Does anyone NOT do workboxes or Filing?

[misidawnrn]

I see the thread with 700+ responses...haven't got up enough courage to read them all. And, I see all of the workbox stuff. I was just wondering if anyone out there (besides me) doesn't do any of that.

 

I just keep my stuff on a schedule that I made for us a week at a time including the subjects/curricula that we are doing and fill it in a week at a time. It seems to work well so far, since April anyways. I am just wondering if I am missing something. Obviously I haven't gotten over the newbie "gotta try that". I think I am done curricula hopping, maybe;)!

 

Is the filing of the whole year flexible? I really need something that is flexible so I can change, go faster, slower, take days off if needed etc.

 

Hmmm, maybe I should just stick to what works for us:001_smile:

[Capt_Uhura]

I don't do either. I might have a basket this year for each boy w/ their daily work and books to be read. That's about it.

[AlaskaGrownFamily]

No workboxes, filing, or much else. We just do the next thing. :)

[MariannNOVA]

I don't do either. I might have a basket this year for each boy w/ their daily work and books to be read. That's about it.

 

No workboxes, filing, or much else. We just do the next thing. :)

 

 

I do those things mentioned above - and I keep a lesson plan book -- that's it.

 

I'm old and tired.........I have enough energy to homeschool and that is about it.:001_huh:

[lotsofpumpkins]

No workboxes or filing here. We just "do the next thing". Several subjects are workbooks, so it's easy to see what comes next. English is a textbook; just open to the next lesson and do it. For science and history, I just read them the next section/chapter in the book and we do any activity that comes up.

 

My children do have weekly checklists with spaces for them to fill in specific lesson #'s for each subject; that's how I make sure they are getting everything done.

[Daisy]

I keep the kid's books in drawers, but no, I don't do workboxes or filing. My daughter has a planner that she uses to write down her assignments. For my son, I just write a list of what he needs to do that day and he crosses them off as they are completed. Pretty easy.

[Mom22ns]

No workboxes or filing here. I haven't had the nerve to even look at that thread.

 

We use a daily/weekly schedule and daily to-do lists. Its all generated by my planning software (custom). My kids are older and are more than capable of pulling together their own stuff for lessons. I pull together science labs. I can't for the life of me come up with a need for workboxes. Is it just because of the age and number of kids that I have?

[Matryoshka]

Don't even have a passing intrerest in workboxes or filing. I know myself well enough to know that neither system would work for me at all.

 

I am using HST+, but only since last year when my older two entered 6th. Before that, it was pretty much "do the next thing". There's just more to juggle now that they've gotten older. Actually, I still pretty much "do the next thing"; HST just helps me easily keep track of what that is in each book.

[Hedgehogs4]

i don't do that stuff...can't wrap my head around more than a plan for each kid per week. just keep going until we get to where our goals meant us to go.

[Shelly in the Country]

I use HST+ to plot my year, then I print out assignment sheets daily for my kids. Each kid gets their own shelf for books and notebooks. I do print out all of our worksheets (for subjects where we have them) and file them according to subject, but I just pull them out when we need them.

[KIN]

No workboxes or filing here (or at least not yet!). :) I know what subjects the kids need to do each day, how many pages/lessons we need to do and we just do the next thing! I record what we do in a lesson planner each day after it is completed.

[Ellie]

I'm with you.:)

 

When we were hsing, the concept of workboxes would have appealed to me, but when it came right down to it, I would've just been too relaxed to do it.

[Linda...inOwasso]

I'm convinced many homeschool moms spend way more time planning, scheduling, organizing, and investigating curriculum than they do actually teaching it.

 

I selected my curriculum and haven't looked back. I just keep plugging away... once it's graded, it goes in the trash. :)

[DawnM]

we tried workboxes. It was a dismal failure. My boys begged me to just go back to regular scheduling.

 

I feel like we are fairly organized, esp. since we do a LOT of crafts/hands on activities/lapbooking and the like.

