I know that the school year is almost over, but I wanted to be sure to post about our workbox system.
Let me just say that I LOVE the idea of Sue Patrick’s workbox system. Although I have not read the book, I have done ALOT of research on it and have checked out ALOT of bloggers who have implemented the system or their own variation of it. Well, we have found something that works for us and I love it and so do the kids…and we have been at it for at least 6 months now.
So, the idea of eventually having 60 shoe boxes (12 for each of my 5 kids) was very daunting to me. Flat out…I knew that I was NOT going to be able to do that! So, I saw this post from Color Me Orange and came up with my own variation. Each child has ONE box and 9 bags (12 seemed like a bit much for now). Here is what our setup looks like:
I purchased Sterilite boxes (like the one to the right), velcro dots
and bags. (I found my bags at the Dollar Tree…3 bags per box.) I love these bags because they have handles on it and they are see-through. So, I printed my number cards and activity cards from Spell Outloud…two copies of each number for each child. Each child has a different color. (In case I didn’t tell you, I have my kids color-coded. Once the little boys are old enough to have their own box, I will be adding green and red.) I covered them with clear contact paper (this was before I got my fabulous laminator
) and used my circle cutters to cut out one set of numbers for each child. I cut the other set of numbers into rectangles (too lazy to do more circles) and taped them onto the bags with clear tape. I attached the velcro dots (with the fuzzy side) to the boxes and onto each of the bags. I put the other dots (with the hard side) onto the circular number cards. So, that is how I got our set-up prepared.
This is how it works. The night/day before I prepare the bags. I have a spreadsheet that I fill out with our plans for the week. {This is VERY key for me…I have to plan at least a week in advance!} I put a number by each assignment/activity to correlate with what bag number I want it to be. If I have all of this planned out ahead of time, it makes filling the bags super easy. In fact, when there is down time for me while the kids are working, I refill the bags as they complete them.
Okay, I think I am jumping ahead. Let me back up. So, I fill the bags and put the appropriate amount of numbers on their bin. The next day, after Bible and Calendar Time, the kids begin their bags. This is what it looks like. Any big stuff that will not fit in the bags goes at the end of the bookshelf.
The kids go and take out bag #1 and get to work. While they are working on their assignment, they put their bag under their desk. (I found the desks at the surplus store of a local university for $3 each!!!)
Once complete, they put everything back in the bag and take the #1 circle card off the bin and stick it on the bag. Then, they hang up their bag at the end of she bookshelf. (Hint…don’t waste your time trying to use hooks from the Dollar Tree…they will NOT hold up…trust me…I tried. I ended up purchasing 3M 5lb hooks
and they are working great!)
The kids continue this until they have completed all their bags. I have special cards which I also printed from from Spell Outloud (I made a few of my own too) that have special activities on them. These are activities that the kids will all do with me in the afternoon…like science and art or they are individual activities that just don’t fit into the bag…like computer and practicing piano. The individual activities go on that person’s bin {take a peek at the very first photo and you can see that KJ has some individual activity cards}, but the group activities go up on our group list. So, in the pic below of our group list, we have already done Bible, Calendar Time; we have read together and we have done science, but not art.
I have said, that for me, out of sight means out of mind. So, I made this group list to remind me of what we need to do in the afternoon. I also have a bin that I use to put everything that we will need for our afternoon activities. I put a velcro strip on the side of it. While preparing the kids boxes for the following day I prepare this bin as well. (See below.) I put the activity card(s) on the side of the box as a another reminder of what needs to be done. Once we have done each group activity the kids take the card off and go put it underneath the matching card on our group list.
As I mentioned, sometimes I am able to fill some of the kids bags during down time while they are still working. As they complete a bag and hang it up, I am sometimes able to grab a few {in between helping, assisting, and teaching the older three…and keeping the 2 year olds out of trouble} and get them ready for the next day. As I do that, I have my own little “station” where I put the bags that are ready to go for the next day. Here is what it looks like. A hook is on the side of the little file cabinet so that the bags stay out of the way.
This way, I know that if a bag has made it to this hook, it is already loaded and ready to be put in the box for the next day. As I am reloading the bags, I remove the circular number so that I can grab them quickly to adhere to the bags for the next day. Once I remove the circle numbers I put them in a little hanging thing that I found at the Dollar Spot in Target. This is what the spot looks like. {So, in this photo my daughter has completed bags 1 and 2 AND I have already re-loaded them for the next day. She is still working on bags 3-8 OR they are hanging at the end of the bookshelf waiting to be re-loaded. She did not have bag 9…hence the 9 is still hanging up…does this make sense?}
As I am working with the kids, I keep my spreadsheet handy so that I can be reminded of what is next for the kids, plus I use it to re-load the bags while the kids are busy. I also wanted to mention that when I plan assignments and activities for the kids, I find that having the spreadsheets makes it ALOT easier for me to plan so that in general I don’t have two kids needing my help at the same time. So, KJ may start with an assignment that requires my help, but I make sure that I schedule the bags so that the boys should be working on something that they can do independently. Make sense???
