Here's a peek at some of the books and resources we'll be using in our morning basket this coming school year.
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Simple Morning Basket Ideas for the Start of the School Year

Here’s a peek at what we’re using in our morning basket for the start of our new school year. Some are returning favorites, while others are brand new additions we’re excited to try!

Our morning basket changes throughout the year, but the core of it usually stays the same: poetry, virtue study, map study, life skills, a couple family read-aloud books, and some other fun activities to help us ease into our day. Below are the resources we’re starting with this fall, plus a few others I’ve planned for later in the year.

New to morning baskets? If you’re just getting started or want a better idea of how they work, this post shares the basics and how we make it part of our day.

What’s in Our Morning Basket This Year

Poetry

We’re continuing to work our way through the poetry collection, A Journey Through Time in Verse & Rhyme. It’s been a staple in our morning basket for the past couple of years. My kids usually volunteer to select and read a poem every day, but every now and then, they still let me have a turn. 😉

As the year progresses, I’ll rotate in other poetry books based on the season, our country studies, and the historical period we’re studying. Some of the poetry books I have planned for 2025-2026 include:

If you have young children and are looking for a really easy way to get into a daily poetry reading habit, I can’t recommend Sing a Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year enough.

It was our very first poetry book, and it made starting a simple, consistent poetry routine simple. With a short poem for every day of the year, it’s perfect for little ones with short attention spans and a great way to start your mornings together.

Virtue Study

I also like to include our virtues study in our morning basket. We use a combination of the Virtues Project Educator’s Cards (secular) and The Family Virtues Guide (non-secular) to learn about different character traits, discuss real-life examples, and practice using affirmations throughout the week.

I’ve linked our virtues study with our geography lessons, matching each character trait to a country and its corresponding read-aloud. For us, it’s an easy way to make these discussions feel a bit more relevant and rooted in what we’re learning about the world (and ourselves!).

Map Drill

We’re currently studying Asia in social studies and exploring 19th-century America in history. For our geography work, I like to use Seterra’s free printable continent maps for quick and easy map drill games.

When it comes to history, Maps for U.S. History has been a great resource. We’re able to quickly reference key historical regions and events, and since the pages are black line, they’re perfect for tracing, labeling, and coloring, which adds a hands-on element to our lessons without a lot of prep on my part.

Language Arts

Some of these language arts activities are part of our daily rhythm, while others are on a loop schedule. We alternate between Making Big Words and SpellChecked for daily spelling practice, and our silly symbol sentences continue to be an easy way to review grammar.

We also keep a couple of read-alouds in our morning basket that tie into our current social studies topics. This year that includes books connected to our studies of Asia and 19th-century America. You can read more about our Asia unit study bundle here if you’re looking for book suggestions, hands-on activities, or geography tie-ins to go along with your own continent study.

Math

Our morning basket math activities are also on a loop schedule, so we touch on them once each week. We’re rotating through Market Math, Investing for Kids, Infinity Street, and a set of elapsed time activities that go along with our country studies. I also like to include a math game or two since my kids love to play them.

Here are a few of the math games we’ll be rotating into our morning basket this year:

Science, Nature & Logic

We’re using the STEM Scavenger Hunt Game for Kids by Chalk & Chuckles to review basic science vocabulary and concepts. So far, my kids love it! It’s hands-on, open-and-go, and just the right amount of challenge for a morning warm-up. They actually have a few different versions—Countries of the World, Elemental Chemistry, and Dinosaurs—so you can easily pick one that matches your children’s current interests or your curriculum focus.

We’ve also added Solve It With Sherlock Holmes to our morning basket rotation. It’s a short, illustrated mystery puzzle book that invites kids to spot clues, think critically, and solve each case alongside Sherlock.

I recently discovered that our library added The Lost Book of Adventure to their catalog, and I couldn’t resist adding it to our morning basket to start the school year. We had read Journey to the Last River by the Unknown Adventurer during our South America study, and my kids absolutely loved it. While The Lost Book of Adventure isn’t written in quite the same narrative style, it’s still a really cool book to explore. It’s filled with gorgeous illustrations and detailed survival tips, sketches, and field notes.

We’ll be reading the newest book in the series, The Lost Book of Undersea Adventure, when we study the Philippines and Indonesia. It’s a perfect tie-in with our geography and science lessons, especially as we explore maritime cultures like the Sama-Bajau and dive into the marine ecosystems of Southeast Asia

Morning basket time continues to be one of my favorite parts of the homeschool day. As the year goes on, I’ll rotate in some new books and activities, but the basics of it always stay the same. There’s something comforting about starting our mornings with familiar rhythms, some shared stories, and a bit of connection before the busyness of the day begins.

What’s in your morning basket this year? I’d love to hear about your favorites! Feel free to drop them in the comments or connect with me over on Instagram!

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