Looking for a new homeschool organizing system? You will love these Homeschool Workboxes with free printable labels!
The idea of homeschooling multiple children seemed like an impossible task - until I discovered homeschool workboxes, and the impossible seemed possible!
Workboxes taught my kids to work independently. It was a breakthrough in my homeschool.
Since we started using a simple workbox crate system in our homeschool, our days are so much better!
The idea of homeschooling multiple children seemed like an impossible task - until I discovered homeschool workboxes, and the impossible seemed possible!
Here's how you can use homeschool workboxes to get organized, make lesson planning a breeze, and teach your kids to work independently.
Kindergarten workboxes and how they work for us in our small homeschool space!
I wrote about how I am a workbox system dropout. However, I was able to take some of the principles behind this system and create my own organizational system. Here's how I organize our homeschool…
The workbox system is a way of organizing and planning your homeschool day to make your days run smoother. Come take a look at how it is set up!
We're using work boxes next year. Here's the planner I made to help me fill the boxes. The PDF includes both a 10-box "sin...
Workboxes are what keep us sane while homeschooling! They give all of us independence and allows my to work one on one with each boy as needed. I don't have to spend hours reminding and nagging about what to do next. Workboxes can be used with any curriculum! We are in our 5th year of homeschooling, using My Father's World Curriculum. My twins are in 4th grade, and we are on Creation to The Greeks in the MFW family cycle. You can see below how we use workboxes this year. OUR HOMESCHOOL ROOM We moved our homeschool room out of the basement, we needed the sun!!! The left 3 cubes are for school books & Bibles. My teacher binder is stored on top of shelf. I store our student sheets by week in a hanging binder. OUR DAILY ROUTINE Together Time We sit on our couch, or do experiments in the kitchen for most of the together time subjects. If one of these subjects has a notebook page, I send the boys to their desk to finish it, then it is stored in their History workbox. History Reading, Activities, & Note booking Science & experiments Root Words Cuneiform Writing in Sugar Cookie dough, during History Together Time Workboxes We use a 10-Drawer Organizer Cart for our workboxes. They have lasted for 3 years, and we love them. In years past, I have put a tag into each workbox to tell the boys what to do but this I wanted a more streamlined approach. We now have been using one daily agenda board (pictured below). They now function as storage for each child's notebooks & past work, and direction on the order in which they should do each subject. Each child has their subjects in different order to allow one-on-one time with Mom during Math and Language Arts. *Specific assignment is written on agenda white board 1. History-this box is where they store their completed student sheets and History notebook, done during together time 2. Root Words- We use a worksheet for derivative sentences, found in CttG facebook page file section. 3. English- Language Lessons for Today, Grade 4- Do with Mom 4. Art- Draw and Write Through History * We use this instead of recommended art of God and History, it allows more independent art time. Click link for printable schedule. 5. Spelling- Spelling By Sound and Structure Grade 4 * We choose this curriculum instead of because it is more independent work than suggested Spelling Power. There is also a TEN MINUTE BREAK card, usually in Box 5. 6. Writing- Writing Stands, Level 3* 7. Math-Math U See* -Do with Mom 8. Typing- We use Typing.com. Each boys does 3 to 5 screens a day. 9. Spanish- DuoLingo for now, but adding Rosetta Stone soon. 10. Piano- We use Hoffman Academy, if there is a video to watch, it is on the Agenda Board. I they have a music worksheet to do, it is in their box. Individual Time Reading- Read for at least 20 minutes from Book Basket. My kids are book worms, so I don't have to remind them much to read, but I do check to make sure they are reading from Book Basket. Daily Chores-All chores must be done before screen time Read-Alouds are done as Bedtime story with Dad You might be interested in my other Posts: First Day of School Scavenger Hunt MFW Resources Thank you for using affiliate links, you keep this site open at not extra cost to you!
The idea of homeschooling multiple children seemed like an impossible task - until I discovered homeschool workboxes, and the impossible seemed possible!
If you think the workbox system for homeschool organization could never work for you because you have a large family or live in a small house, think again!
My Homeschool offers a knowledge-rich Australian homeschool curriculum inspired by Charlotte Mason. We make homeschool easy. Online platform for Grades K -10.
