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Please share pictures of your workboxes!


CalicoKat
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I'm getting started on this but am overwhelmed with the idea of 60 shoe boxes daily. Not to mention the $291 cost just to buy the rack and boxes for my kids.

 

I have surfed through some prior threads and heard mentio of magazine boxes, 12 drawer plastics rolling carts (where do you buy those?), file folders, hanging file folder systems on the wall.

 

Do you mind sharing? A blog link perhaps to your inspiration or your very own creation?

 

Thanks!

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There was a previous post just a week or two ago with a wonderful link to pictures, etc...and links to the blogs of families who have implemented this idea:

 

http://docs.google.com/View?docID=dwstdgn_447mphsmf8&revision=_latest (corrected the link, should work now)

 

I used the drawers on roller idea...I only have 8....which works for us! I just bought a 7 roller cart at Wal-mart and added another drawer.

 

Works amazingly...I am definitely saving my vocal chords (no more constant reminders, telling them what to grab next)! Wonderful idea! As one poster mentioned in another post...it is too bad I didn't think of this idea! With the rollers, I'm able to place them in a walk-in closet at the end of the lessons!

 

Christine

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I'd also love to see some pictures of alternatives. With three kids that I am schooling this year, it is just not feasible space-wise or cost-wise to have a bin for every subject. My thought is to have magazine folder holders for each subject for each child and put those on a bookcase or on our buffet (we school at the dining room table). I'll just label the magazine holders with subject and name of student and that will be sufficient. I think you can find some plain colored (kraft) magazine holders online. Not extremely attractive, but it will be very organized and easy for the kids to grab the next subject. (You could also use the numbering system on these magazine holders just as people are using them on the workboxes or rolling cart methods.)

 

I also plan to have a clipboard for each child and have their daily assignments printed and ready to be checked off as soon as they complete that assignment.

 

Wow, I have lots to do! I just bought Homeschool Tracker Plus today, so I am trying to figure that out as well. :)

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My husband is custom building my workbox system this Saturday. :) Mine is a wooden shelf - about 6ft tall. It will have several vertical shelves and also several horizontal shelves. I will use this for both of my kids and there is going to be plenty of storage space. I could not make the rack and shoe boxes work in my space and besides, I don't like metal racks and plastic boxes too much anyway. ;)

 

I will be more than glad to post a picture once the unit is in place and then again once I get it loaded up with the cards and all.

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Yeah, I was just going to ask. I think I saw a tall tower like that at Office Max the other day?

 

Ooh, a laminator. I have one, but the sheets seem so expensive.

 

Do you think buying Sue Patrick's book is worth it, or just surf blogs with workboxes setup for a week to see what we like the most?

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Where did you buy the drawers? Estimated cost for set up for 1 kid?

 

Those drawers are actually the $10 3-drawer Sterilite boxes (at my Wal-Mart), stacked on top of each other. So that tower is $40 worth of drawers. Well worth it, as far as I'm concerned - I use those drawers for EVERYTHING, so if we ever decided not to do Workboxes for some reason, I'd still be able to use them! The estimated cost would be dependent on how many drawers you wanted for your child. I could easily fill all 12 drawers for one child if I included all the arts, crafts, reading, games, science experiments, and so on, each in their own drawer.

 

Satori, if you have a Sam's Club nearby, you can get a pack of 200 page-size laminating sheets for $20. It's a steal of a deal! I don't have a membership, so I had one of my friends pick one up. I've been having fun laminating the Evan-Moor Take it to Your Seat Centers for use with the workboxes.

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I don't have photos, but I have a tote that fits file folders and 12 file folders. I put an index card into each folder with the assignment along with any papers needed. Big items like books fit behind each folder. If it is a game I just take it out and set it on the counter because it will not fit.

 

We have a small house, so I have no where for 12 boxes or 24 boxes if I were to use the system for both kids. I have the same system for my preschooler, but it needs some work. It mostly worked for me, but I would like something where she can be a bit more independent.

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Click the link a few posts back, that should tell you tons about workboxes, with links to blogs of families using them.

 

I think I just might head down the mountain to check out Sam's Club to pick up the laminating sheets... As for shelves, I have a big warehouse sitting unused full of shelves, bins and drawers so I literally have hundreds to choose from.

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I started out with decorated cereal boxes, but they were too flimsy, and I couldn't put much in them. Then I got these at Walmart. They are wide enough to put anything in, and they don't take up as much room. And for $30 for three sets, you can't beat the price. We love them!!

 

ETA: Just saw Maria is using the same thing!! They work great!

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The thought of all those boxes or drawers, and having to refill them all every night, overwhelms me. It certainly sounds like it can make days go smoother though.