 

But I don't do any special scheduling or filing. I just don't see the need. I had to majorly lesson plan for 16 years as a high school teacher.....I am burnt out! :lol:

 

Dawn

[Alphabetika]

How about piling? Does that count? :lol:

[TCB]

I'm pretty new, just about to start 2nd year with 2 kids -1st and 5th- so I'm probably too new to say. I am being more organized this year but no filing or workboxes. I have planned out roughly how much to do each week to get done and will be doing a more detailed schedule for a week or so at a time.

 

When I looked at the filing thread it seemed like we didn't really have much to put in the files. We don't seem to have many worksheets - other than math. Almost everything else is reading books and narration and outlining etc. I wasn't sure how you would file that - other than a bunch of blank pages.

 

I can be organised at work but not so much at home. Just enough to get me through reasonably efficiently. Even so , I think I am guilty of more researching, planning etc than teaching :confused:

[Snickerdoodle]

Don't even have a passing intrerest in workboxes or filing. I know myself well enough to know that neither system would work for me at all.

 

:iagree:

[Sebastian (a lady)]

I see the thread with 700+ responses...haven't got up enough courage to read them all. And, I see all of the workbox stuff. I was just wondering if anyone out there (besides me) doesn't do any of that.

 

I just keep my stuff on a schedule that I made for us a week at a time including the subjects/curricula that we are doing and fill it in a week at a time. It seems to work well so far, since April anyways. I am just wondering if I am missing something. Obviously I haven't gotten over the newbie "gotta try that". I think I am done curricula hopping, maybe;)!

 

Is the filing of the whole year flexible? I really need something that is flexible so I can change, go faster, slower, take days off if needed etc.

 

Hmmm, maybe I should just stick to what works for us:001_smile:

 

Workboxes would end up half empty and forgotten. Filing would have too many exceptions for me to deal with (books I couldn't tear up, etc).

 

I am making a full semester schedule with specific assignments for each day. Sort of like an expanded Sonlight schedule. It's really helping me to pace outselves. I have a tendency to either cram too much in or to lollygag. Having 18 weeks laid out is helping me to see the whole span of what we're trying to do.

 

I will also probably print out the notebooking sheets that I want to use for things like artist and composer study and for science narrations. I need to make a real effort to stay off the computer during school hours, or else I get sucked in to other things and hours go by with no school getting done.

[rafiki]

.

[elegantlion]

I use a planner. I plan out each subject for the year on paper, and I do assignment sheets on a weekly basis so we have plenty of room for adjustment. We keep the work in binders and file right after doing. I like flexibility, it's our school word for the year.

[misidawnrn]

How about piling? Does that count? :lol:

yes, that is exactly how I do it! :001_smile: I actually have all of this weeks stuff piled on my table by my recliner since I have worked the last 3 days and haven't had time to put it away!!!

[SBP]

Don't even have a passing intrerest in workboxes or filing. I know myself well enough to know that neither system would work for me at all.

 

I am using HST+, but only since last year when my older two entered 6th. Before that, it was pretty much "do the next thing". There's just more to juggle now that they've gotten older. Actually, I still pretty much "do the next thing"; HST just helps me easily keep track of what that is in each book.

 

:iagree:

 

This describes us exactly. The idea of filling all those workboxes every day makes me want to curl up and die. Seriously, I'd last a week, tops. And even if I attempted it, I can't figure out what I'd do about the fact that my children are in the same grade in most subjects and share the same books. No WAY am I buying two of everything just so they can each have books in their workboxes rather than having to go to the shelf and get them and then return them to the shelf when they're done.

 

And I haven't read much of the filing thread, but I gather that it involves planning and filing every single thing your kids are going to do all year long? Yeah, I'm not doing that either, even though I can appreciate that it would be convenient sometime in February when I really, really, really don't want to sit down and plan the next week. (Actually, I'll probably hit that point in September. This is my eighth year homeschooling and the planning bloom is pretty much off the rose for me.)

 

But HST+ is perfect for us. I have everything entered in the database, and I can plan each week in about 30 minutes if I need to. The kids get a daily printout of what they need to do, and they know how to use it. It calculates grades for me, which is something we're doing more of lately, and it keeps my records for me with minimal effort on my part. The data entry each summer is a grind, but it's SO worth it on that dreary, aforementioned weekend in February when I just want to get the next week planned without much fuss and bother.

