tullyfamily Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I'm trying to understand why workboxes are better than a to-do list? Seems like the workboxes would take A LOT of space, esp for large families! And what if you do not do a lot of work pages- what would you put in your workboxes? Can anyone post some pics or point me to some links w/ pics? And could you share what are in your workboxes? Thanks! Off to search "workboxes" on the forum/internet! Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Inna* Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 For my 6 y/o check list wasn't working. She needed a visual of what needs to be done during lesson. I think this system works mainly for younger kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkgumby Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 If you're searching workboxes on the forum, you'll see this mentioned a lot, but one of the main reason I personally do workboxes is to help ME get organized! By having the boxes filled the night before, I'm more likely to follow through and make sure the kids do what they need to (I have fibromyalgia and am tired a lot). It makes *me* more accountable, as well as the kids. It helps me actually get around to doing the "fun" things as well as the regular math, writing, etc. Here's a link to what mine look like. I didn't want to take the space for all those shoeboxes on a rack, and couldn't stand the thought of the larger books bending: http://gwgumby.blogspot.com/2009/04/workboxes-i-love-them.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jibaker103 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 For my 6 y/o check list wasn't working. She needed a visual of what needs to be done during lesson.I think this system works mainly for younger kids. It also works for completely disorganized clueless 13 yr old boys!!!! :tongue_smilie: Jennifer Mother to Noah Age 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I'm trying to understand why workboxes are better than a to-do list? We use both. And more. Each subject has a magazine file , and a to-do list in folder in that magazine file. And we also use a sheet with subjects listed and M T W Th F reference, so I can see at a glance what is to-do and checked off (or not) withnout having to inspect 10 workboxes to see whether the work has been done. We don't use boxes though. We use stand-up magazine files on the shelves. :seeya: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindygz Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 the nice thing about workboxes (for the kids) is that there are surprises and it doesn't require reading to see what it next (for my son). I like that assembling the workboxes makes me get the supplies together before hand and I don't have to run around during school time, because every time I leave the table or room, the kids find something else to do, and then I have to corral them again!:D For us, we didn't have a super great system before, so having this system is working great (4 days so far...). I'm guessing a lot of people have a good system that works for them, and maybe workboxes don't really add anything for them. (We are doing modified file-folder box workboxes, but it still works really well for us.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moni Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 people have a good system that works for them, and maybe workboxes don't really add anything for them. ) I think so too. I find myself wondering, what were these folks doing before the workboxes that makes the workboxes seem so amazing :lol: So it may not be the workboxes; it may be that they are finally organized. :seeya: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tinkgumby Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I think so too. what were these folks doing before the workboxes that makes the workboxes seem so amazing :lol: Well . . . I can't answer for everyone else, but I tried many organizational things before workboxes that just didn't work for me! I'm visual and like to have things right at hand, which means we'd end up just piling the books we needed to use for the day in a big stack on the table . . . which was intimidating, to say the least! ;) Workboxes are a way for me to assemble everything I need, in sequential order, without making a scary tower of it all. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubermomto5 Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 it's not that i wasn't organized...it's that there are a lot of them and only one of me. so when the second grader was done, but i was still helping the fourth grader, he waited around till i could help him with the next thing. also, we have a very small house (at least for 7 people) and i have to stash things where i can. so having all the items for a science project preloaded into a box the night before is easier than gathering them to the kitchen, or having the workbook, teacher book and story book in 2 different places. we're just starting this too and using the file method with the older two but it is a relief to me as it solves a few problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1GirlTwinBoys Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 I love the visual aspect of it and so do my kid's. I am REALLY into organization though so this is perfect for my style. I only need 1 system since mine are so close in age and do a lot of the same subjects together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane Posted August 20, 2009 Share Posted August 20, 2009 A voice from the other side... My children do fine w/out workboxes. My older children have schedules for each of their subjects and keep an assignment book for TOG. My younger children (K-3rd) store their books in the same location every day; they know to just pull out the next book and move on. Works for us. No big deal. No extra boxes or storage bins. We've homeschooled for nine years now. I remember when I first began hsing, many families used crates to store their children's daily books because the reality was most of us schooled in various places in our home and had school materials scattered in any available cupboard rather than organized in one single location. It was a lot easier for us back then to store our daily work in those crates and carry them from room to room. I see workboxes as a spin off of that old method. If they are working for families, great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stephanier.1765 Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 It also works for completely disorganized clueless 13 yr old boys!!!! :tongue_smilie: Jennifer Mother to Noah Age 13 Yeah, it does! My 13 yo son LOVES his workboxes. I give him the freedom to organize his own day which makes him more inclined to complete his work in a timely fashion. Our days have never been shorter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah CB Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I would try workboxes if our current system wasn't working so well. We've been using check-lists successfully for a couple of years now. The nice thing about a check-list is that I do it on the computer and then print out a stack of them (one for each week for each kid). I can go in and update it if needed, but I've only had to update a couple of times a year (when a subject has changed or the order in which we do our work has significantly changed). I had to be pretty honest with myself and I know that I'm very good at long range planning. I like to sit down and figure out our year, make schedules and check-lists, get everyone's binders organized and map everything out. But, I'm *horrible* at weekly planning. It's all I can do to read the teacher's pages for TOG and sometimes I don't even get that done. There is *no way* I could be successful at stocking workboxes every night. If the day to day smoothness of our homeschooling hinged on me getting everything ready on a daily basis we would come to a complete halt. So, instead my kids have a weekly planning sheet that sits in the front of their binder. They check off their work as they complete it (it's organized by days of the week). Each child has a homeschool shelf where all of their own books and binders can be found. Work gets returned to the shelf when they're finished with it. It works without me having to do anything on a daily or even a weekly basis. However, I love the *idea* of workboxes so I'm going to set up a couple of drawer-units that are filled with different activities that can be done when a child is waiting for me to help him or during quiet learning time. I'm also going to set up a drawer-unit for my nearly 4 year old. This one will require a little bit of creativity and I imagine that if I'm really on the ball I'll want to update the drawers once a week to keep my little guy interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
