Having a homeschool morning basket is not a new concept, in the homeschool community but it does seem to be picking up some steam as of late. In our home, we were introduced to homeschool morning baskets several years ago and have been using them ever since. We love having the same structure in place to start our days and my kids enjoy knowing what is expected of them each and every morning.

What is a Homeschool Morning Basket, and How to Start One - Having a homeschool morning basket is not a new concept, in the homeschool community but it does seem to be picking up some steam as of late. In our home, we were introduced to homeschool morning baskets several years ago and have been using them ever since. We love having the same structure in place to start our days and my kids enjoy knowing what is expected of them each and every morning.

What is a Homeschool Morning Basket, and How to Start One - Having a homeschool morning basket is not a new concept, in the homeschool community but it does seem to be picking up some steam as of late. In our home, we were introduced to homeschool morning baskets several years ago and have been using them ever since. We love having the same structure in place to start our days and my kids enjoy knowing what is expected of them each and every morning.

While having a homeschool morning basket isn’t a necessity, it’s a great option to consider. The good news is that it’s super simple to start, and even easier to stay on track. Here are a few tips to start your own homeschool morning basket.

Simple Tips to Start a Homeschool Morning Basket

Share the purpose of having a homeschool morning basket with your kids.

Communicate the purpose of having a homeschool morning basket with your children. Truth be told, homeschooling allows a bit more flexibility than public school. You can teach on topics not available in a public school setting.

If you are structuring your homeschool curriculum to have an underlying of faith or religion associated with it, then incorporating a homeschool morning basket is a great idea for you and your family. While you may have your days structured to stay on target with the traditional curriculum approach, a morning basket allows you to introduce a few learning objectives that may not fit exactly with the other subjects of your curriculum. The sooner that you can educate your children on what the purpose of a starting a morning basket is, the better.

Encourage your kids to choose topics for your homeschool morning basket.

Encourage your children to think of topics, books, or lessons that they want to include or rotate into your homeschool morning basket. After all, isn’t that the purpose of the morning basket? To include topics of interest to you and your children, that may not be worked in any other way. While you chose the majority of your curriculum, give your children the option to choose a few things as well. You may be surprised by what they want to study and learn about, each and every morning. It’s a great way to allow them to explore and learn exciting new information all at the same time.

Ask other homeschool parents for recommendations.

Research and talk to other homeschooling parents to see what they do for their morning baskets. Talking and networking with others in the homeschool community is a great way to understand the varying options from home to home. If you can’t seem to get a good grasp on what to put into your homeschooling morning basket, why not ask another homeschooling parent what they start their day with? Think of it as a way to get some great ideas to help improve the overall experience for you and your children.

Start your homeschool morning basket small, and grow from there.

Choose four items to place in your homeschool morning basket to start with. While there may be room for other options, you

don’t want to feel overwhelmed with too many choices. Try to incorporate something that you’ve never studied before in your classroom basket, so it’s totally new to you and your children. After a week of trying out the items that you’ve included, you can then switch it out for something new and exciting again. That’s part of the beauty of having your very own homeschooling morning basket. It’s entirely up to you as to what goes into it.

My favorite tip for starting a morning basket:

If you want the morning basket to focus on literature, then fill it full of classic books. What about studying passages and verses from the Bible? Great! Make a plan that each and every morning you and your children are going to start the day diving into anything and everything that there is to learn and study about in the Bible. Our homeschool morning basket has everything from memory work to Hebrew, from read-aloud to math flash cards, poetry to Shakespeare.

Whatever you choose to include in your morning basket, give it a go and be positive. It’s a great learning experience for all involved. The sooner that you can incorporate some new ideas and curriculum into your learning basket, the better. You and your children will love the new routine to get your homeschool day started and you will all learn about some varying and interesting topics as well.

Here’s my morning basket, what’s in yours? Tell us in the comments. 

Homeschool Organization: Baskets