 

That said, this blog has a somewhat different take on it that I'm considering implementing. This seems much more doable for my family, especially considering I'd need a set up for four children (and a fifth in a year or two if it works well). ~ http://freshsqueezedlife.wordpress.com/2009/05/05/workboxes-my-variation-on-a-theme/

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Woot! I just found a very clean white tall rolling drawer thingie with 4 drawers and 3 large drawers. Should be enough for my one little girl, and the larger ones should hold fun stuff to boot.

 

And guess what else I found in the "magical warehouse"? (My customers used to call it that.) A 200 pack of heat-laminated sheets! No trip to Sam's Club needed. Also found glossy label sheets, magnets, velcro, tons of label printers and more. Sometimes being an obsessive office supply/Uline geek comes in handy.

 

The shelf will fit perfectly in our loft closet, so we can roll it in there when we don't want to look at it.

 

Photos to come by the weekend...

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I've got cardboard boxes - about 4" wide and 8" deep or so.....dh has been collecting them for me. I cut off the tops just to test them out - I'm planning on covering them somehow...still working on it.

 

I love the size - they stand nicely on our bookshelf, they hold everything, and they don't bend books.

 

I've got a bunch of cereal boxes collected too, for this purpose...but cereal boxes are much more flimsy. I'm not sure if I'm going to actually use them.

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What a timely question.

 

We've had to tweak to make it our bookshelves. I'm still in mid create stage but I'll be posting pictures this weekend after I have my name tags. We had to use color coded & labeled clear file folder containers & bookshelves.

 

We had the bookshelves, I just had to purge.

I went to Staples and found what I was looking for $9.99. So I went to Target, found the same thing $10.39. Happened to be wandering through the decorative organization stuff and found the same thing with pink & blue lids for......

 

Drum Roll, please.

 

$4.99 each. I wiped them out of the pink lidded ones so Sarah doesn't get one. :tongue_smilie: But, total cost for six? Just under $30 plus tax. The file folders were expensive though. Blech.

 

HOPING for my TOG today so I can start setting up and have REAL pictures for the blog by Monday.

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The thought of all those boxes or drawers, and having to refill them all every night, overwhelms me. It certainly sounds like it can make days go smoother though.

 

For me, I really like built in accountability in everything I do. My biggest weakness is checking work. So this will make it easy for me to take everything out, check everything, and then "re-load."

 

My oldest two will be responsible for loading their own file boxes at night. I'll load up for the 7yo, 5yo, 4yo, and 2yo.

 

The best part about this? Preschool sometimes gets shoved out of the way and if I plan this out, then it always gets done. KWIM?

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The thought of all those boxes or drawers, and having to refill them all every night, overwhelms me. It certainly sounds like it can make days go smoother though.

 

THis is my thought exactly...and although I haven't read through all of the messages yet on this thread...before this one gets away, I wanted to ask:

 

How much time and effort does the parent have to put forth each day to get ready for the next??? I have 3 kids this year starting school and with all of the other household chores, I just needed to know before I jump on this bandwagon. I LOVE the concept and idea...but just how practical is it for me?

 

Kathy

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I got this setup yesterday, and here's my photo as promised. Just the plain old vanilla recommendation. For right now, I can see using 9 boxes. I like the fact that I can take out the boxes as needed. I found a mama who will custom design workbox numbers and schedule for us for just $10, and should have them in a week. :)

 

0906-organizing-002-400x325.jpg

 

If this works out for us, I think I'll buy a slightly larger shelf and more stylish boxes, large enough to hold a textbox/workbook flat.

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With all this workbox discussion, I'm left wondering why would someone buy a box to hold one pair of shoes? Or, why does Sterilite make a shoe drawer? I really do not get it. Shoe racks? Understood. Boxes? Umm... no. If you need a box for your shoes, save a shoebox! They come free with the shoes! Lol, I must be missing something.

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With all this workbox discussion, I'm left wondering why would someone buy a box to hold one pair of shoes? Or, why does Sterilite make a shoe drawer? I really do not get it. Shoe racks? Understood. Boxes? Umm... no. If you need a box for your shoes, save a shoebox! They come free with the shoes! Lol, I must be missing something.

 

With shoe drawers, you can stack them up in the closet and if you need the pair that's on the bottom, you just open the drawer and get them -- as opposed to having to move the 6 or 7 cardboard shoeboxes that are on top of the ones you want. They also keep the dust off; shoes that aren't worn very often get really dusty on shoeracks -- and who wants to be constantly dusting a pair of shoes they wear 2-3 times a year?