razorbackmama Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 A voice from the other side... My children do fine w/out workboxes. My older children have schedules for each of their subjects and keep an assignment book for TOG. My younger children (K-3rd) store their books in the same location every day; they know to just pull out the next book and move on. Works for us. No big deal. No extra boxes or storage bins. We've homeschooled for nine years now. I remember when I first began hsing, many families used crates to store their children's daily books because the reality was most of us schooled in various places in our home and had school materials scattered in any available cupboard rather than organized in one single location. It was a lot easier for us back then to store our daily work in those crates and carry them from room to room. I see workboxes as a spin off of that old method. If they are working for families, great! This is very much like us, so this thread has been interesting - I've never been able to figure out what is so special about workboxes either LOL! We have a schedule (so there is none of the "what does one child do while he waits for Mom to get done with another child"), and we have cubbies where they keep the books they need for the day. They each have a folder, and everyday I put their assignment sheet from Homeschool Tracker in it along with any worksheets that are needed (which are few - if they have a worktext it's in their cubbie already). For books that we do together as a family, I keep those behind a particular door in my desk. My non-readers get folders and a cubbie but no list. But *I* have a list of their assignments, so it's just a matter of me saying "do page 13D in math" or something. I get all their materials together the night before and put it in their cubbie with the rest of their school supplies (that's where they keep their school boxes also). Our cubbie thing is really an old bookshelf, but the shelves are pretty narrow - just wide enough for their school books to lie flat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2cents Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Our version of 'workboxes' also uses a To-Do list. The way I use the boxes is to put the texts and work in the boxes and the kids look at the to-do list and go to their boxes for the work. My boxes are labled: Language arts, Math, science etc. I don't use a box for every task. There are less boxes that way. When I set up my system, there was no "work box system". This is just how I mesh boxes and to-do list to make our work easier to manage. Hope this helps! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jibaker103 Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Yeah, it does! My 13 yo son LOVES his workboxes. I give him the freedom to organize his own day which makes him more inclined to complete his work in a timely fashion. Our days have never been shorter. So you put no time constraints on him such as 45 min for math, 30 min grammar? Does he have to do his boxes in a certain order or however he likes? My son is organized and timed challenged so I was thinking be strict up front and then ease up as he gets more proficient. Besides the workboxes I will also print him a weekly list broken down by day. Eventually I wanted to also work in a student planner and have him plan how he wants to do his whole week. Seems like forever before that happens!!! :tongue_smilie: Jennifer Mother to Noah Age 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tadoussac Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Just posted this on the other workbox discussion, but thought I should have probably posted it here: Another advantage I found with workboxes as compared to a list of to dos was with longer assignments. My son has a learning disability and is working through an intensive program that takes about an hour and half a day. At the beginning of each day, he used to feel overwhelmed. When we started with workboxes, I broke the program down into 10-15 minute sections, and put each of those sections in a different box. Suddenly, with the program visually and concretly broken down into smaller tasks, my son found the program much more pleasant to work through.:001_smile: LJ in Canada Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Artemius Academy Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 What my kids love about the workboxes is that they know that there will be fun activities between more straight-forward assignments. It's almost like opening presents! It's very motivating, and they are more focused on all their tasks because they can see the "light at the end of the tunnel". It also helps me to be more accountable, and add in the fun center-type activities instead of just getting through the basics, and being able to cop-out on a fun experiment behind their backs! Ashley Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommy2BeautifulGirls Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 Here's the link. I have pictures up and a list of what will be in mine on our first day next week. Keep in mind that we're starting out with just half for the first couple weeks. http://allthatschool.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2abcd Posted August 21, 2009 Share Posted August 21, 2009 I think it's geared for the younger grades. Older kids usually just want to know what there is to do and get it done so they can choose their own free time activities. Our dd13, though, is a visual person and I have her work for the day where she can see it and see the progress she's making. She wouldn't like the "fun surprises," though. She can choose those herself and do them when its time. It's also probably nice for those with several young kids, too. The kids can work more independently, freeing Mom up to do what she needs to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barefoothomeschooler Posted August 23, 2009 Share Posted August 23, 2009 my boys (ages 5 and 6) do really well with the workboxes. my oldest (age 12) has no need for it. I just print out her schedule for the week and she goes through it at her pace. She likes to have her school supplies in a certain order and not in files or boxes. My 10 year old works in about the same way but really needs the time limits on each subject. I a looking into getting her a bank box system to go back to workboxes, she has organization issues and the workboxes seem to help with this. So, I think this system works for most but a different times. I know I don't want to have a highschooler having to depend on Work boxes to get school done. I love it for my young ones though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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