You’re excited and ready to jump into homeschooling your preschooler! This is likely the first time you’ll be doing any “formal” education with this child. The best way to start your day is with a preschool morning basket.
Morning basket time (aka circle time) is simply a special time to come together in the mornings and get your day started on the right track. It creates a chance for connection and sets the tone for the day.
What To Include in Preschool Morning Basket Time
A preschool morning basket time is made up of 3 essential elements.
- Daily Calendar Time
- Mindfulness & Emotional Intelligence
- Seasonal Books
Rhythms of the Year Preschool Curriculum
Click here to learn more about our Rhythms of the Year Preschool Curriculum that includes preschool morning basket time plans!
Daily Calendar Time
Preschool is the perfect time to teach kids all about the calendar! Learn the days of the week, months, seasons, and holidays. There are fun songs you sing with them, and you should have a calendar available for them to see.
Each day change the calendar and discuss all of the elements on it. You should also include a discussion of the weather during this time. Have them look and feel outside and you can show them the weather app on your phone and discuss that with them!
I’ve made a free printable to use during this time! Sign up below, download and print, then laminate it! Want to know more about it first? Read about the Daily Calendar Time Printable here!
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Mindfulness & Emotional Intelligence
Preschool is the perfect time to start teaching your kids about emotions and how to identify and process their own emotions through mindfulness techniques.
There are some wonderful books and other resources that I highly suggest using to help you teach this to your kids.
Mindfulness Resources
Choose 1 or multiple mindfulness resources listed below. We have Breathe Like a Bear and really enjoy using it. After calendar time, we always do an exercise from it.
Starting your morning basket time together with a mindfulness exercise will help everyone get focussed and ready.
Emotional Intelligence Resources
Use a few different books throughout the year to learn about emotions. These books will help your kids gain the vocabulary to describe their emotions and help them identify which emotion they are feeling.
I also highly recommend getting the Feelings in a Flash cards as they lead to great discussion and give kids ways to address their feelings.
Giving your kids the tools and resources to identify, acknowledge, and cope with their feelings will go a long way in your homeschool journey! This is the first step to building character because kids have to first know how to take care of themselves before they will fully appreciate how they are treating others.
I highly recommend also watching related episodes of Daniel Tiger on PBS Kids. This show does a wonderful job of teaching emotional intelligence to young kids!
Seasonal Books
The last element of a great preschool morning basket time is a focus on the season! Reading books about the season is both grounding and awe inspiring. Teaching kids about the seasonal changes in the natural world bring a sense of wonder and curiosity. This is also a great way to start cultivating your family traditions that are based around the seasons and holidays!
You should start a seasonal book rotation. Have books that are specific to each season that you only have out and available to read during that season.
- Need help getting started? Check out these posts:
Don’t forget to utilize the library to find more seasonal books!
As a bonus, you can also include seasonal poetry! One of my favorite ways to do this during preschool morning basket time is to use Sing a Song of Seasons, a poetry book with 1 poem for every day of the year! It’s beautiful and perfect for reading 1 poem every morning with your kids!
Preschool Morning Basket Time
Your preschool morning basket time shouldn’t take too long. Aim for 30 minutes or less. You can start it while your kids eat breakfast, and it’s always a good idea to give little hands something to do while you’re reading to them! Give them legos, play dough, kinetic sand, or coloring supplies.
You can always add music and movement activities to your morning time as well!
Enjoy this time with your preschool kids and continue the morning basket time tradition as they grow!
If you’re looking for a guided preschool morning basket time, with seasonal themes, plus playful learning, STEM, and art then I’ve got the preschool curriculum for you. Learn more about Rhythms of the Year Preschool Curriculum here!
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