When Chris and I made the decision to homeschool about half way through school last year, I began researching everything homeschooling. I came across countless blogs that referenced something called workboxing and the workbox system. After gleaning all I could for free from the internet and blogs, I purchased Sue Patrick's book from her web site because there were a few things that were still a little unclear to me. I've tweaked her system somewhat and probably will continue to do so, but for right now it's working for us.
So what are workboxes? For us, it's a cart with 10 drawers for each of my kids.
I ordered mine from JoAnn's on-line. Every day, I put my kids daily core subjects in 4-5 of the boxes. The remaining boxes get activities that reinforce core learning, activities that are not done daily, or a fun learning game. For example, today, Dillon only had nine boxes and they contained the following:
1. A Vocab. Skill Builder's Sheet on Antonyms
2. An Apologia, Zoology 1 Vocabulary Crossword puzzle
3. Horizon's Math Lesson
4. Reading Ch. 9 of Where the Red Fern Grows (and some comprehension questions on Ch. 5-9)
5. A Writer's Guide sheet on organizing your writing w/ his writing journal to complete the writing in.
6. Computer Learning Link - Free FunBrain play (since it's Friday)
7. His ABeka Spelling Test
8. Multiplication Fact Drill/Stair Game
9. ABeka Language A Lesson
*The above picture of the boxes was on another day, and does not reflect the 9 boxes listed above.
Some boxes have a work with mom tag on them (usually 3-4 a day). If he comes to one of these, and I am not available, he skips that box and continues to the next one. As he completes the boxes, he removes the tags. This lets both him and me know how much is left for the day.
He will work through these boxes while following his schedule chart.
The great thing about the schedule chart is it allows me to include other activities that we complete together throughout the day, such as our morning studies like Bible and the calendar. I can also include things like a daily snack, clean-up, exercise, or other activity. After lunch, we usually have science or history. (Today, we're having it before lunch because we slept in a little and had a later breakfast.) We have not been using the help buttons at the top of the schedule chart yet. They are meant to be used when they have a question on something that is not a "work with mom" box. They only get two of theses a day. At this point in our schooling, I want to be available to help them freely. We may have to incorporate this later if they are taking advantage of that.
This system is working for us. It lets my kids know exactly what to expect and is fostering independence. It also keeps me well prepared and more creative in my teaching. Instead of just relying on workbooks to teach the core subjects, I am challenged to create and come up with fun activities and games to enhance what they are learning.
Hope I haven't just managed to confuse you. Please feel free to ask me any questions that you have. I'm also including a link to some of the wonderful blogs that were helpful to me as I was getting started.
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