! Reflective meditations tell the dramatic and poignant stories behind the writing of the songs and include words and music for each entry. 320 deckle-edged pages, softcover with French flaps from Nelson. |
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Flash Cards for the Beginning Music Student By Alfred Publishing Co., Inc. Your budding musicians will build a crescendo of knowledge with this fun resource! Color-coded and numbered, 89 flash cards include need-to-know notes, symbols, and terms for the first two years of study on any instrument. Watch your students pick up the tempo from adagio to allegro as they move through the stack and gain a solid understanding of the basics! |
2. A Missions Theme.
In this basket, you could include an autobiography about a missionary, a list of missionaries your church supports to pray through, a song about missions to sing together, and lists/flash cards of some of the first missionaries for memorization. For a Bible passage, you could memorize the great commission.
One song that I think would work well here would be “Make Me a Blessing.” I attached a sweet instrumental rendition of this hymn here (the words for the hymn are shown at the top of the video as the pianist plays):
Additionally, here is a book about George Mueller that I think would be a great addition to a missionary themed morning basket!
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George Mueller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans By Janet Benge / Ywam Publishing The Christian Heroes: Then & Now series chronicles the true stories of ordinary men and women whose trust in God accomplished extraordinary deeds for his kingdom and glory. With scarcely enough food or money for his own family, George Muller opened his heart and home. Sustained by God’s provision, the Muller house “Breakfast Club” of thirty orphans grew to five large houses that ultimately over ten thousand children would call home. For ages 10 and up. |
If you were to read a book about a specific missionary, you could really embrace learning about the country that the missionary was serving in. In that case, you could research missionaries currently in the field, study the country’s fun facts, and pray for the people in the country now. It would be such a neat way to bring missions to life in your homeschooling.
3. Holiday Theme.
Whether Thanksgiving is coming up or Resurrection Sunday, having holidays as homeschool morning basket themes is a great option. Not only will having a holiday-themed morning basket help your kids learn about each of the holidays, but it will also help them get in the holiday spirit! Some holidays you could put together a basket for would be Resurrection Sunday, Memorial Day, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. If you do school through the summer, you could also do a 4th of July basket which could have a neat, patriotic theme, as well.
Here are a few suggestions for using holidays as themes for your morning basket!
For Christmas, you could include Luke 2:8-14 for memorization:
“And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Additionally, you could include a new book for each day or every few days leading up to Christmas. Here are a couple of really sweet ones:
For a Thanksgiving themed morning basket, you could include a few hymns that relate to the holiday such as “We Gather Together” and “For the Beauty of the Earth.” Additionally, you could even include some crafts about the Pilgrims or include a verse from Psalms about giving thanks such as the following:
“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” – 1 Thess. 5:18
“And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” – Col. 3:17
“O give thanks unto the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” – Ps. 107:1
4. Book Theme.
The sky is the limit for this option! I think it would be really neat to put together a book that you are reading as a family for one of your homeschool morning basket themes. For example, if you were reading a book about an American President, you could include the list of Presidents in your morning basket along with a patriotic song to sing together and a verse passage relating to being strong, having courage, or simply doing right.
Here are a few books that would make for great homeschool morning basket themes:
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Charlotte’s Web By E. B. White & Garth Williams(ILLUS) / HarperCollins |
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Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie Series #1 (Softcover) By Harper Collins Laura Ingalls’ story begins in 1871 in a little log cabin on the edge of the Big Woods in Wisconsin. Four-year-old Laura lives in the little house with her Pa, her Ma, her sisters Mary and Carrie, and their trusty dog Jack. Pioneer life is sometimes hard, since the family must grow or catch all their own food as they get ready for the cold winter. But it is also exciting as Laura and her folks celebrate Christmas with homemade toys and treats, do the spring planting, bring in the harvest, and make their first trip into town. And every night they are safe and warm in their little house, with the happy sound of Pa’s fiddle sending Laura and her sisters off to sleep. And so begins Laura Ingalls Wilder’s beloved story of a pioneer girl and her family. The nine Little House books have been cherished by generations of readers as both a unique glimpse into America’s frontier past and a heartwarming, unforgettable story. Recommended for ages 8 to 12. |
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Pilgrim’s Progress By Rosalie de Rosset, ed. / Moody Publishers Underscoring the pivotal role that classic literature plays in the shaping of our lives, Moody Press has introduced Moody Classic Series, celebrating Christian writing which has stood the test of time. John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is one in this series, featured here with fine art cover design; edited by Rosalie DeRosset, 218 pages. |
For the Charlotte’s Web themed morning basket, you could include some things about farming. Maybe you could even have a plant that you care for together each morning. If you have small children, you could even take this time to go through all of the sounds that farm animals make!
For Little House On the Prairie, it would be so neat to include studying various old ways of life. For example, maybe you could take some time to learn how to knit or crochet. Whether you include those classes in your homeschool morning basket or simply make it an elective, I think it would be a neat way to tie some things together in our homeschooling. Honestly, many of these ideas seem to tie into the idea of unit studies, which is interesting.
5. Favorite Things Theme.
Then, last but not least, you could put together a “favorite things” themed morning basket for your kids. This option is great if you really want to create a personal morning basket for you and your family. For this basket, you could have each of your children add one of their favorite things to learn about into the morning basket. Whether that be a favorite book, song, picture, or activity, bringing together everyone’s favorites will help to ensure more interest and excitement surrounding the morning basket.
For this homeschool morning basket theme, you could give your children options for themes, or even just get them to add things that make them smile in the morning. I think this theme would be a great first option for many homeschoolers who want to get started with a morning basket but are not sure where to begin.
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There you have it! This post has walked through five different options for homeschool morning basket themes that you could incorporate into your daily routine which include music, missions, holidays, books, and “favorite things.” I sincerely hope that these ideas have been helpful and inspiring.
With that said, I do think it is important to keep things simple and doable in your routines. If it is too much to include 5+ things in your morning basket, then just simply start with a book that you would like to read together and a hymnal that you can sing through as a family. A morning basket should not be something that takes up a significant amount of time or becomes a stressful part of your day. I encourage you to use it as a tool and as a little ray of sunshine to start every morning. May your morning basket help bring unity and joy to your family’s mornings!
What are some things you like to include in your morning basket? Do you use a theme?
I would LOVE to hear from you in the comments below!
Until next time
