New Morning Time Baskets

We decided it was time for our two older kids, Malachi (8) and Madison (6) to start doing their own Bible reading and prayer time in the mornings. They have watched Matt and I do our morning time for years and wanted to do their own. (Read my three tips for a good morning time here). So we decided to do just that.

To make it fun, we created morning time baskets similar to the one I have. We found cute baskets at Hobby Lobby in the spring shop section. Each basket was $3.99 or less for full price, but we got each one forty percent off! So they were all under $3.

My two littles got to participate too. Each child got to pick out a basket and a journal. My two older kids each grabbed a story Bible too. They have regular Bibles at home, but I wanted them to get an easier version that they could read the stories from. We grabbed these hands-on Bibles pictured below. I absolutely love these Bibles! They are easy to read for my older two. They can pretty much read them by themselves.

Then I grab one and read it to my two littles. Every paragraph or so, there is a little hand. You stop at the hand and do whatever it says. It may be singing a little song, acting like an animal, pretending to be a tree growing, whatever goes with the story. All of my kids enjoy the fun. I can’t say enough good about these Bibles. Plus, they were a really good price. They were less than $15 each.

I have my kids follow a condensed version of what I do for my morning time.

Journaling

1. First, they write down one thing they are thankful for.
2. Then they write down one confession from the day before– something they are asking God’s forgiveness for.
3. Lastly, they write down one thing to pray for. They can write more for any of these, but this gets them started.

Bible Reading

1. They pick a Bible story to read for the day.
2. When they finish, we go through the questions and application section.
3. They write down (in their journal) one thing they learned or can apply for the day.

Finishing Up

1. We then pray and ask God to help them have a good day and apply whatever it is they learned.
2. Then they often choose to draw something in their journal from what they read.
   

   Madison’s journal entry

   

   Malachi’s journal entry

    

It’s a pretty simple system, but they enjoy it. They get a mug of hot chocolate when they are doing their morning time to help make it fun and something they look forward to.

(Note: I threw in a few pieces of candy for a picture for an Easter post I wrote.)

What I Love About Morning Time Baskets

1. Using a basket keeps all the materials needed in one place.
2. It develops consistency and faithfulness in Bible reading and prayer at a young age.
3. It keeps them busy when I am trying to do my own morning time.

I love these morning baskets! They have really helped shape our mornings as a family. Give it a try and see if it doesn’t transform your family’s morning as well!