Advent and Christmas are my favorite seasons in the liturgical calendar, and in our homeschool year. Each year, I look forward to carving out time in our regular school rhythm for a slower, more intentional approach to Advent. My homeschool-mom friends and I are already exchanging ideas for read-alouds, crafts, and countdowns.
We're already filled with the joyful anticipation of the season.
Our Advent Homeschool Morning Basket
Once Advent arrives, I try to orient as much as I can in our schoolwork toward Advent and the themes of the season. This works especially well in our morning basket.
For us, in this season of schooling, our morning basket includes everything that's not phonics and math. Our morning basket consists of our prayer time, Scripture, memory work, copywork, loop subjects (subjects we don't do every day like history, picture study, and geography), and chapter and picture books.
Here's our Advent lineup this year for morning basket:
- Memory Verse // "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." -John 1:14
- Hymn // Each day, we will sing "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" as we light our Advent candles. I like to assemble a playlist on Spotify with various renditions of the hymn to listen to throughout our days.
- Memory Poem // We will be memorizing "A Christmas Carol" by G.K. Chesterton. This poem makes me cry, and can be found in The Harp and Laurel Wreath.
- Catechism Song // We're learning a song about the Incarnation, including the four reasons for the Incarnation.
- Composer // This term, we're studying Handel, and during Advent we will be listening to his Christmas favorite, Messiah, and we will watch it performed on YouTube.
What I'm most looking forward to using in our Advent homeschool morning basket is Maranatha for Kids.
How We're Using Maranatha for Kids
Maranatha for Kids is perfectly suited for morning time. I cannot wait to use it!
My kids are still pretty young, and I don't yet have a completely independent reader. If I did, I would invite the kids to use this in their morning prayer time. Right now, my kids have their morning prayer time in conjunction with mine, which mostly consists of them looking through their Bibles and coloring in their "prayer journals." But if you have a child(ren) who like to read on their own, Maranatha for Kids would be perfect for their prayer time (while you pray with Maranatha!).
How It's Set Up
In Maranatha for Kids, each week we will:
- Read three Scripture selections that show how Jesus was a part of God's plan to save us from the very beginning,
- Discuss the questions provided,
- Color the pages to help us contemplate the coming of Christ, and
- Engage in a fun and prayerful activity.
My oldest will be drawn to the Scripture stories and reflection questions, and my middle will absolutely love coloring.
Additionally, there are spaces where the children are prompted to re-write verses that we read together; on those days, that will be their copywork.
Preparing Our Hearts and the Hearts of Our Children
Advent is such a gift to our Church, our hearts, and our families. If you're hoping to slow down and savor this season in your homeschool, check out Maranatha for Kids to help you immerse your children in Scripture, prepare their hearts for the coming of Jesus, and enrich your time together by learning about our beautiful Faith.
P.S. You can bundle Maranatha for you and Maranatha for Kids for a discount!
Will you be using Maranatha for Kids in your Advent homeschool morning basket?!
Our Advent Homeschool Morning Basket with Maranatha #BISblog //Click to tweet
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Olivia Spears lives in Kentucky, where sweet tea and bourbon flow like milk and honey. She holds degrees in Theology and Catechetics from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and works from home while enjoying her children and husband. She curates relevant and inspiring content for Catholic women as Blog Manager. She is the narrator of Set a Fire, And Hay Became Holy, and All She Had as well as a contributing author for Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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