Morning Baskets

Morning baskets have been a steady part of our homeschooling rhythm—even before I officially declared myself a homeschooler. I’ve stopped using the concept several times, thinking we didn’t have the time, but I always end up bringing it back. Mathilde will even ask for it and beg me to start again. So from now on, I’ve decided to just embrace it and keep it going. Sometimes it doesn’t work for us first thing in the morning—we often start school after breakfast—so maybe I should call them afternoon baskets, since that’s when we usually do them.

In our basket I usually keep instruments, books, games, and anything I think might give us a little spark if we need energy. Sometimes I add things that connect to our current units, and I always include a hand puppet who “talks” and joins in for songs and games. The ritual has gone through many different versions, but in one way or another, I always return to it.

During times when nothing else seems to work, the morning basket is the anchor I can hold onto. We might sing a few songs, Mathilde reads something, I read aloud from a book, and then maybe we play a quick math or spelling game. Even if I’m sick with the flu, the house is a mess, or we’re eager to run outside into the sun—doing our basket means we’ve still read, sung, and learned a little together that day.