Keeping the girls entertained in the mornings when I am most productive (with a large coffee) is my main priority all summer, so I started putting together little activities to leave out the night before. And that is the birth story of the morning basket.
The activities do not have to be extravagant or excessive, just simply something that will give me some time int he mornings. Here are things I have gathered for this summers baskets.
Puzzles,
I did a mix of small ones for just Ami and harder ones for the girls to do together. I found some really great ones at the Dollar Store and on Amazon (we have something like this set of 6 great for themes, Ravensburger puzzles is our favorite brand, and the girls love this Disney one, this set is also great, this one on the human body is also really awesome learning and fun)
Coloring books.
Another dollar store specialty, supermarket, amazon has great ones too. My girls LOVE coloring books (these are great to put away for gift bags or playdates, this fashion design one is so cute and love this brown girl coloring book with affirmation)
I spy books are a favorite in my house, and these Highlights ones I found are just great, and I'll pop it in with her magnify glass as a morning activity)
Water Color Set with paper and brushes is such a great morning activity, I find watercolors so easy to clean and great for even the youngest artists.
Sketch book, Notebooks, Journals ( I got them this draw and write summer journal to use every day, will be fun to look back on)
Flash Cards, Pre-K set, this math flash card set for 3- 4th grade, Ami has these sight words which Zoe plays teacher with her,
Workbooks, I posted all of our favorites here. These the girls will have to a few pages of every day in order to ask for earned screen time!
Summer books, we are going to be rotating a few books in them int he morning.
And finally craft and art supplies for different small activities,
I love Michaels for this and found some great ones for curbside pickup,
this pinch bowl,
these paddle boards
these foam stickers! sea foam sticker
So many other summer crafts, and so much cheaper online so make sure you order online and pickup!
If you are worried about a mess, putting down some craft paper, newspaper or an outdoor tablecloth will help!
I also like to have the usual suspects at hand, glue sticks, tape, ribbon, crayons, markers, paper, pencils and erasers. The girls also have access to their other art supplies ( a kit like this is a great way to start or if your looking for something organized for you this one is awesome, and a great way to give kiddos creative freedom which I have a lot to say about but will leave for another post! hahaha!)
Now onto how I am actually planning for the mornings.
I keep everything I've found in a large bin in my room not giving them access keeps these activities fresh, it's the same idea as rotating toys. And every night I will stock their basket with some paper, their summer journal, few workbook pages, a couple books, and then something they can create (like an actual directed craft which I have been collecting on Pinterest, or just some materials for them to get creative!).
I will also print out and laminate this checklist so they can keep track of what they have to complete before asking for screen time. It may take a week of sticking to it but it does work.
My hope in these baskets is obviously to keep them entertained, but it's also to help retain what they have learned this year, and keep the learning fresh! And if your kids aren't school age this may be an incredible way to start a routine, and start some learning.
Both of the girls did mama school Pre-K (Ami will be home with me again this year) so it was important that on top of a lot of play we also do a lot of pre-reading, pre-writing, pre-math work with play and activities. I am also very lucky that both girls LOVE workbooks and love playing school!
PINTEREST Board with Morning Basket activity ideas!
Blog post on how I plan out themes and activities (I love having a theme during the week! we are learning all about the US States this week with puzzles and a coloring table cloth)
I am going to share more about my thoughts on giving access to certain supplies to kids (changes for age group) and how it's really influenced my girls to create with no boundaries. But I thought that by sharing these basket ideas on this rainy Saturday, you could start to plan for your days next week too!
Happy Fourth of July weekend!
xoxo
Natalie
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