Do you use a morning basket in your homeschool? I know it’s a very common thing amongst homeschooling families and after learning about what it was last summer, I understood why. It’s such a clever way to incorporate so many subjects, topics and literature into your children’s education without making every day overwhelming!
Last year was our first year to use a morning basket, and I was so excited to get started. I had tons of ideas on what I wanted to include in it…but then, when it came to plan how to actually implement all of these ideas, I wasn’t sure how to fit it all in. After all, I had a four year old that wasn’t going to be able to sit and listen to two hours worth of reading every morning! 😉
So, I did what many of us do. I searched YouTube for some brilliant veteran homeschool momma to explain this to me in a way I could understand. lol. Lucky for me, I found what I was looking for and learned about using a looping schedule for morning baskets. It sounded pretty simple and a good way to cover everything I wanted to without it becoming overwhelming.
What is a morning basket loop schedule?
The simple explanation for this kind of scheduling is that you prioritize the subjects/topics/readings according to how often you want to get to them. So the items you want to cover every morning go in Loop A. The items you may only cover once a week go in Loop B. And the items left in Loop C may only be done three or four times a school year.
Below you can check out what my loop schedule looked like at the beginning of last school year to help it make more sense. You can also check out the video I watched that explained this here.
This looping schedule worked for me for awhile, but for whatever reason, it was something I didn’t do well at sticking with.
So I eventually created a different planning page that worked for what we had actually begun doing….which was just doing certain things on certain days.
About mid-year, my morning basket plans looked more like what you see below and it worked better for me personally.
The only negative about doing it this way, is that I found myself not actually getting to the extra fun occasional things in Loop C like the Poetry Tea Time and Board Game mornings. As I’m currently re-thinking through my morning basket for next year, I’m contemplating how to get those in occasionally….just maybe not during morning basket time. 🙂
If these planning pages look like something that could help you out in your homeschool planning, then check out the form below! I’m providing a free morning basket planning page below so you can try it out for yourself.
This one can be used like the looping schedule I used at first, or like the way I ended up preferring it. Any items you want to cover every day would fall under the daily loop section and then all other items would be listed under the days of the week you want to do them! Hopefully that makes sense to you. 🙂
If you find that you like how it’s working for you but you’d like a different style option….or you would rather use the original looping schedule that I mentioned, then you can find those available in my Etsy shop!
No matter how you decide to plan out your morning basket, just remember that it’s supposed to be an enjoyable way to spend the mornings learning together as a family. Try not to let the planning overwhelm you! If this is the first time you’re trying it, keep it simple. Do a few things and see how it goes. You can always add more later!
If you’re a long-time morning basket loving family, what works for you? What doesn’t? I’d love to know! Leave a comment below and share with us what you do! One of the things I enjoy so much about the homeschooling community is how much we share with and learn from each other. 🙂
For more free resources, make sure to check out the free printables section of my blog! You’ll be able to find coloring books, planners, holiday writing prompts and more.
To follow our homeschool adventures in real time and see more homeschooling resources as they become available then check us out on Instagram @theleadlearnermom. 🙂
Happy Planning!
