In our house, we call it Breakfast and Books. It operates exactly how it sounds. We eat breakfast and we read books.
When my eldest was younger we weren’t always super consistent with it. If we went through the books 2-3 times a week, I would consider that a win. Over the last year or so, we have really gotten into a groove. It is rare for us not to do at least our minimum version every weekday.
I attribute this groove to a few factors.
I moved all the books to a basket near where we eat breakfast. I fought this for a while. I thought it was weird to have books near the table. I’m currently in my books all over the house phase (which I am loving by the way) so having a basket of books by the table doesn’t seem so weird anymore.
My child is older. When she was 1, she had no idea if we did breakfast and books. Now that she is older, she is often asking me to read before I open the books.
There is a minimum version. I’ll go over what it is in the basket below, that is the perfect version. I gave myself permission to just do the bare minimum (a Bible story) if we are short on time. This makes it guilt free and really easy for me to stick to.
There is almost no planning involved. Every once in a while I’ll switch out the books but for the most part, I’m rotating through the same few. I have a bookmark, or post-it note, where we left off and that’s where we pick up the next day. It makes it really easy for me or my husband to do if I’m not available.
The basket is currently full of books, but we do not read through every book each day.
The Minimum Version:
This consists of Bible and either a nursery rhyme or poem. Currently, we are using the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd Jones. We have read through this a few times and it is a very gentle introduction to the Bible for kids. Eventually, I’ll move us up to something more involved, probably Tomie dePaola’s Book of Bible Stories, but this is perfect for now. After Bible, we will either read through Mother Goose or Eloise Wilkin’s Poems to Read to the Very Young. If the minimum version gets done, I know we have started our day off on the right foot.
Loop:
There are several other books that I include in our Morning Basket. We do not read through these every day. If there is time after the minimum version, I will choose one, open up to where we left off last time and read from there.
Aesop’s Fables: I found this version at Half Priced Books and I absolutely love it. I do substitute the word donkey when reading (if you know you know) - it’s very easy to do.
Julie Andrews Treasury for All Seasons: This book has beautiful illustrations and all the poems are divided by month. I’ll typically choose one poem from this per week that I would like to read through.
Big Thoughts for Little People by Dr. Kenneth N Taylor: Sometimes I will choose a letter based on what letter we are working on that week, other times I’ll choose a letter based on the virtue it represents. This book is definitely a favorite in our house.
Laying Down the Rails Habit Training from Simply Charlotte Mason: My goal is just to get to this once a week and then practice the habit throughout our day. We’re so new at this that I can’t say for sure if it has made a difference, but I will report back when I have had more experience with it.
Occasionally we’ll also read a story book if there is time or if it is requested. This happens a lot more during seasonal times when books that are not always out on the shelves make an appearance.
That’s it! Those are all the books in our morning basket. I absolutely love doing a morning basket. I did a review of Morning Time: A Liturgy of Love by Cindy Rollins on YouTube. Not only did this book affirm a lot of what I was already doing, it made me really excited for all the wonderful ways our Morning Basket can expand and grow.
What’s in your Morning Basket?
Links may be affiliate links which means I will earn a commission from your purchase at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting me and your local bookstores!