So, this is our set-up. Please feel free to ask any questions. Hopefully I explained it well enough, but I do tend to be wordy….like I said, let me know if I need to clarify anything! Finally, I can’t say enough how much I LOVE this system. I no longer get the “Mom, what do I do now?” questions, because the kids know what they should be working on!!! I love it!!! It has SOOO drastically improved our homeschool day! We get so much more done! It is great!!!
UPDATED: Have more questions about our Workbox setup? Check out my Workbox Q&A! While you are at it, check out the Workbox Tags that I eventually created!
Mama Jenn
Yay! So glad you were able to snag some bags!!!
Jenn B
My friends think I am super uber-organized as far as schooling! I have got to point them to YOU for organization!
How long ago did you buy the bags? I would like to check my Dollar Tree for them!
Mama Jenn
No problem! Let me know if you have any questions!
Meredith in GA
I’ve had this bookmarked for soooooo long and am excited to finally be putting it into practice at our house. Thanks for the great pictures and explanations!!
Mama Jenn
No prob! Hopefully the baggies will work for you!
Kim Battista Bennett
I love your use of baggies as workboxes. I only have one at home now, but my school room does double duty as my home office, so this is more compact than boxes. Also, my son is not always orderly about putting things neatly into work boxes or bins (we used various forms in past years) — papers spill out, he puts things that are too big in the boxes, etc. Having these baggies will be easier for both of us.Thank you for the specific steps to creating this system.
Mama Jenn
Hopefully it will help! You could also try using file folder instead of bags.
Mama Jenn
That is one of the great things about homeschooling! If something isn’t working for you or your family, you can change it up! I ended up doing that with my daughter, who kinda “out-grew” the workbox system. Hopefully I will get around to posting about the new system soon…but we’ve got to test run it for a few weeks first! LOL!! 😉
Michelle Buck
I tried the workbox system. It just didn’t work for me. The kids did stuff out of order and threw a fit when I wanted them to do it in order, which now I realize that I could have been more lax about. The other problem was all the boxes laying around. And the shelves. I had a shelf for each child. My daughter preferred just checking off a list instead of this method. She’s now in 8th grade. I have to really see how she is doing her work, so this method…while pushing her towards being more independent, actually annoyed me because I wanted to be able to see where she was at. Now I just give her a sheet and at the end of the day, we go over her work and make sure it was done right. I might use something like this for my son. He’s going into 1st and I’m sure as the time comes, I’ll need him to do some things independently.
Provident Living Homestead
So thankful I found this post! Both my husband and I work full time and we are homeschooling our now 2nd grader. I have been intrigued with workboxes but have stayed away because how on earth can I do boxes when my daughter comes to work with me daily, does her work but we are never in the same place everyday! Your bag idea is a great solution for us! Thanks for sharing!
Mama Jenn
Hi Tiffany,
YES, I STILL use this system and I am STILL loving it!!! 🙂
My name is Tiffany
Great post! I am planning for next year and I think a variation of the workbox system will work well for me. I am wondering do you still use this system. I see this was posted in 2010.
Carolyn
Wow this is incredibly organized yet so easy and simple! We will be starting preK with our first next year so I’ve been trying to do a lot of research now. This is the best version of the workbox system I’ve seen. And I know exactly what bags you are talking about at the dollar tree. I was going to get some for some of our tot activities that are too big for gallon ziplocs. Now I just may pick up a whole bunch to prepare. Thank you so much for sharing! And you did so in a great and clear way too! 🙂
http://www.apurposedrivenhome.com
Carolyn @ http://www.apurposedrivenhome.com
Carolyn @ http://www.apurposedrivenhome.com
Dana Lynne
Oh I love your baggie ideas… and the hooks. That would solve my floor mess problem nicely. 🙂 I’ve tried the boxes… but they are so “clunky” that we don’t use them the way they are supposed to be used. Bags are much easier to work with. Thanks for the ideas!
Daphne
I absolutely love how thorough you are. Thank you so much! I’m still waffling back and forth with how I want to do this with my six kids. I really appreciate another option that I could totally see working.