 

It's what works for us :).

 

SBP

[GoVanGogh]

I don't file or do workboxes.

Workboxes just seem like a lot of extra work. Maybe more practical for larger families? I don't know.

Filing? No way.

We are extremely flexible. I like being able to set aside my plans for the day if something 'more interesting' (and educational) comes along. Ex: The other day DS drew a map of the world from memory, then we ended up spending more than an hour looking at landmarks (Eiffel Tower, Panama Canal, etc.) and he added those items to his map. We never did get back to our regularly planned school after that... But I was fine with that.

 

I am in a homeschool support group that has a number of public school teachers in it. I have quit going to the last two meetings of the year, because all of these ladies are rushing around asking, "Are you going to get your school work finished this year? Did you finish??" They just stress me out way too much.

"Finishing" isn't a goal that we have. Encouraging a life-long love of learning is. I am sure they can go together - you can plan an entire school year and still have children that love learning. But it would just stress me out way too much!!

 

I need to look and see what we DID get accomplished in our school year, so I journal as we go. Looking at a crate of unfinished plans would send me over the deep end. :tongue_smilie: I am actually a reformed OCD planner. I spent my first two years homeschooling planning every...thing... out. The last two years, I just keep a general schedule in my head and go with that. If I can't get a library book when I want it - Oh, well. We will read it when we get to it.

 

Along that line... I don't view education as a linear process. I know I have read several articles addressing that idea, but don't have any at hand to quote. But I don't like the idea of having everything lined up in advance. That is not how adults study when they self-educate. We go in spurts and go off on rabbit trails, we set things aside to return to them when we are ready to digest the material.

If I am trying to teach myself how to crochet and I get frustrated, I may set it aside for a few days or a week. But what about a child that isn't ready to learn the next math concept? He should be able to let the lesson percolate in his mind before he is expected to grasp it.

[misidawnrn]

Honestly, I haven't even figured out how many pages of stuff to do per day/ per week to last all year long. For example with Math Mammoth, I just have DD do a page, front and back, a day...sometimes more if it is an easy lesson. So she will do 5-7 pages, F&B, a week. I also have been schooling all year long with a little more lenient schedule during the summer due to camping, harvesting, time with her dad etc.

 

Maybe I should at least plan that out a head:confused:

 

I like that Elemental science is planned by the week, although we haven't started it yet and will start in the fall.

[Brenda in FL]

No workboxes, No filing (isn't that just busywork for moms? Ducking all the tomatos being thrown at me about now!)

[skueppers]

I have no interest in that type of planning at this point. I suppose it might be possible some future year, but neither really seems like my style.

[AngieW in Texas]

I've been doing this for 12 years.

 

I make up assignment sheets for the kids 1 week at a time (except that I can usually get 2-3 weeks of assignment sheets done right at the beginning of the schoolyear).

[sassenach]

I do none of that and I have no plans to start. We're in our 5th year of hsing and as long as we actually get started in the morning, we don't need anything else to keep us rolling!

[Heather in OK]

No, I do not do either. From what I have seen/read, it would cause me much stress and more work than I need. It would not work here.

[Night Elf]

I don't use filing or workboxes. My kids are 12, 14, and 18. I don't know if that makes a difference, but I just don't see much we can file. I make weekly schedules instead.

[Sasharowan]

I plan on HST+, give each kid a weekly binder, and put all their books in their desk. I print up a weekly schedule and put that in there binder along with any printouts they might need that week. A lot of our stuff is do the next thing, so I see no need to complicate that with files and we have no space for workboxes for 4 kids.

[ElizabethB]

How about piling? Does that count? :lol:

 

I pile.

 

It works for me. My husband likes it neater than we do, I always ask where he wants the messy homeschool bookshelves to go when we move to a new house, and he selects a location where he won't have to look at them much.

 

I just do the next thing and leave bookmarks in our books and have a big pile of what we are currently working on.

 

No HST, either.

 

I do keep a yearly collection of their best work, a few papers from each subject that makes paper and write up what we did each year.

 

I spend my energy researching and teaching.

