HerdingCats Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I am a life-long disorganized person. (What in the world was I thinking when I decided to homeschool?!) I have been at this long enough to have tried MANY different organizing strategies. I will spare you a detailed list of my failures. In spite of some chatter here about the workbox thing being the newest fad designed to suck in those of us who are trying to avoid a kick-in-the-pants, I am THIS (*fingers with teensy space between them*) close to trying it. So, before I invest my time, money, hopes and dreams in this, has anyone tried this and has it be a dismal failure? If so, why didn't it work for you? Sorry to irritate those of you who are sick to death of this topic, but the future of the free world depends on me figuring this out!:001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
farmmom4him Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Check out my blog and save your money...;) It shows how I did it without spending much. I had the book, looked at it, and though duh, I don't need this, and it is not going to help keep you organized, but maybe my system will. Check it out. The link is in my siggy. ;o) It was an August post I believe. ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ondreeuh Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I read here that a few years ago, the "system" that was all the rage was plastic crates - one for each child. I tried to do workboxes for two minutes, but for various reasons didn't like the setup. Then I went to a drawer system, which was nice but still required a lot of back-and-forth and I've found that minimizing transitions is important to me. I've also found that it's not important for either of my children to actually see their work all spread out (in fact, for my son, it was too much info!). I now do what many have done - a crate w/ hanging files, with my stuff for the day divided by subject in the hanging files. Everything I need is in one box that can sit on the table all day long and be easily moved when I need to tidy up. It suits our needs. I create a weekly assignment calendar for each child and we use that to mark our progress. It's just enough organization for me, and not more than I need :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daisy Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I had 9-drawer type things that I had art supplies in. I just moved the art supplies and now each child has their own drawers for school work. Here's a link to my pix. http://daisyhomeschoolblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-version-of-workboxes.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monalisa Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I am new to homeschooling, so I thought I'd try this. Some friends in my homeschool support group did a presentation on it so I understood the idea, but bought the ebook too. I thought it had some good ideas but it wasn't totally necessary (it is a little over the top in some ways). You can probably get the gist of how to do it from reading other people's blogs. So far, I've used the workboxes all 5 weeks we've been homeschooling pretty successfully. I tend to be sort of organized person, so it fits my personality (I like having a place to put the materials for each subject every day, and some subjects I now just leave the materials in there all the time). I did exactly what the WB author said - buy the organizer rack at Target along with the 12 clear shoeboxes, make numbered, laminated tags for each one (I made mine with animals on them which my dd likes). Overall, I think it is a good way to get yourself organized. I haven't done any other way to compare it to. The things I don't like about it are 1) I am already in a major rut - I don't mix it up or put fun things in the boxes, just the same academic stuff in the same order, and part of why I liked the idea was to mix in "fun" educational activities (but this is just me really I guess) 2) I can't fit everything for each subject in the respective shoebox sometimes (like my BJU math teacher manual, I can only put in a top box) 3) the shoeboxes bend my workbooks and teacher manuals somewhat permanently (My WWE workbook has a serious bend in it, as does my SOTW activity guide), so then I have them stacked somewhere else which I do not like. I think I'd rather have a set of clear plastic drawers than the shoeboxes which would allow the big workbooks to lay flat. Also, following the system of having my dd put a number card on the velcro on the box seems pointless; we did it at first, but now I just get the boxes or the stuff out (she's only in 1st grade, so there's nothing academic that she is doing independently anyhow). I don't think there's anything magic about shoeboxes. I think any physical organizing system would work just the same. I think it does help for my daughter to see what needs to be done for the day, and to be able to see by what boxes are left what still needs to be done. Plus, when we have to take a break for something, when we come back later in the day its easy to pick up where we left off because we just do the next box. I only have 1 child though, so doing it with multiple kids might be alot harder (esp. finding space for the racks). I had planned to use some of the forms the author recommends, but haven't. I found that a regular lesson planning form (from Donna Young.org) works better for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mindygz Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 it's worked great for us, (I too am organizationally challenged!) but we are also using a modified hanging folder version of it. You can find it on my blog in my siggy, too. I'd link directly to it, but i'm short on time right now. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thowell Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I cant believe you guys did the hanging files. Here I thought I was really smart for thinking of that all on my own!:lol: I want to say that it has really worked. No more "Mom wears my...?" and the girls are really motivated by seeing the number chart fill up. We did place our charts on the wall in front of them so they can see how much progress they are making right in front of them. They love it! Oh and so do I! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paintedlady Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Another organizationally challenged, fad-seeker checking in. ;) I am not good at sticking to a system but so far so good (6 weeks) with the work boxes. We're also using the modified hanging file folders. I take everything out of their completed work folders (in file #12) and check for errors. Then I fill each of their folders for the following morning. I typically fill 9-10 folders every day. Most are work, but maybe 2 are a fun activity to do for 10 minutes or a break/snack. I try to stagger their folders so that while one is reading (independently) I'm working with the other on math or some other subject they need my help with. We've found a nice "flow" to our days and I can honestly say I think we'll be sticking with it. It didn't cost much to set up, maybe $50-60 total. I think you'd really like it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christielee7278 Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Hanging files here too. Loving it!! My oldest has adhd (and many say I do too! :D) and this has really been the ticket for our family to stay on track. Btw, I have my own hanging files in a box to help me keep track of art projects scheduled for the week as well as other activities we do as a group. Those files are labeled by day of the week instead of by subject. If it is in the box, it gets done. If it isn't, there's a good chance I'll forget about it. I take about 30 minutes or so on Sunday to load everyone's boxes and I'm set for the week! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MerryAtHope Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 It has worked really well for us! Here's how it's helped: I don't do the "full" system--I don't really do "centers" with my kids (maybe I'll feel creative next fall!) and I'm more apt to put "free" with a snack in a drawer than something educational (I did try some short little educational type "fun" things the first week or two, but my kids just viewed them as extra work rather than motivators, LOL!). Maybe the "fun" things work better with the younger crowd, or if you are doing them instead of their LA workbook, for example, LOL! We already had a pretty good routine to our day, so that didn't change much. What HAS changed for us because of workboxes: 1, no more lost books! Every day they return them to their workboxes. I check them at the table right next to the boxes (I also store my guides and answer keys on a bookshelf right next to them), and just put them back in the boxes. Keeping track of where we are & what we're doing has never been such a smooth process for us. 2, I am more likely to grade daily. Everything is handy in one place, and that's when I put the stickers back on their boxes (drawers for us). And believe me, I've paid in the past for NOT grading daily (we won't talk about the week I was flat-on-my-back sick and my son's math book decided to introduce BOTH multiplying and dividing fractions, and he didn't know he was doing it incorrectly...NEVER AGAIN!!). 3, I have to think about the next day a bit--I think our day has a slightly better flow & I'm slightly better prepared--not so much "winging" it. 4, we are less likely to look at the clock and say, "that's enough for today." If we need a shorter day, I am more likely to plan for it the night before now--and otherwise, we just do the boxes, and no one wonders what we'll do. 5, did I mention no more lost books?!! You can see pictures and a description of what we do in the link in my signature. Merry :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HerdingCats Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 I think I will give this a try. I love all the ideas you guys have for making it your own. It seems like there are endless variations that people have tweaked into it. That gives me hope that this will not be a wasted effort. I rarely do things *as directed* anyway:D. Thanks, and I will happily post my creation once we get it going. Hopefully the fad will not have passed before then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I've been blogging about our experiences with workboxes. At the beginning of the week, I list what I have in them and at the end of the week as a part of our weekly review, I talk about what worked and what didn't work. Just click on the link in my signature. We changed how we use ours as well. First, I do use the medium size ($3 at walmart) boxes but I already had them and I just sold all the toys that were in them. Then, I have a box for each subject and everything that we need for that subject in the box. You can see pictures and descriptions of what is in our boxes on my blog as well. But basically, each box has the main text/material, any games, manipulatives and/or reinforcements. So when we are working on something it is all there and I don't have to hunt to find it. Good luck with workboxes, I think they can work for a variety of people from unschoolers who want "surprise" boxes to very traditional homeschoolers who want to foster independance. We do all of our boxes together. :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Mozer Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 I rarely do things *as directed* LOL! I rarely do too. I actually do have the individual shoes boxes for each kid, but have been tweaking it to work with how I function. (Each kid only has 9 boxes, the return bin is on top of their shoe rack, some boxes are only filled once a week rather than daily etc.) Here's a list of a bunch of ways homeschoolers have made it their own: workboxes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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