My Morning Basket

I am a little behind on the whole morning basket craze. Apparently it’s a super popular concept, but I am only just now getting with the program. 

So for those of you who don’t know, morning baskets are a “thing” in the homeschool world in particular. I went to a homeschool conference in April and sat in on a session by Pam Barnhill about morning baskets. I didn’t adopt everything she talked about, but it got me thinking and prompted me to make my own morning basket. 

One idea she talked about was setting up your morning with something enjoyable right off the bat which will give you incentive to get out of bed. I don’t know a mom alive who doesn’t love those 30 minutes alone before the kiddos get up, but I also don’t know many moms who don’t struggle to drag themselves out of bed early enough to enjoy that alone time, especially with an infant who has kept you up. 

So I put together this morning basket, and it has become something I truly look forward to every morning. In actuality, this “basket” houses both my morning basket and my kids’ (more on that in another post).

I keep it in our homeschool/craft storage shelf next to a big comfy chair I love to sit in. 

The kids’ morning basket books are in the back and mine are in the front. 

My morning time always starts with my Bible and Bible journal 

I love this bible study journal, because it is very simply laid out and helps me organize my thoughts. I am currently working through 1 Corinthians a chapter at a time. 

You can purchase this Bible study journal on Amazon. 

I also use Bible highlighters while I read. These are almost like fluorescent, sheer crayons. I am currently using them to highlight favorite verses and references to gratitude. 

After some Bible and prayer time I move on to my gratitude list. After reading 1,000 Gifts by Ann Viscamp, I am attempting to compile a list of 1,000 items of gratitude. I add a few every morning, and I sometimes pull it out and add items throughout the day. 

Then I attempt to fill in the previous day’s entry in this book 

I’ve had this book for a couple years and have been spotty about filling it in, but since incorporating it into my morning time, I’ve been more consistent about it. 
Essentially it has 5 years of dates with a small space to write a reflection or a memory or something on that date. I’m already looking back and finding fun memories. My mom often reflects how the early years of motherhood were such a blur, and she has forgotten a lot of the little things. I am hoping by writing down some of these things, I won’t forget them once this stage of life is over. 

The next thing I do is read a bit from a book. I am notorious for buying books and then letting them sit in a stack unread. My resolution for 2019 is to read more, and I’ve been finding pleasure in reading for fun again. 

In my morning basket I have several books that have been sitting for a while unread.

I am currently making my way through Don’t Make Me Count to Three!, which has been a nice, short read. I saw the author speak at a homeschool conference last year and was touched by her ideas on giving biblical reproofs to our children and getting to their hearts. It’s been a nice practical read, especially for this stage in parenthood. 

And that’s it! Usually my morning time takes about 15-20 minutes, and most days I only have this sweetie to keep me company.

Do any of you have a morning basket? I’ve enjoyed the consistency it gives me in the morning of immediately accomplishing a few things I both enjoy and want to complete.