Last week I asked on Instagram which post out of a few ideas that I had you guys wanted to see on the blog first and my mother morning basket was the most popular response!

I do think it is important to continue learning and growing as adults and making a morning basket for myself has been a way to make sure what I think is the most important learning gets done.

A big key for me has been to start slow. I started with just two things in the basket and have slowly worked my way up to more and I assume once the weather cools down and winter hits I will be able to add more because there is more time for indoor activities than in the summer.

I would recommend starting with just a couple of things in your basket for the first few weeks so you don’t get overwhelmed, then when the morning basket habit is established and when/if you feel ready to add more then you can do so.

 

 

WHAT IS A MORNING BASKET?

I thought the term “morning basket” was one all homeschoolers knew but it turns out it’s not as popular as I thought. If you’re new to the term it can actually be called a lot of different things: morning time, circle time, morning meeting, we’ve called ours brain stain/brain box, etc.

The purpose of the morning basket is that it is a time when the family comes together and does some learning as a group, often before splitting off to do their own age appropriate learning. It’s supposed to be a time when you can cover quite a few subjects together in a short amount of time.

I think the idea become popular when Sarah Mackenzie included it in her book Teaching from Rest and then Pam Barnhill started the podcast Your Morning Basket.

 

So, I decided to take this idea of a morning basket and make it my own by making a mother morning basket with a few different things I want to read/do each day.

 

 

WHAT’S INSIDE MY MOTHER MORNING BASKET

 

Now that we’ve covered all of that, here’s what’s actually in my morning basket. I’ll share them in the order that I added them in my basket. I started with the first few and then slowly added one at a time until I reached where I am currently at. I plan on adding a few morning things once winter comes so maybe then I’ll share my winter morning basket.

 

PRAYER JOURNAL

I use a traveler’s notebook for my prayer journal and each morning I spend some time in prayer. I have lists of different requests and answered prayers.

I also keep meaning to make one of the inserts a place to just praise God for who He is, I was doing this in a different notebook a few months ago and want to bring that idea into the traveler’s notebook so I have it all in one place.

 

 

BIBLE

I made a big realization (for me) in February that there is a difference between reading the Bible and studying it. Not that just reading it is bad but I’m a speed reader and don’t retain a lot of details when I read and it was an ah-ha moment for me when I started to actually study the Bible, I was learning so much more! It takes longer to get through a single book of the Bible this way but it is worth it.

 

COMPOSITION NOTEBOOK

This is where I am writing all my Bible study notes, I’ve written a lot since February and have almost filled it up.

 

PENCIL CASE

This holds my pencil crayons that I use for highlighting in my Bible and a little mini ruler for the same purpose. As well as highlighters for color coordinating what I underline in my Bible and what I write in my composition notebook and then I also have some plastic page tabs for marking some of my favorite verses.

 

 

The following items are ones I’ve been slowly adding over time.

 

ONE LINE A DAY JOURNAL

I got a five year memory journal for Mother’s Day this year (though I do wish I would have bought this one or this one, I like the hardcover better and didn’t realize the one I bought was paperback until it arrived in the mail) and I do think it will be a treasured possession once it is filled! It already has ridiculous quotes like my son saying “Cat food is my third favorite food.” – that’s definitely going to make me laugh in years to come.

 

SCRIPTURE WRITING PLAN AND NOTEBOOK

I’ve really come to appreciate writing out Scripture over the year and so I printed out the free monthly Scripture writing passages from Mom Strong International and have been writing out the passage for each day. I write them in this awesome alpaca notebook my husband got me last year that was just waiting for the perfect use (freshly shaved alpacas are my favorite animal).

 

A NON-FICTION BOOK

I usually have some kind of non-fiction book on the go – usually Christian non-fiction either in the Christian living or parenting categories. Currently I am reading The Life & Faith Field Guide for Parents which fits both categories. The sub-title is: Help Your Kids Learn Practical Life Skills, Develop Essential Faith Habits, and Embrace a Biblical Worldview. I’ve read most of it and would highly recommend it!

The non-fiction book often doesn’t get read at the same time I do the other things, I will often keep it out and pick it up when I have a few minutes here and there throughout the day.

 

 

SOME TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR OWN MORNING BASKET

If you just read through all of what I include in my morning basket and also the fact that I want to add more things and were just completely overwhelmed I just want to share some tips that may help you.

 

KNOW YOUR SEASON OF LIFE

First of all, it’s important to know what season of life you are in and factor that in. Right now I don’t have any babies or toddlers – just two school aged kids, so obviously that makes it easier for me than for some of you.

 

SET AN EXAMPLE

Originally I started out by trying to get all my morning basket stuff done before my kids woke up but then when I started reading The Life & Faith Field Guide he talked about how children like to copy their parents and the importance of them being able to see you reading your Bible. Since then I’ve decided to do some other work (like writing blog posts) before my kids wake up and then getting my stuff out once they are awake. Now, this does mean there are interruptions but part of being a mom is being okay with interruptions.

 

CREATE A SIMILAR BASKET FOR YOUNG KIDS

One thing you could do if you have toddler/preschool aged children is create their own morning basket for them to do stuff out of while you do yours and they could snuggle up beside you on the couch and look through a children’s Bible, practice their pencil grip by “writing” in a notebook, etc.

 

TAKE IT SLOW

I’ve mentioned this a few times already, but just start with a couple of things in your basket and add to it as you feel comfortable.

 

KNOW IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE DONE IN THE MORNING

We have a large kitchen table so that is where I like to do my morning basket, I’ll have my stuff on one part of the table and if I get interrupted I can just leave it there and get back to it when I have a few minutes. There are some days where my stuff doesn’t get done until after lunch and because I don’t have unrealistic expectations for my “morning” time that’s okay with me.

 

Okay, I think that is everything about my mother morning basket, if you have one (or will after reading this) I would love to hear what you include!