What’s in our Morning Basket? {Plus our read-alouds}

Rachel — Thu, 04 Aug 2016 15:49:02 +0000

Going from part-time homeschooling to full-time homeschooling is going to be a transition for all of us. We haven’t ever done a morning basket (or morning time, some might call it circle time) before, but looking forward to getting started this year.

The purpose of using a morning basket is to start your day off with truth, goodness and beauty. With the things that matter the most! Which are being together, reading and talking about Jesus, reading scripture, diving into rich literate and the art as well as having some laughs!

So what is in our morning basket?

A Wild Ride Through the Bible: Adventure Bible Handbook
Scripture Memory System
Gratitude Journals
S.U.I.L.T. Music Appreciation
Burst Training popsicle sticks- choose 3 a day, me too!
1-2+ chapters from our read -alouds

A great book to read for us homeschooling mamas, is Teaching from Rest. You MUST check it out if you haven’t read it!

Our read-aloud list:

And here’s a video recapping all of this:

Do you do a morning basket? What resources do you love?

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How a morning routine saved my sanity

Lydia — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 14:36:48 +0000

Written by Lydia @ Frugal Debt Free Life, Contributing Writer

I don’t know if you’ve heard this quote “mom sets the tone.” I see it on Pinterest all the time and to be completely honest the first few times I saw it I rolled my eyes.

The tone in my house is loud, messy and harried. I feel like I am rushing my kids through the day while carrying this knot between my shoulders. Then one day it hit me, mom sets the tone. It really is true. By the time nap timed rolled around I was a stressed out mess counting down the minutes until my husband got home.
I needed to slow down, be still and quiet and simplify my home. I did this by developing a good morning routine. This one might not work for everyone, but since doing this I have seen an immediate difference in my home and day. And the shoulder knot.

How a morning routine saved my sanity:

Make a to do lists the night before

I found this helped me rest better. Instead of getting up in the morning and jotting down what needs to be done, I take a few minutes at night and make a to do list for the following day. I swear this helps me sleep better because I am not lying in bed lingering over what needs to be accomplished the next day. My road map is already laid out ahead of me.

Prep for the next day

I make sure that coffee grounds are in the pot and all I have to do is press the on button. I lay out my clothes, even though I am work at home mom. Not falling back on yoga pants or sweats makes me feel more put together.

And I clean my kitchen and wipe down counter tops.

Unload the dishwasher

In the morning when the coffee is brewing I unload the dishwasher. This way as we use dishes they can go directly into the dishwasher and not clutter up the sink.

Family devotional

The boys and I usually have a family devotion time in the morning using one of our baby Bibles.

We might also watch a Miss Pattycake DVD. If you don’t know who Miss Pattycake is, the DVDs are a fun way to incorporate scripture and praise music into a toddler or preschoolers life. The DVDs usually last about 30 minutes and they are sweet and engaging.

We also say a simple morning prayer that I wrote, “Thank you Jesus for today. Please protect us while we play. Helps us listen and obey. In Your name we pray, Amen.”

I want to set the tone of prayer, that we seek Jesus in the morning. That we begin each day with a clean slate.

And when my to do list is ready and my house is somewhat clean I don’t feel as rushed and stressed. I am not as easily unglued and my home just feels calmer.

That is not to say that this routine gets implemented everyday to the letter. It’s not to say that my house is spotless (far from it!) and that my kids are perfectly behaved.

But having a morning routine to fall back on gives us a good anchor in the chaos of life.

What is your morning routine?

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