Christian resources for your homeschool Morning Basket

If you aren't familiar with the term morning basket, it's my very favorite part of homeschool. This is where you curl up with your kids and some good books of all different subjects, some of which are not your traditional subjects. We've read books on home ec, life skills, and communication skills, for example. None of those subjects are of great interest to my children for an entire elective but they're important enough to me that I wanted to incorporate the information into their education. We've used vocabulary word books/cards, poetry books, you name it. I could list all kinds of secular resources but I wanted to specifically focus today on the Christian resources we've used. 

First, of course, fiction read-alouds! There are lots of great ones in my middle grade book lists. 

Atlas Adventures... This is a really fun social studies/geography resource. We just read about one country at a time, usually one or two a week, and usually had things to look up and learn more about afterwards. I appreciated learning about each country's languages, religions, nature, food, clothing, inspiring religious figures, and more. 

Bible storybooks/ the Bible itself as they got older... This one doesn't need any explanation but it looks silly to not format it the same way as the others =D

Everyone a Child Should Know... We loved this book of I think 50 Christian heroes. I think we probably read two or three a week until we had finished it. Each one is just about a page, very short-but-sweet, so we didn't get a huge overview but I read this one to my kids when they were little and this was about all they could handle anyway. 

Heroes in Black History... I have enjoyed a few of the Trailblazers books by Dave & Neta Jackson and enjoyed this one, too. This was a great read in February (Black history month) but it was a lot longer and more in-depth than the previous book so probably needs to be for more of that middle grade range. 

Hymns... These are a great thing to memorize and study together. 

Indescribable, How Great is Our God, and The Wonder of Creation... My kids and I loved these science devotions! I can't tell you how many times we ended up researching something more because Louie Giglio wrote about it in a way that just fascinated and inspired us. We have read straight-through at times and we've also cherry-picked the subjects that matched our current science unit lessons.   

Marvel at the Moon... I'm not personally very into space science (human anatomy is my personal passion subject) but I still enjoyed this book of devotions centered around space science. 

Missionary biographies... After learning that Sonlight incorporates so much of this into their school I was inspired to do the same. Some of these have been more interesting to my kids than others and we certainly haven't read all of them. We've also enjoyed a few from the Trail Blazers series. 

Not Consumed Bible studies... A friend of mine told us about their favorite Bible study company having a holiday sale so we tried the Christmas hymn Bible study and loved it! Now we're fans and I have so many of their studies on our wish list!  

Soaring Through the Bible... This is a fantastic resource for understanding Bible basics, broken down by chapter. I have been learning a lot, too. In spite of an entire lifetime growing up in the church I felt like I understood so little about the Bible itself (and the history during the time periods in each book) and thought this would be good to do together. I still have a lot to learn (and probably always will!) but I at least know more than I did before we started it! 

The Ology... This is a good, basic breakdown of theology. Something I really appreciated about this one is the fact that it's so easily geared toward multiple age groups. There's a basic start with extra scripture for older kids to look up and study further. 

Where Wonder Leads... This has been our most recent delight! I wrote about this one more here but it's a fantastic nature study written in story form. I immediately added it to our morning basket and it's been just the hit I suspected it would be <3 

Bookish stuff, lately

I just wanted to share a bunch of really random bookish things that have been hanging around in my phone recently. 

I reviewed Where Wonder Leads recently but I wanted to say I've been reading it with my kids as part of our morning basket routine (nature study) and it's been such a hit! Not so much with my young teenage son, admittedly, but my girls are fans. 

 

Cute, spotted at Walmart 

Also cute, also spotted at Walmart 

 

Why am I so obsessed with dollhouse miniatures? This one is an advent calendar. Every day before Christmas you open up a new mini book for your dollhouse! Fun, but not something I need. Or that anyone needs, technically. 

Living in my car most afternoons right now, in that season with older kids and their activities. On this particular day I finished my grading/prepwork for the next day's school early and it was so dreamy to just sit and savor a couple of chapters of Lightborn while the rain fell! 

And, on this day, I snuck in another chapter of Lightborn while eating my rushed 3pm car lunch (pineapple-mango smoothie, avocado toast with hemp hearts and Everything Bagel seasoning, and these tasty little protein bites I ate too fast to photograph) before tackling that bag of school grading/prepwork you see in the bag. =] 

Cute bookish stickers found in a printing store

Bookish links- November 2026

 

November new releases I'm excited about: Clothed in the Word 

16 easy Thanksgiving living room decor ideas for book lovers 

Are you a mug person? I have a few and that's already more than I need. I try not to buy any more, but I still enjoy looking at them! Bookish autumn mugs that make me smile: Reading window // All booked for fall // window nook // book pumpkin // autumn book stack 

If you have a Facebook account, will you please follow our Homeschool Finance page? And, if you're so inclined, please also share it with family and friends! 

Intense (devastating) Christian fiction recommendations 

Autumn Christian fiction I've read, autumn picture books I love 

If you haven't already watched Little House on the Prairie but want to, this watch party post has a couple of cute ideas. 

Cozy autumn bookworm shirt 

10 cozy Christian romances perfect for fall reading 

Another of Amy's sister coffee shop + bookstore date posts- these always make me smile! 

This Little Red Riding Hood play set made me smile. 

Look at this adorable bookish luminary decoration! There's a Christmas version, too! 

Are board books a tool or a toy? (Full video here) 

What happens when I die? Resources on eternity 

I'm still having fun making the occasional bookish YouTube short if you're a fan of shorts! 