 

I admit I'm something of a Sterlite junkie -- my whole walk-in closet is pretty much floor to ceiling Sterlite drawers & boxes. I also use dozens of them in the pantry, utility closet, kids' BR closets, and the homeschool room. Cheap, lightweight, transparent (so you can find what you want without searching in 6 different places) -- what's not to love? :)

 

Jackie

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Thanks for the insight, Jackie. :) We're a no-shoes-in-the-house house, so all the shoes are on shelves by the doors. With the kids tornado-ing in and out, no dust! Although even without shoes they still manage to track quite a lot in...

 

I do love Sterilite, I just never have considered actually using the shoe boxes for shoes. ;)

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I love all of the workboxes threads! Thanks ladies you are full or wisdom and inspiration!

 

I am going to do workboxes when i can afford to buy them. To set up a draw tower for 1 child will cost me AUD$160 here, that is A LOT!! I have been searching for all manner of alternatives but can't seem to find anything cheap that is going to work for my family just yet. Still on the search ...

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My husband is custom building my workbox system this Saturday. :) Mine is a wooden shelf - about 6ft tall. It will have several vertical shelves and also several horizontal shelves. I will use this for both of my kids and there is going to be plenty of storage space. I could not make the rack and shoe boxes work in my space and besides, I don't like metal racks and plastic boxes too much anyway. ;)

 

I will be more than glad to post a picture once the unit is in place and then again once I get it loaded up with the cards and all.

 

 

Here is the first few stages. I designed the shelf with the top cubbies for my ds10 and the bottom for my ds6. I don't anticipate using them all and I also have modified the system a bit to fit out needs for my older. His assignments will be in order based on what he can and can not do alone and when I have time to work with him vs when I am working with his brother. I am still working on the specifics. And...I am not loading up the boxes just yet either (we are still on break for summer!) :) But here is the start of my workbox system. :)

 

IMG_7337_1.jpg

 

The little things to the right of the shelf with the black dots are the sheets where the kids will put the numbers as they finish. It is hard to see the numbers of the workboxes...but they are there.

 

IMG_7343_1.jpg

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Rebecca,

That's a really nice case, and I am thinking, you almost wouldn't need boxes for that, right?

I could see still doing boxes for the younger, one to contain the things, and two, to keep the more "fun" things not so visible until it's their turn. But I am thinking that for an older child, just the shelving would work.

 

Your DH made this right? Do you have plans, or was just done from his head? I think I could get DH to replicate :).

thanks

K

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Well, I went the really cheap & simple way -- using a milk crate (which we already had) for each child.

 

I just line up the books/papers/items in order of use for the day. If there is a craft or something w/ small pieces, I put the items together in a large ziploc. If it's a single sheet or page, I slip it into a folder so it stands up better. I tape a sheet to the front of the milk crate that has their list for the day (ex.: 1) Do lesson 3 in math; 2) Read chapters 5 & 6 in history book; etc...).

 

My kids are 11 & 8 & seem to do fine w/out all the 'visual' input of having the boxes. They can see what needs to be done w/ having everything lined up in the milk crate. As they finish, they put items/books on my desk (for checking) or in a separate crate (a holding place where I can get the items later).

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Here are some pictures of ours. I've been doing this for 2 whole weeks. Monday is the start of week 3. Love it!! More done, less time, fun stuff, what more can you ask for?

 

You can't really see this that well, but I have 4 of the white racks like in Sue's book. I have 48 boxes. I started out with ziplock bags, but quickly switched to boxes after I found out where to get them, Dollar Tree. I have a schedule sheet for each child with 12 velcro dots where they put the numbers after they have taken a box and completed it. We do it a little different from Sue's book. I don't have a schedule strip.

 

Gotta go, baby's crying.

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Rebecca,

That's a really nice case, and I am thinking, you almost wouldn't need boxes for that, right?

I could see still doing boxes for the younger, one to contain the things, and two, to keep the more "fun" things not so visible until it's their turn. But I am thinking that for an older child, just the shelving would work.

 

Your DH made this right? Do you have plans, or was just done from his head? I think I could get DH to replicate :).

thanks

K

 

 

Nope, we don't plan to use any boxes. The shelves are what I wanted. I didn't care for the boxes because the stuff would not lay flat.

 

The shelf was made by my dh and FIL. FIL is a wood craftsman, but I designed the shelf...he just made all the specs work properly. I originally had 12 of the long shelves on the top, but due to height restrictions, it got cut to 10. Not a big deal, I can make do...and if it had been any taller, ds10 could not have reached his work. Heck, I can't actually see what is in the top shelves until I back up a bit, so this height is perfect. I know ds10 will likely grow (and with a grandad who is 6'7", he will likely one day be much taller than the shelf!), but *I* need to be able to reach the shelves too. LOL

 

FIL said this was a pretty hard shelf to build. Lots of intricate cuts and detail work, but he is somewhat of a perfectionist in his work, so likely that is the issue. It really didn't take much wood. If we were paying for labor AND wood, I would say the cost would be somewhere in the $200 range. However, 2 rolling drawer carts would have been close to that too! I will say that it was a b*tch to paint!