For more how we use our Second Grade Curriculum , see this post. See more organization tips in this post on how we set up our Homeschool Room. The biggest change from our first grade routine to second grade routine was the addition of work-boxes. Workboxes do not necessarily mean all the work is independent , just that the twins work at their own pace. The staggering of the subjects enables me to teach one-on-one subjects easily; I can work with one child on Math, while the other is independently reading or drawing. Calendar & Agenda Our Agenda & Information for calendar (box 1) is written on a Dry Erase board. Work-boxes The first boxes usually stay at the top for both boys, because they have some of our together time subjects (History and Bible). The other subjects move depending on how I need to stagger one-on-one subjects. We use a 10-Drawer Organizer Cart, and it works great. I try to fill the boxes for the following day at the end of each school morning, but sometimes I end up doing it the morning before school. The 5 extra minutes it takes to fill the boxes saves me priceless time and headaches later. Instead of moving numbers to show which box they have finished, the boys know what box they are on by just keeping their current drawer open. As you can see below, one boy is on box four, and the other on six. The organizers on top, from Dollar Tree, hold some of the materials they might need throughout the morning. The rest of their materials are in a pencil box at their seat (crayons, markers, pencils, etc). If any subject needs paper, I put it in the box. Box 1- Calendar The first box includes Calendar and Days in School pages inside of a plastic (for Dry Erase Markers), printable from Confessions of a Homeschooler.. Box 2- Bible The boys practice or copy their memory verse. If they have Awana work, they do it then. Again I used a plastic sheets to make the memory verse sheet in a dry erase page. The only downfall of these drawers is they can barely fit a small 1 inch binder. Box 3 History MFW Adventures in US History. We usually do our History together, reading about booked together on the couch before we start workboxes. If there is a student sheet for the day, I put it in the History working. The boys usually do Bible and Calendar at the same time/pace, so we do our student sheets together. Box 4 English. Language Lessons for Today, Grade 2. The twins use the same English book, so instead of putting the actual book in their box, I put a dry erase page that tells them what lesson to do, and if they need to do it with me. The boys retrieve their English book from the shelf next to the work-boxes, and work with me if indicated. I also include any materials they may need for that lesson. Box 5 Break and Snack Each boy can get a snack and then take a 10 minute break. If you are really goo, you can put a snack in this box. I just have them get one from designated snack cabinet. I love that they have to set their own timer, and get back to work when they are done. Box 6 Math We use Math-U-See DVD curriculum. Box 7 Spelling Spelling by Sound and Structure has a few days of independent work in their workbook, then a test at the end of the week. I included a blank piece of paper at the end of the week in their work box. Box 8 Reading Sometimes the boys must read from the book basket, sometimes it is free reading, and sometimes I put a book I want them to try in their box. Box 9 Activity This box can vary greatly from day to day. This particular day, one of the boys needed help with some drill practice on top of his regular math page. Recently we added free piano lessons with Hoffman Academy, so it has included a note that says "Piano Practice". Box 10 Art At the beginning of the year, we had did all the A-Z "I can Draw" activity pages recommended by My Father's World. Sometimes we use our 'Draw Write Now' Page for Art or Activity, depending on the amount of handwriting they have already done that day. Sometimes Art box is just a blank piece of paper and a note saying "Have fun!"
Workboxes have been a great addition to our homeschool. This is a detailed description with examples of how we use them.
Find great homeschool storage ideas to help you get and stay organized in your homeschool so you have less stress.
The idea of homeschooling multiple children seemed like an impossible task - until I discovered homeschool workboxes, and the impossible seemed possible!
The idea of homeschooling multiple children seemed like an impossible task - until I discovered homeschool workboxes, and the impossible seemed possible!
My fuss free ideas for homeschool record keeping. Making it simple is my goal. It includes: timetables, reports and combining grades.
Hi friends! I wanted to share a peek at how we organize our main curriculum (language arts and math at the moment). I went with handled storage containers because they keep everything in one place, are easy to carry around the house to whichever room or outside, and have a tray for small manipulatives/parts that
A couple of months ago I started reading about Sue Patricks workbox system, it seemed like a good system for me to tweak and use in our classroom. I wanted it to be an economically friendly idea, s…
Since we started using a simple workbox crate system in our homeschool, our days are so much better!