Daphne
Chic Mama
I just had to stop back by and tell you that I bought my sterilite box and bags this weeks and will soon be getting a laminater and velcro dots! I am so thankful for your ingenuitive adaptation of the workbox system! I truly believe it is going to be the best version for our family and I am so looking forward to trying it out later this summer! Thank so much for all your work and great ideas!
Joyce
Okay….. this will be the third time I am re-doing out workboxes i 9 months. But, I think this one will be a keeper. We have such limited space in our school/family room. Love that this will only take up one shelf per child…..and no bulky boxes all over the floor and school table.
Thanks for sharing!
wdworkman
Looks good! I’m in the process of re-doing our box system for next year. (7th grade)
Janet W
http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/wdworkman
Mark & Heather Mac
Great job! Excellent set up and execution! Way to go MOM.
Mark & Heather Mac
Great job! Excellent set up and execution! Way to go MOM.
wannabegodly
I’m just learning about the workboxing idea after 15 years of homeschooling and it sounds very helpful. I see that one of the comments was that it sounds difficult to keep refilling the “boxes” every night and I want to say that I saw a scheduling book you can make to help alleviate that problem at http://www.ideas4theworkbox.blogspot.com. Hope that helps.
kristie
I found the bags you talked about in your system. What size did you use. I got the smallest my dollar store had, but they still seem huge. It was the large size, 15 x 15.
Heather Benza
this is fantastic. I’ve pooling ideas in my head and this one may just work for us!
Rusheika
I love how you have made the system work for you. I agree with you that it is great to have no more “what do I do next questions!” It make our day run more smoothly!
Chic Mama
GREAT POST!!! And so timely- just as I am really trying to figure out how to set everything up for next year! It is definitely a cheaper idea than some of those that I have come across! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Mama Jenn
Keep the questions coming! I will address them all in another post. To allow more time for potential questions and to allow time for me to get it together, I plan to try to post the follow-up with all the answers this coming Saturday.
Autumn
Hi Jenn,
Could you tell me where you purchased your sterilite boxes. I’m wondering if there’s a store I could get it at to save on shipping.
Thanks!
Autumn 🙂
Confessions Of A Homeschooler
I like this idea, I’m forwarding your post to a few friends who don’t have room for the larger workboxes.
Dawn
Thanks for this. I love organizational posts. Unfortunately, I’m better at organizing than actually following through on the system. I need to work on that. I’m just getting ready to start Kindergarten with my oldest. I also have a 2 yo (will be 3 then) and a baby on the way (due in Jan). I’m interested in seeing a sample of your spreadsheet if you would be willing to share. I plan on doing a letter/phonics and living books unit based study with my oldest that my youngest can join in on a lot of the activities. She always wants to do what sissy is doing! And being able to plan for more schedules than just one on a page (including my own) would be a HUGE help! Thanks for your blog. I just found it recently and love it!
Dawn
Mama Jenn
I have gotten some great questions that I failed to address in this post, but I am working on another Workbox post that will address all the questions that I have had so far. So, if you have a question that has not been asked in the above comments, please let me know so that I can answer it in my follow-up post! 🙂
Autumn
Awesome job!!! I soo need to do this! I did purchase the whole shoe box set with my oldest daughter, but now that I have #3 on the way, I’m realizing the need to adapt the concept: especially since we’re living in a 2 bdrm apt! Thank you for the awesome post- I’m looking forward to hunting down some of these sterilite boxes and handle storage bags!
🙂 Autumn
http://www.tumtales.blogspot.com
Giggly Girls
What a great, space-saving variation on the workboxes. Love it, even though I don’t use them. LOL
Threebusybs
Thank you for posting about your workboxes. I started using workboxes just about a month ago. I am only schooling one, at this time, and find that 12 shoeboxes are too many. I do have a question well, two. My 4th grader does use workbooks, if your child(ren) use a workbook do you tear out the pages and place into their bag or do you put the entire book into their bag? My second question is, what do you do with all of their completed work? How do you store it for the year and then longterm? Okay, I guess that is three questions. =)
I look forward to your response.
Aimee
Mozer
Excellent workbox post! You are so organized with everything.
Wonder Mom
WOW- this is so wonderfully organized! I am looking to start something like this for next year- I am REALLY glad you posted this!
Eszter
This is great! Thank you for the detailed description!
{leah}
I love your set up!!! I have mine set up and going great but I love reading aobut how others are doing it to get more ideas. I lvoe how orginized you are!
Muslim Mama
I am so amazed by how much you do. You are truly an inspiration. I have made a workbox system with my daughter, but just need to get the whole thing going. What do you write on your spreadsheets, out of interest!
Ticia
I have yet to figure out a way to make work boxes work for me. I’ve tried a couple of times, but I’m just not good at reloading every day.