I used my Tyndale Reader Reward Points (We both get 15 points if you sign up using my link) to get a free copy of Elsewhere in Odyssey this month. I have been using this program since 2018 and have gotten 12 free books from the program in general now, plus recently won four more in a giveaway they held!  

14 tips for when your child reads TOO much

Have you ever heard of a silent book club? The idea is interesting. I've been invited to one before. I politely declined and thought to my introverted little self, "If I'm just going to be reading silently, I'd rather do it at home in my pajamas and not have to talk to any strangers about it afterwards" :D But I do absolutely love my in-person book club through my church! 

We've got a new post up on our finance curriculum site which I think will be very helpful not just to homeschool families but honestly to any family! I wish I'd had more of this education before I moved out and started my own financial life! It was also be very helpful if you'd pin this pin =] 

Popular young adult books from a Christian point of view (I have not read all of these and the ones I have read were so long ago that I truly can't confirm either way) 

I read and loved Imagine Heaven and The Case for Heaven for Kids a while back. My husband and I watched The Case for Heaven one weekend and really enjoyed it! 

I've read several fantastic articles from For the Gospel this month and can't help but want to share it! I found it by Googling something I didn't understand from one of our Sunday sermons this month and now I'll always check there if I don't understand something! 

Have you ever felt conflicted about reading/watching Harry Potter as a Christian? Here are just two of many opinions. 

Christian graphic novels! 

Holiday homeschooling- adding curriculum to the mix 

Non-book things I loved in October: fall leaves! // this 100% cotton duster cardigan- I have it in navy but wear it so often I'll probably get another color as my next clothing purchase // this creamy wild rice soup my daughter and I made (I thought it tasted best when I sprinkled cayenne on my bowl after it was already cooked but our friends added sausage to theirs and really liked that, too) and we all enjoyed and this 5-minute lasagna (5min to prep, not to bake ;)) that delighted me because I love lasagna but hate standing there layering it // House of David again because we finished season 2! Now we're watching (and loving) The Chosen, season 3 // Helping my girls turn a pair of ripped up jeans into a denim skirt and then a different pair into a purse! 

Lightborn: Dawn of Darkness

I've finally finished a 548 page Biblical fantasy, Lightborn: Dawn of Darkness. This is book 1 of The Forgotten World Saga. 

I have been very interested in the pre-flood world for several years now. Nephilim, behemoth, Leviathan (although some of those survived the flood)... it's all very fascinating to me. 

This book is a fantasy, which is not my usual go-to, but the time period interested me enough that I wanted to give it a chance. I expected an average 300-ish page book and was almost disappointed to see that it was so long, since it's fantasy, but ended up being just fine with that. 

This book is primarily for adults but, per the publisher, could also work well for teens. I do agree with that but would like to caution parents to decide for themselves as there is of course some fantasy violence (though nothing graphically gory that I recall) and there is mention of a slave woman being forced into life as a concubine, as well as a bit of talk about fallen angels mating with human women to create the Nephilim race (again, nothing graphic is depicted). 

If the pre-flood world has ever interested you, if you are a fan of fantasy, and if you like Biblical fiction (you'll see Adam, Seth, Enoch, Methuselah and more!), I would definitely give this one a try. I'll be reading book 2 when that comes out, too. 

* I received a free copy of Lightborn from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. 

David and Goliath

My husband recently read a great passage about David in Disciplines of a Godly Man (which he loved and repeatedly recommends) with interesting timing since we'd just watched a children's movie on David. We were talking about David a lot and I thought I'd share a list here of resources we've enjoyed regarding David. 

Bible- 1 and 2 Samuel and Psalms 

David (children's animated movie)... We all really enjoyed this one. The animation and music was comparable with Disney/Dreamworks quality (and quite catchy) and we all look forward to sharing this one with some other kids in our lives in the future. 

Dominion (YA, graphic novels)... These are more focused on Saul but the gang's all there... as lions. In space. It probably sounds crazy but it was a hit with my teen. 

Goliath Must Fall (and young readers edition) (nonfiction)... This is a Christian nonfiction book written to help and inspire you to overcome the giants in your life and uses the David and Goliath illustration to help explain the message. It's not at all a complete study on David, just a good Christian living book that talks about David. 

House of David (television series, for adults)... We have watched the first two seasons (and plan to watch the third when it comes out) and are so impressed! There is definitely violence to be aware of, as well as plenty of other sin, but we have seen much worse in the secular shows/movies we always used to watch so we can handle it. I'm a pretty sensitive reader/viewer and have been able to handle this so far. 

Imagination Station, book 5 (Showdown With the Shepherd) (chapter book, Biblical fiction)... We love this series for the 2nd/3rd grade crowd. My oldest three re-read it many times and now my fourth is enjoying it, too. I do recommend starting with book 1, however, to understand just what exactly is going on outside of the David & Goliath story. 

Imagine series: The Giant's Fall (middle grade, Biblical fiction)... This middle grade series is geared more toward the younger side, maybe advanced third graders through fifth graders (roughly... you know your children better than I do!) and each one features a different child being catapulted through time to witness a Biblical event in person. We liked the whole series. 

Songs of a Warrior (middle grade, Biblical fiction)... This is a really powerful fictionalized version of the story that really brought it all to life for my son around 6th grade. This author has also written a version of the Nativity story, which we loved, and a Ruth novel which I look forward to reading at some point!