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2hEsjySpE2z2hEsjySpE2ztTJyMHApOlE7d2HAFFr97Q?feat=directlinkI just made a Wal-Mart run and bought all of these that they had! They were $3 each. They are flat and big enough to fit workbooks, etc. I know it "shouldn't" matter, but I just couldn't stand the thought of bending books and papers to fit into shoeboxes. I already have 3 of these wooden bookshelves, so I will be able to fit PLENTY of workboxes on them...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2hEsjySpE2zV2Ngv6W-Q-Q?feat=directlink

 

Here is a picture of the container label in case someone wants specifics...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tTJyMHApOlE7d2HAFFr97Q?feat=directlink

 

tTJyMHApOlE7d2HAFFr97Q?feat=directlinktable%3Etable%3E

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2hEsjySpE2z2hEsjySpE2ztTJyMHApOlE7d2HAFFr97Q?feat=directlinkI just made a Wal-Mart run and bought all of these that they had! They were $3 each. They are flat and big enough to fit workbooks, etc. I know it "shouldn't" matter, but I just couldn't stand the thought of bending books and papers to fit into shoeboxes. I already have 3 of these wooden bookshelves, so I will be able to fit PLENTY of workboxes on them...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/2hEsjySpE2zV2Ngv6W-Q-Q?feat=directlink

 

Here is a picture of the container label in case someone wants specifics...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/tTJyMHApOlE7d2HAFFr97Q?feat=directlink

 

tTJyMHApOlE7d2HAFFr97Q?feat=directlinktable%3Etable%3E

 

jina,

 

Those look really nice! I went with the shoe boxes, and I was bugged by the bending of workbooks, etc. It's been OK though. I had to buy 48, so I went with the cheapest! Maybe someday I'll upgrade. I really like yours. :D

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Thanks for sharing, everyone! Is it me, or is everyone just super clean and organized?

 

(I'm a messy, sloppy and disorganized person, and my school areas look like that. I can't take a picture -- it would look really bad :tongue_smilie:)

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This is a neat idea. I actually just bought a bunch of sterilite shoeboxes and little clearview drawers to organize my sewing/craft stuff and DD's craft stuff/toys/manipulatives. I'm in the middle of a major reorganization in our front room (which holds my desk, DD's cubbies with many of her toys and her books and school stuff, my craft/sewing table, the family altar, and the space we use for doing lessons). I might try posting pics when I'm done...right now the desk and craft table are fairly neat, but only because everything is piled on the couch and in front of the cubbies.

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I found these at Wal-mart today... http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=11014789

 

They are perfect... Textbooks and workbooks can lay flat, they're not too big and not too small, they don't take up too much room, and they are stackable. They were $3.50 each. They had seven of them and I bought them all. I plan to get more next time.

 

To give you a better idea of the size... My Kingfisher History Encyclopedia fits inside one of these nicely with about an inch or so extra space around the edges and an inch of space between the book and the lid (same for my Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia and Usborne Science Encyclopedia.. If you have any of those books)

 

I actually had not planned to do workboxes because I couldn't justify giving up our current system for a system that takes up a lot of space.. I stayed up late last night looking at all the blogs portraying all the different variations of the system. By the time I was done browsing, I still wasn't convinced to switch. But I just happened to walk by and see these today and realized it was doable for us if I used these. I have special needs kids so I really need to use this system. So I went for it and now I'm excited!

 

So now I, too, have officially joined the workbox craze! :D

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Thanks for sharing, everyone! Is it me, or is everyone just super clean and organized?

 

(I'm a messy, sloppy and disorganized person, and my school areas look like that. I can't take a picture -- it would look really bad :tongue_smilie:)

 

I have OCD...clean and organized are the only way I can do it. If things are a mess, so am I. I notice that my moods and mentality tend to follow the state of things around me. Weird, I know.:tongue_smilie:

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I saw the shoeboxes at Wal-Mart for $0.96 yesterday and I had to fight the urge to buy them. RockerTot seems way too young for that kind of structure. I already have things organized (somewhat).

 

Our non-workbox method.

 

He doesn't do workbooks and has no assignments, but I've read where some of you have your littles in on the workboxes, too. How is that working?

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Can I share?

 

Workboxes failed for me... too many boxes, too much space. I started tweaking and then tweaked beyond recognition. So, now it's not workboxes.

 

My name is Kelly. I am a Workbox Dropout.

 

LOL, I had to come up with the alternative. I shared it yesterday. It's in my blog in my signature.

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