[Country Mouse]

"Finishing" isn't a goal that we have. Encouraging a life-long love of learning is. I am sure they can go together - you can plan an entire school year and still have children that love learning. But it would just stress me out way too much!!

 

 

:iagree:

 

I like to have a general plan for the year, but I find that we enjoy ourselves much more when things are fluid and we can follow rabbit trails. At heart I am a planner, but I think ds and I would both be miserable if we didn't have flexibility.

 

To each his or her own though, the filers seem happy.

[TXMary2]

I did filing last year and it was a nightmare for me. I have mostly used a lesson planner book, homeschool tracker for when I need to create lesson plans from scratch and 3 ring binders w/ 36 weekly tabs to keep it all in.

[Holly]

We don't. I use to be one of those moms that spend more time planning than teaching. :blushing: This year I went with HOD because everything was already planned out for me...now I can spend my time teaching instead of planning! Any system like filing or workboxes will create more unnecessary work for me. Not to mention the fact that filling (and emptying) 4 sets of boxes everyday sounds like torture. :lol:

 

I bought each child a folder to keep work in. At the end of each unit, we'll be adding it to their binders. I also picked up a cheap planner to write down what manual pages we cover and extras that don't fit (gymnastics, poetry, crafts, field trips, etc.).

[cheryl h]

Don't even have a passing intrerest in workboxes or filing. I know myself well enough to know that neither system would work for me at all.

 

I am using HST+, but only since last year when my older two entered 6th. Before that, it was pretty much "do the next thing". There's just more to juggle now that they've gotten older. Actually, I still pretty much "do the next thing"; HST just helps me easily keep track of what that is in each book.

 

No workboxes here either, just sounds like another unnecessary step. I use HST+ also, which I love, because I can print out our daily to do list and it keeps us on track. It is especially helpful with the older kids who can work more independantly. I have not been a filer at all and I do regret that. I have a stack of papers about 14" tall of all our work from last year and for the older kids, they really could have benefited from the ability to look back at their previous work for review purposes, and the younger just like to look back at what they've done for fun. I will probably become a filier this year. Live and learn I guess.

[MissKNG]

The only thing I have are upright dividers (from Staples) and I put a subject in each divider. I don't plan ahead (except what to do the next day) nor do I map out lessons.

 

I tried to do a week at a time when we used Singapore Earlybird and my big girl flew through the material so fast that it seemed pointless after a while.

[Wildiris]

I do those things mentioned above - and I keep a lesson plan book -- that's it.

 

I'm old and tired.........I have enough energy to homeschool and that is about it.:001_huh:

 

:iagree: Just thinking about work boxes exhausts me.

[specialmama]

I don't do workboxes as my dd is at an age and stage where that would be a terrible step back for her. I have a quarterly plan, which is broken up week by week, and she chooses what to do when, and plugs that into her agenda a la TOG way. Workboxes would work if she was way younger or very visual, but I don't have the time to sit there nightly and throw things into boxes. She's moving toward more independance than that allows.

[radiobrain]

If "Piling" were an official form of organization that would be me. :D

 

I have a yearly plan on what I would like to accomplish, and a planning book that I use after I have taught/assigned something. Only what we did gets written down. I also tally hours for curiosity by day and then add them up week/month/year.

 

In the morning I look at my piles on the table & floor and arrange smaller piles on my bed. Each subject has a pile. That is what I *hope* to get to during the day.

 

Math is the only thing I try to do every day.

 

I have always yearned to be more organized, but I think I need to embrace the truth. I have a photographic & positional memory so I can find anything in any pile I have made. A pile IS a way that I organize things.

 

Everything else seems so frakkin complicated. A Rube Goldberg machine comes to mind.;)

[JumpedIntoTheDeepEndFirst]

No workboxes, no filing.

 

Each kid has a small tub to stand their books in-vocab workbook, Latin workbook, math book, etc. This is more a function of storage than system.

 

I make a notebook/workbook of everything they need from TOG by Unit and then I have a schedule of what needs to be completed every week.

 

I need to revise that this year to get Latin tests, geography pages, and other such sheets printed out in a timely manner. Maybe a month at a time or something.

