How do you get organized?

[bttrflyvld]

I've come across sue patricks book on work boxes. It looks interesting. Has anyone tried this? I've been looking for a way to also help teach my children to work independently and this looks like a nice way.

[Amy Jo]

It's a nice way to keep everything you need in one spot, and eliminate the last minute search for a pencil (paper, book, etc). My 2 yo steals things out of them if she gets a chance, and my 5yo is to wild to work much independently, even though I can put in a coloring page or something for him. He does like to have boxes like his brothers though.

 

We use the 3 drawer sterilite bins instead, so the books don't get bent. I've never read the official book, just a lot of blogs.

[Aspasia]

This is my favorite site for different ways to implement the workbox system: http://www.squidoo.com/workboxes

 

I have actually decided not to use workboxes, just because of the amount of space they take up and the fact that I would have to get my act together and fill them every single night (some pretty serious self-knowledge tells me that isn't likely to happen consistently.) Instead, I'm going with the binder plan. I have everything filed by week and paper clipped by day. The binder has five folders. We'll just pull out each day's work as we go. Easy peasy.

[lillybell]

I use workboxes for one of my kids and they work pretty good. She really enjoys watching her progress as she completes each box. I bought some with lids so they just sit one on top of the other. They fit nicely on her desk shelf. I fill them up at night or if I dont have time, I just wake up a little earlier and fill up the boxes. I also put a laminated notesheet in each box so I can write with dry erase which pages to complete or any other note of instruction.

[happypamama]

I use a version of workboxes, using plastic mesh boxes from the Container Store. These are nice because they stack and don't take up a lot of horizontal space. Each child's boxes are color-coded for him/her, as well as a color for group subjects, and next year I am adding a card to each one as well, with the subject on it. I like the workboxes because it's easy for me to tell what subjects still need to be decided upon for the next day. So each night (in theory; sometimes I don't do it until the next morning, but things really go better if I do it the night before) I put the appropriate items in the boxes, books, papers, etc. With some subjects, it's just "open and do the next thing," so the book just sits in the box all the time, but with others, the workbox lets me put supplemental books and other materials together so that they're ready to go. I don't have a separate strip and all, though; when they finish each subject, they're supposed to bring me the workbook/page/etc. (and I'm going to set up an "inbox" for next year to keep all work I need to check together, rather than piling it randomly on my desk), and they're supposed to put the workbox back in the stack. If it's not in the stack, the subject isn't completed. Having the boxes also encourages me to pull out new stuff for my preschooler from time to time too. Their workboxes go next to their individual workspaces, with things that require my assistance going on my desk.

 

I don't put things that are used daily in the workboxes, like pencils. Instead, each of the big kids has a portable plastic box that holds pens, pencil sharpener, eraser, colored pencils, scissors, and glue sticks; those stay next to their workspaces (and double as their boxes for co-op). That has cut way down on wasted time spent looking for pencils and such. Unusual stuff like paint I would put in the workboxes on days they're needed.