I love morning baskets, and they have been a huge blessing to our homeschool. But when I first heard of them the word morning had me stumped. You see, I am not a morning person. I know some people say they aren’t morning people but can still get up and function in the morning. But, that is not me. I am one of those night owls that is completely and utterly useless before noon. Seriously! It is a huge joke among my family and friends when they are planning something. They all ask if they want me to be in attendance and then giggle and say, “Well, we better not plan it for before noon then!”
Why I Value Morning Baskets In My Homeschool
What is so great about a morning basket is that all of the thinking has already been done. A coherent mom (that’s me at night) who was not half asleep organized and placed everything in the basket. This way the non-coherent half asleep mom (that’s me in the morning) can easily conduct a beautiful morning time with ease. You see by thinking ahead and placing all of our favorite things in one place I am making my life easier. I can get up and read aloud, or fill in the blanks on a Mad Lib all while not being a morning person. You don’t have to do everything in your morning basket every morning. Pick and choose what you’re up for that day. You can theme your morning baskets too. Use them to help set the stage for important lessons and topics later in the day.
Is It OK To Skip The Morning Part?
It is absolutely okay to skip the morning part all together. Maybe you can’t read aloud half asleep like I can. In that case do your morning basket at another more convenient time of day. Our morning basket lasts about 30-60 minutes, so it’s easy to shift it to a different part of the day. We loved our morning basket so much we started doing a bedtime basket and love it equally as much if not more. I love being able to spend that time before bed connecting one last time before my daughter falls asleep. Our bedtime basket usually includes devotion, fun math, poetry, read alouds, and more. You could even have a lunch time basket or an afternoon tea basket. Pam has a tea time basket set up with her kids that looks delightful. Tea time is a special time set aside that you can incorporate things like art appreciation, musical appreciation, and poetry.
Morning Basket Tips and Tricks For The Mom Who Isn’t A Morning Person
The main things you will find in our morning basket are read alouds, Mad Libs and/or trivia, hands-on activities, and games. The main reason we include these are because they are my daughter’s favorite things and I find I like to start the day by connecting and filling her love tank. Each morning (or whatever time we start our homeschool day) she enjoys the hands-on activities while I read aloud, then we do either a mad lib or some trivia, and we finish our morning basket time by playing a game together. My main tip for morning baskets is to include things that you all love. This will ensure that even on mornings when you just don’t feel like doing anything you will still want to do your morning basket.
How Morning Baskets Really Work for The Mom Who Doesn’t Do Mornings
So how do we actually do a morning basket if I’m still half asleep? One of the most important things for a successful morning basket is for me to begin before the morning. That might look like prepping our basket our month in advance or at the very least pulling the things I’d like to do the night before. Preparing our morning basket in the evening allows me to be intentional of what I include in the basket. Because morning me would be in a haze and just skip it all together. Another important part of making the morning basket really work when you’re a mom who doesn’t do mornings is to include things you enjoy too. If you’re not a math person, including math in your morning basket might not be the best idea. If you like to start the day with prayer or meditation, include activities that allow for that with your kids. I have found that morning baskets help set the tone for our homeschool day and provide a soft start that we can build on later in the day when I’ve got my act together. If your kids are up and full of energy in the morning, you can use this basket to keep them busy and learning at the same time while you have that extra cup of coffee or tea. I can think of so many times our morning basket has helped to give me a buffer without sacrificing any learning time.
If you’re a night owl mom like me, a morning basket might be just what you need to get the day started on the right foot. If you’re not a morning person, a morning basket can totally save the day. I encourage you to try setting one up in advance and see how it goes. If you would like to see how our morning baskets fit in our day you can do that in our homeschool day in the life video.