[Robin M]

No filing or workboxes for me. Too much work! And no I haven't read the huge thread. I outline each subject for the year, put lists in notebook and then each week write up a to do list for the week. KISS method - Keep it simple sherlock. (substituted sherlock for stupid, like it better) :)

[Alessandra]

Don't even have a passing intrerest in workboxes or filing. I know myself well enough to know that neither system would work for me at all.

:iagree: with the posts here. Thank you for this thread!

 

For me, it's out of sight, out mind. If it's filed, it's probably as good as gone. Rip up a book? -- I'd be sure to lose the pieces.

 

I put everything in an Excel file -- there is a schedule sheet, plus other sheets with book lists, science equipment, etc. If I get behind, I can just cut & paste to move the dates forward. And thank goodness for keyword searches and ebooks!

 

I do enjoy reading about other people's systems (love Sun & Candlelight). But I would never, ever do that.

Edited August 8, 2010 by Alessandra

[DarlaS]

How about piling? Does that count? :lol:

 

Works for me! I read that thread for one or two pages and that was it.

 

I am making a Sonlight style spreadsheet this year, but it's more of a skeleton plan that helps me fit our year neatly into 32 weeks (on paper anyway). It's not dated. It's Week 1: Day 1 etc. A 32 week year may turn out to be a flop, but I'm giving it a try so we can be off when college student ds is.

 

The most useful post was the one that said to skim or skip as needed to stay on track. Seems kind of obvious when you think about it, but I bet a lot of us would have a hard time actually doing it.

[patchfire]

Dd has a planner. I keep a lesson plan book for ds's work + memory work & LA for dd. At the beginning of the year, I chart everything out by week (1-36) or day (1-180). That gives me the flexibility I need. Each subject's spreadsheet or table is printed out, and put in sheet protectors. I highlight what is finished at the end of each week. That's it. No filing or workboxes. The schoolbooks are either in the Desk Apprentice or on shelves.

[runmiarun]

Nope. Each child has their very own milk crate (legally acquired) under the study table with their school books and accessories in them. I have a weekly sheet with lesson plans for each child. I check off the list as we do the lessons. At the end of every lesson, we move a sticky note to the start of the next lesson so they can know exactly where to find it in their books. Each child has a different color of sticky note. Like a pp mentioned, I only have enough energy to homeschool. This is as organized as I can get at the moment.

[coffeegal]

Each kid has a small tub to stand their books in-vocab workbook, Latin workbook, math book, etc. This is more a function of storage than system.

 

 

I use crates for my kids. Each child has a crate with all their school supplies, except reference materials. They grab their crate, pull out their work, and (the older boys) write down what they did in their planner/ check their planner for comments from Mom. I keep a crate with TMs and math manipulatives, and make notes in my planner on what I expect to see the next time we sit down together. There's not much planning, other than ensuring the children have everything printed up and ready to go in their crates during the summer. :D

[runmiarun]

How about piling? Does that count? :lol:

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol: YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

[deeinfl]

I considered the workboxes, but we're already pretty organized in the 'do the next thing' category. But I did get the kids their own planners, and I do like to put everything in the same place every day so they know exactly where their books/supplies are located. I hate searching for things when we need them. I like to always know they are in their designated places. :001_smile:

 

At this point, with only two students left, I think we are okay with things as they are, but I love seeing everyone else's organization methods, especially when they have over 4 children.

 

Dee

[JESSICAinMD]

If "Piling" were an official form of organization that would be me. :D

 

I have a yearly plan on what I would like to accomplish, and a planning book that I use after I have taught/assigned something. Only what we did gets written down. I also tally hours for curiosity by day and then add them up week/month/year.

 

In the morning I look at my piles on the table & floor and arrange smaller piles on my bed. Each subject has a pile. That is what I *hope* to get to during the day.

 

Math is the only thing I try to do every day.

 

I have always yearned to be more organized, but I think I need to embrace the truth. I have a photographic & positional memory so I can find anything in any pile I have made. A pile IS a way that I organize things.

 

Everything else seems so frakkin complicated. A Rube Goldberg machine comes to mind.;)

 

I am a "piler" too. :)