If you love the idea of skipping planned homeschool activities and would rather lean on the side of simple first thing in the morning, this morning basket is for you!
Simplistic Mornings
I am not a morning person — period. Never have been, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.
With that said, the idea of using a morning basket in our homeschool totally intrigued me.
The idea of elaborate themes and planned-out early morning activities, however, did not!
I crave simplistic mornings and the ability to take things at a slower pace while easing into our morning routine, but I have some little people in my house who are ready for activity the moment their eyelids open.
This is why I decided to lean on the side of simplicity and create a lazy morning basket for our homeschool — something that was 100% essential for this homeschool mom.
The Lazy Morning Basket
Our morning basket houses simple morning activities and hangs out in our living room beside the couch for easy access.
Before we started utilizing this basket of goodness, our homeschool mornings were pretty hectic and stressful.
Now, however, they are more manageable for this morning-impaired mom.
I’m able to keep a better handle on things by keeping it light and simple first thing in the morning — which allows for a much easier start to our homeschool day.
It takes a good chunk of time for me to fully wake up in the morning, consume a little coffee, and get my body to a somewhat functioning state.
That is why we needed this basket in our home.
If you have kiddos who rise early, while you’re stuck in mombie mode, something has to give!
Creating a simplistic activity basket filled with strength-based learning activities that require little to no help from mom is definitely where it’s at.
These morning basket activities totally keep me sane, you guys!
Our Morning Basket Breakdown
First, let me start off by saying, we don’t keep any homeschool curriculum in our basket!
Anything that requires me to be a fully functioning human simply can’t reside in our lazy morning basket — seriously though.
With that said, so many other amazing things call this basket home!
Check out my detailed breakdown below!
Flashcards
If you want to sneak in learning first thing in the morning, flashcards are an easy option!
Not only are they a great way to practice or learn new information, but they are also perfect for brushing up on old or forgotten skills.
We typically keep 2 different types of flashcards in our basket.
Curriculum-based flashcards that go along with our language arts program and random math fact flashcards that can be studied anytime.
However, I do sometimes toss in a set of wipe-clean flash cards for the preschooler as well! These first words, alphabet, & numbers flashcards are some of our favorite go-to options!
See pouches in our basket? That’s where I keep our flashcards!
Each one of my kiddos has a large zipper pouch of their very own. This is where they store their curriculum-based flash cards.
All other flashcards get tossed into smaller pouches.
Workbooks
Workbooks are seriously awesome for morning time!
I tend to keep a handful of workbooks in our morning basket at any given time and they are essential for my early risers! Not only do they keep my preschooler busy, but they also help give my 11-year-old something to occupy his time as well.
I typically pick simple, yet engaging workbooks for our basket — because I absolutely love the idea of my kids learning always!
Leaning on simple workbook options will not only encourage your kiddo to have some sit-down fun, but it’s a great way to get their little minds in learning mode before formal lessons.
If you love the idea of using workbooks in your morning basket, you can find tons of great options by checking out our mega list of workbooks for kids!
Doodle Books
Doodle books are a must for our homeschool morning basket!
While some kiddos may not be into this sort of thing, I have one child in particular who loves a good doodle book.
These types of activity books can be great for building up a child’s motor skills and working on those creative artistic abilities!
Doodle books can easily be swapped out for coloring books if your little one prefers them instead! We simply don’t keep any in our basket because I have a daughter who can’t be trusted alone with crayons at the moment — not even joking.
Study Material
This can be in traditional book form, something unique or hands-on that reinforces a specific topic your child is currently learning about, or just random sheets of information.
I absolutely love using brochures and packets for our study material.
If you take field trips on the regular, you can begin a simple collection of brochures that can easily be tucked into your morning basket from time to time.
I’m constantly picking up fun freebies (or sometimes not-so-freebies) while visiting nature centers and museums, then tucking them away to use in our basket at a later date.
Another fun way to include study material in your morning basket is by including magazines!
Our local nature center gives out free nature magazines which has been the perfect addition to our morning time routine. My kids absolutely love these, you guys!
You can look around for free magazine options or sign up for a fun subscription! Either way, just make sure you lean on the side of education more than just fun.
There really are so many fun options when it comes to this one, you guys! I’m constantly switching between informative books, magazines, and brochures for my kids to skim through.
It simply helps keep their minds growing in an exciting way!
Activity Books
Simple sticker books, puzzle books, crosswords, and maze books have all made their way into our morning basket this year!
I like to mix up our selection from time to time because it keeps things a little more interesting for the kids.
When it comes to activity books, I don’t always pick educational ones. Sometimes I just go after something that will be fun and keep my kiddo engaged for a period of time.
We have included everything from paper creations to sticker books in our morning basket! So many fun options, you guys!
Personal Readers
Books, books, and more books! If you haven’t caught on yet, we are a book-loving crew!
With that said, I do not keep chapter books in our morning basket.
My children are avid readers and simply wouldn’t stop reading to work on formal lessons if we started our day with chapter books.
I do, however, keep 1 individual reader for each child in our morning basket. I try to think of these readers more as a morning devotional, but since my children all have different learning styles and needs I sometimes have to get creative with this one.
For one child it may be something more activity-based, and for another, it might be something they simply read and reflect on for just a few minutes each morning!
Right now my oldest is working through a simple apologetic devotional reader, my middle child is intensely enjoying a Christian-based dinosaur book, and my youngest is doing an ABC devotional about animals.
While I tend to lean towards independent work for our basket, my youngest isn’t quite an independent reader just yet, so we do end up working on this part together.
Other Fun Morning Basket Add-Ons
While I don’t like to put curriculum in our basket, I do sometimes like to toss in a simple curriculum aide.
If flashcards aren’t your style or your kiddos just don’t seem to take to them, utilizing interactive math books or in-depth language arts guidebooks are great ways to extend your child’s learning time & brush up on important core skills.
I totally love leaning on curriculum extras in our morning basket!
Creating Your Own Morning Basket
Your perfect morning basket might not look exactly like mine does, and that’s totally okay!
It’s all about finding what works best for your family.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money or purchase a ton of extra materials to pull off a great morning basket for your homeschool.
I tend to purchase most of our items used or on clearance. Then, I simply tuck them away for later use.
With that said, I’ve also been known to fill our entire morning basket with things we already had lying around at home!
Buying new can be fun, but it’s not always practical!
I hope you found this post useful! If so, take a moment to share it on social media today!
