Well, it’s official. I’ve been sucked into the workbox world. I can already here my dear friend, Paula, calling out to me… “No! No, Sara! Just walk away from the shiny distraction.” Ugh. But I just can’t. I’m too intrigued. This system has potential and I can’t just pass it up.
If you haven’t heard, there’s a new ‘movement’ in the homeschooling world known as Sue Patrick’s Workbox System. And if you haven’t heard… well you’re going to now. : )
Straight from Sue’s website, here’s a description.
An effective teaching system to reduce your organizational time and increase your child’s self-control, independence and learning.
I could tell you all about the system and how it works here, but many bloggers have already done that. I’ll give you a list of helpful links at the bottom of this post. If you find that you want more information, why not pick up the book written by Ms. Patrick, herself?
Now, on to why I jumped into this rabbit hole…
First of all, I am a natural born mess. I’ve lived in clutter my entire existence and it’s presence follows me everywhere I go. Now. Being an organizational mess makes any act of scheduling or structure extremely difficult – but very necessary. Disarrangement and chaos will reign if left to breed and all semblance of accomplishment goes right out the door. This is my life – our life in the O’shea clan. When you are a homeschooling family, you cannot afford to let chaos control the direction of your home and that includes your education.
Enter: workboxes. For us, this system is a visual checklist of things we must get done each day. Our ‘boxes’ aren’t the typical setup. Currently, for the olders, we’re using paper trays. I have a bazillion of these so I’m determined to use what I have, before I blow any money on the ‘next new thing’. Each child has a stack of 12 paper trays that I keep on the floor because there’s nowhere else to put them for easy access. The youngers are sharing a set of 9 boxes that are all linked together like cubes. I put both their assignments in the same cube as they work in the same places at the same times. The children are schooled in pairs here. The older two (ages 9 and 8) are on the same ‘levels’ in everything excepting reading. The youngers (ages 6 and almost 5) are just starting out. The 6 yr. old is an early reader and is doing kindergarten math. The youngest will not start these things for a few months. But their work all goes in the same box. They know who’s is who’s.
The second thing I love about using this system is that we never have 12 subjects that must be done everyday. Which means we get to actually use some of that fun extra curriculum I purchased but never have time for. : ) Our efficiency has greatly increased, allowing us more time for other fun things as well. Not only are we accomplishing our bare minimum or a ‘full’ day of school with activities. We’re accomplishing all that AND some good clean family fun in the day hours before papa gets homes. We’re not scrambling to fit chores in. We have plenty of time for all the things we would like to do. It’s organization at it’s best! : )
The third thing that makes workboxes so awesome is that the kids love it. They love looking through their boxes in the morning and discovering fun new things they get to do or learn about. They love seeing their work decrease with each activity – having a visual picture of what’s left to do for the day. It helps them to feel more in control of their workload.
Naturally, we’re doing our own ‘version’ of workboxes, so not everything is rigid. We’re still feeling out what works for us and what doesn’t. Right now, just having the boxes is helping us get more done, so I’m happy. : )
So now you’re wondering all about workboxes right? Here’s some great places to find lots of information and ideas…
*Sweet Simplicity’s workbox posts
These are just a few of the blog posts out there about workboxes. Take some time to check it out and tell me what you think. : )
Sara O’
I’ll look at the links when I get to the shop today (dsl as opposed to dial up at home!).
I need to get past the idea that there are boxes of paper on the floor and that this somehow leads to better organization……….
Paula, did you get a chance to look at them yet? I'm curious to know what you think…