I had several friends who had made their own system of organized boxes in some way or another so I did what any homeschool mom would do. I went straight over to their house and picked their brains. Over coffee, of course.
I wanted to see what was working for them. I wanted to hear about what was not. I finally settled on what I thought (hoped) might work for us and for once (!) I made the right decision the first time. It's been several years since we started using these and oh my goodness have they changed our lives.
Check out the video and then we'll talk (should I get the coffee ready?)
Cool, right?
Just a few of the things that this changed for us:
1. The boys completely stopped asking awesome questions like "Do we have to do school today?" and "How much more school do I have to doooo??" and my personal favorite statement "Ughhh!! Grrrr!!" Actually any of those might have been me.
2. As I mentioned in the video, there was a constant begging for food and breaks. Seriously, being a mom who might start school at 9am and be done by noon - this is no sweat shop that I'm running here. I think they were just trying to distract me. Sneaky little guys.
3. We start our day on track and finish on time. Also, we now do school everyday. Weird, right?
4. If you or your kids are list-checker-offer-lovers, this will get both of you excited. Who doesn't like some accomplishment every day?
* One thing I didn't mention in the video was the fact that all of the schedule strips and number circles on the box fronts have been laminated (you have to get one!) and have Velcro circles on the backs. I'm pretty sure they'll last forever.
Disclaimer:
There are ELEVENTY MILLION GAJILLION different ways to do this. Make it work for you! Would you rather use clear shoe boxes on a bookshelf? Pocket files in a 3-ring binder? I've seen it all. There is no right way, only a right way for your family.
Oh, and the website that I mentioned for the cute graphics? Right here. Tell my sweet friend Jolanthe that I sent you over and that I think she's pretty cool. Or just tell her to bring me coffee. She'll know what you mean.
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11 comments:
You know that I'll bring you coffee, regardless. :) Can I come now?
I love the subtitle of this post, love the embedding of a video in it and thanks for teaching me how to correctly pronounce Jolanthe's name (I had it all wrong). :-)
We use a version of a schedule strip, too, and as soon as my toddler stops dumping all the drawers and boxes in my house, I will be getting us some of these drawer carts. Can't wait! ~Julie
So how actually do you "teach" them their lessons if everything is done on their own in a numbered box? Is each subject something they've already been taught and the boxes are just reviews? or how does this work?
Lin
Loved watching your cute video and hearing your cute voice! I'm in love with coffee too :)
Also, I adore your blog name!!!!! and your signature!!! :)
Thanks for sharing your workbox tips with all of us - I'm getting ours started and researching what will be the best way for us! :)
@Jolanthe - Yes! Come immediately. Bring Carissa! :)
@Julie & @Theresa - Thanks for your sweet comments! Julie, good luck with the toddler. Yes, the drawer dumping will stop one day. :) Theresa, thank you so much. There are so many great ways...you're bound to find the one that's a perfect fit for your family.
@Lin - It's going to work differently for each child and each curriculum. You may decide (especially if the child is younger) to sit with them for each box for one on one learning. As they get older, you will be able to explain the lesson and then have them work independently. There are truly no rules - your family, your system! :)
Just stumbled on your blog *scratching head* don't remember how though. We follow a very relaxed version of workboxes, like every kids gets a drawer relaxed. I just don't want to fill my super new classroom with 6 systems, so we do it this way. So far, so good. Your blog is super adorable, I am your newest follower! I have a tree on my blog too!
@Sam - LOVE your blog. Very sweet and great pictures. I know you're blessed with all of those sweet kids! :) Love that you've adapted the system to work for you. To me, that's the best part. :)
Love this post! We have been using our crazy version of workboxes for awhile now and geez adding snacks would save me a lot of whining! Between it all I'm desperately trying to share our experiences and your blog is such an inspiration!
Bring on the coffee!
-Christina
www.treehugginmomma.blogspot.com
Thanks Christina!! Raising my cup of coffee to you. :)
Amanda,
Having met you IRL, I can so see you doing all that it would take to set this up! You love that attention to detail, lol!
Just curious, doesn't this take quite a bit of prep on your part? Getting the drawers all set up each day?
The concept is awesome, but like you said, each family needs to work it in their own way.
One thing that I love about this is that it is all in one place. I rembember, once upon a time, having stuff scattered. We ended up with a shelving unit and each child had a shelf with a plastic box. They knew they could grab their box and take it wherever and do their school.
Makes me miss homeschooling...
Bernice
Actually, the prep is exactly the same. I'm not preparing any additional school that I wouldn't already be preparing. The difference (and the time saver) is that I don't have to pull it all out one subject at a time while the kids wait on me. I'd estimate that I spend about 5-10 minutes each day filling the drawers. (That doesn't include normal lesson planning). Worth every second for such a smooth day!
Bonus: Nothing is scattered because everything we need for the day is tidy in the drawers.
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