My son's workboxes "Do you still use workboxes?" That's a common--and excellent question to ask. I've read a lot of blogs on workboxing over the three plus years that we have used them--I always like to see pictures and read descriptions of how people are using their systems! The people who stick with it found a way to mesh the system with their way of home schooling. It seems like a common reason for giving up is because someone tries to completely change the way they home school to fit the system. If you are thinking about starting a workbox system for your kids, I suggest using what works for you first, and gradually trying some new ideas, rather than a quick and sudden overhaul that leaves you exhausted and giving up a month later. Do older students like workboxes? Mine are 15 and 13, and they still like the system. Here's a link to my original post on workboxes. I thought I'd share some of the ways I've tweaked the system to work for us. My daughter's workboxes One thing I realized early on...my kids didn't want "fun" things added to their day. They didn't think the things were fun, they thought they just made their day longer, so that didn't work as an incentive. They also didn't like to be surprised or to have boxes out of order, so I actually label our drawers. (I also let them have input on the order). I no longer use a separate box for them to turn in their work. I found that we were all better organized if they simply returned everything to the drawer before putting up their sticker. (Last year I updated the stickers, got rid of the old ones with pictures, and changed to a round style--my son saw a friend who had round stickers, and he thought they looked more professional!) This has greatly simplified the system for me. No trying to think up what to put in boxes, no loading them each night (things that burn some people out on workboxes)--the drawers are ready to go as is, and if I get sick, no one has to guess what the system is or look for some kind of master list--the kids can get up and get to work on most things without me. I think if I had started with younger kids, I would have enjoyed mixing things up with fun crafts and so on, but my older kids want to get to business and choose their own "fun" activities. Each night (or sometimes in the morning before school), I check their work and record what they did in my teacher binder. I also added another row to their progress charts so that I can include their weekly "Family Service." I made a sticker for each of these chores and put them on top of the workboxes. They add these to their progress chart whenever they do them, and leave them up for the week. I let them manage their time, so long as all of the chores are done each week. My daughter, always the crafty one, needs her scissors handy, and you can also see a magnifying glass sticking out under her progress chart. She's the resident detective. I added a top drawer for a few supplies, and to have a place for daily stickers that don't need or wouldn't fit in a drawer--practicing their instruments, making their beds, exercising, and taking out the garbage or recycling. My daughter's #1 drawer (which still needs a label!) is a "Time with Mom" drawer, where I put any of the previous day's work that we need to go over. After we do that, she simply puts those books back in their respective drawers, and starts her day. She keeps her Bible in the top "supply" drawer, but doesn't put a sticker up for that. My son prefers not to have a separate drawer for "Time with Mom" any more, and just comes to me with the work he knows we'll need to discuss. When he started high school last year, I found that our time was getting longer and felt it was more fair to him to schedule things like longer history discussions into his actual history time. We spent enough time on history last year for 1.5-2 credits! So I make sure longer discussions no longer derail the day but count as part of his work. This helps me not to be such an over-achieving home school mom, trying to squeeze in one more thing! The boxes help my kids know what to expect each day, and help them efficiently use their time. They keep their items well-organized, and we seldom have missing books due to our rule that they can't put the sticker up (marking a subject as "done") without returning all of the supplies. It's simple, yet effective. Having a very visual organizational system is helpful for anyone who might struggle with losing things, and yet I find this flexible enough to be creative in our schooling. My kids can work on a project or experiment, read outside, and manage their own time--this just helps us keep on track, not forget to do things, and not lose things! If I want to schedule only a half day, I only put some stickers up. If they want to write in their science journal for Language Arts time, I can make that switch. The system hasn't changed us so much as it has made us more efficient and effective in what we do. I also like that it allows me to clearly see how to organize my day--both kids can't use the computer at the same time, or work with me at the same time, so I make sure to lay out their boxes in an order that accommodates those needs. My son reads history while I work with my daughter, and so on. One last thing we have changed since I started: location. We no longer school in our kitchen. The only remaining school items in there are a wall map and a cupboard with art supplies. Their boxes are now in our livingroom with all of our home school books. My kids are growing up! sniff... Next time I'll post about what's in each box. How do you use workboxes? Need a template for number circles? Here's the one I made.
