12 Engaging Morning Basket Ideas to Try Today

Get inspired with these morning basket ideas to create structure and routine that your family looks forward to each day!

There is no shortage of stimulating activities to do these days to occupy our time. Sometimes the options are so overwhelming that we can default to do the same thing every day without much intentionality or growth behind it.

But what if you were to scale back on the newest gadgets and screens and just create a peaceful moment each day to be still, quiet down, and stimulate the mind? That is where the idea of the morning basket comes into play.

What is a Morning Basket?

A morning basket is a collection of items such as books, activities, and games that stimulate the mind, promote independence, and encourage learning!

Let’s answer a few common questions about morning baskets:

Morning baskets are suitable for ALL ages: babies up to adults
Your morning basket does NOT have to be in a basket! Any type of container that keeps your collection of items organized and together works just fine.
Morning baskets are not only for the morning. They can be part of your afternoon routine or in the evenings to help your family settle in for bed.
You can rotate the items in your morning basket as often as you’d like (each day, each week, or each month).
You do not have to finish everything in your morning basket in order to be finished each day. Most people use a timeframe for morning baskets instead of a checklist of what to accomplish.
Most people set aside 20 minutes to 1 hour for morning basket time.
Your morning basket does not have to have a certain theme. Pull together items that interest you or your children!

What should you include in your morning basket?

This will vary widely based on the age and interests of those participating in the morning basket! Here are a few standards that are typically found in a morning basket:

Books: This is a broad category that is easily customizable to age and areas of interest! You can include specific subjects for your homeschoolers, picture books for babies, books on starting school for younger children, or best-selling books for adults. The options are endless!
Games: Grab some games that will not take too long to play and will promote friendly competition. You can do card games, board games, physical activity games such as, “Simon Says” and more!
Puzzles: Puzzles are excellent options to put in a morning basket for any age. Chunky wooden puzzles are great for babies and paper puzzles such as Sodoku, Crosswords, or Word Searches are interesting for those who are older.
Arts & Crafts: Expand the creative senses with mess-free coloring, watercolor paints, chalk, or even just a sketchpad! If you’re looking for inexpensive crafts that can work with any number of morning basket themes, check out 25 Best Budget Friend ly Dollar Tree Crafts for Kids for an extra boost of inspiration.
Audio stories: You can include some headphones or play some audiobooks or a podcast quietly overhead while you enjoy your morning basket time.
Flashcards: Brush up on homeschool topics such as geography, sight words, and mathematics with flashcards!
Toys: Small handheld toys are great additions to a morning basket for babies and toddlers. These promote imaginative play and fine motor skills as they use their imaginations to use these toys to occupy this quiet time.
Journal: Setting aside time to reflect and write each day is a fantastic morning basket idea. Encourage the whole family to journal during this time.
Play-Doh: Strength the hand muscles and include some sensory activities using Play-Doh for young children. You can also opt for kinetic sand, play foam, or water beads.
Maps: Maps are visually appealing and leave so much room for discussion and learning together as a family!
Small instruments: If this won’t be too distracting for your family, consider adding a small instrument to your morning basket to express art through music.
Seasonal items: Get into the seasons even more with fun items such as faux leaves for fall, seashells for summer, flowers for spring, and snow for winter. Popular retailers such as Target, Walmart, and Michael’s have inexpensive small items each season that you can grab that are fun additions to your morning basket!
Family photos: Almost everyone loves to reflect and look back on old memories. And having a small photo album for a toddler or baby to flip through can help formulate a bond with family members and promote speech through identification!
Camera: Get creative and explore with photography during your morning basket time.
Stickers: There are many educational activities that can be done by adding stickers into your morning basket.
Magna Tiles: With bright colors and endless opportunities for building their own creations; these are a must-have for independent play.
Dry Erase Board: This can be used alongside study or can be used for the creative arts!

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Morning Basket Ideas

While morning baskets can be for any age, older learners such as high schoolers may have more specific interests based on the curriculum they’re studying. So we’re going to highlight some fun theme ideas for the younger learners that can be more generally applied.

In the previous section, you’ll see several low-cost, versatile options to include in your morning basket. If you want to get theme-specific on the items to include in your morning basket, here are several options that you can order from Amazon to supplement what you already have on hand.

Animal Themed Morning Basket Ideas

Summer Themed Morning Basket

Morning Basket Ideas for summer with books, games, puzzles, learning activities pictured.

Fall Themed Morning Basket Ideas

Fall themed morning bin with books, puzzles, games, and learning activities.

Winter Themed Morning Basket Ideas

Winter morning bin theme with puzzles, games, books, and educational activities.

America Themed Morning Basket Ideas

America themed morning bin theme with puzzles, games, books, and learning activities.

If you want to dive deeper into books about America’s heritage, there are so many Pennsylvania books for kids that will enrich your morning basket time on this topic! Or print off some Bill of Rights coloring pages for additional ideas!

Bible Themed Morning Basket Ideas

Bible themed morning activities with puzzles, games, books, and learning activities.

Ocean Themed

Dinosaur Themed

Geography Themed

Geography morning bin theme with books, learning activities, puzzles, and games.

Are you excited to start putting your morning baskets together? These theme ideas are just a starting point. You do not need to collect everything shown in each theme. But the themes should inspire you to create a unique basket that your child will look forward to each day!

For more inspiration with learning at home, don’t miss our article on the Best Subscription Boxes for Kids!

What morning basket are you planning to try first? Let us know in the comments below.

12 Engaging Morning Basket Ideas to Try Today

What is a Morning Basket?

What should you include in your morning basket?