Our Workbox System

I have always wanted to use Sue Patick’s Workbox System for our homeschool, but we just didn't have the room for the cute little cart with pretty bins that I really want and especially not for a shelf with plastic shoe boxes. I decided to put it off for a while, but last year, I decided to take another look. I needed an easier way to organize our school day and allow my girls to see what was next. After searching the web high and low for how others use the system, I decided that the file folder system would be our best bet.

Before I begin, I just want to note that my girls will be in 2^nd and 7^th grade this 2013/2014 school year. When I implemented the system last year, the 2012/2013 school year, they were 1^st and 6^th. You will be seeing pictures with 1^st and 6^th grade work.

Youngest child.

Oldest child.

Putting It All Together

I gathered my supplies and set to work.

Ø  2 file folder boxes, one for each child (I chose the skinny boxes with handled lids.)

Ø  2 packs of dime size Velcro dots

Ø  A pack of card stock

Ø  A pack (or 2) of file folders, one for each subject, per child

Ø  My laminator and pouches

Ø  Workbox activity cards, free from Jolanthe at Homeschool Creations

Ø  Grid for front of workbox (I just measured and drew my own.)

After laminating my workbox activity cards and grid, I decided which of the cards I was going to use. I placed the fluffy side of the Velcro dots to those. I placed the hook side of the Velcro dots to the grid and to the outside of the file folders and put the file folders inside the box. I used clear packing tape to stick the grid to the front of the box. I’m sure you can use another way if that one doesn't work for you.

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How We Use It

I try, at the very least, to pull all of my girls’ work sheets from their books and place them in large 3-ring binders. I also *try* to plan a week ahead, more if I’m feeling good, and I stick everything in my file folder box in folders labeled Monday-Thursday. We have co-op on Fridays, so we don’t have school at home on those days. This blog post has inspired me to plan at least half of our year out.

Whether you are a night-before planner, a year-ahead planner, or somewhere in between, the point of this system is the same. It can be done either way.

Both of my girls have their Abeka charts and other useful charts/papers in a 3-ring binder that stays in the back of their workbox. This just makes for easy access all the way around.

My youngest has a Calendar Notebook in a 3-ring binder. It’s basically her old Morning Board, broken down, and turned into a notebook. This has a Velcro dot on the front since it’s too big for a folder. We have lots of goodies in here. She has a printable calendar for each month so that she can trace the month name and the days of the week at the beginning of the month, and she traces each day, well, day-by-day. We have  a little clock velcroed in, so she can practice time. We also have a Spanish word of the week page. We use We ChooseVirtue, paired with the Child Training Bible, and the new Virtue Training Bible. I stick her virtue of the week in here as well. We have a laminated/Velcro-dotted “The weather outside is…”page, a weather graph for each month, a “Today, Tomorrow, Yesterday” page, a laminated thermometer page to fill in temperature, and skip counting pages (we work on one until it’s mastered). All of these are either laminated themselves and glued to cardstock or they are placed in protective sheets, which we write on with a dry erase marker. Here, here, and here are where I got our free Calendar Notebook printables from.

So after all that background information…. Each folder gets an activity card velcroed to the outside of it, like “math”, “writing”, “history”, “exercise”, etc. Some of them may have a “Mom’s Help” also velcroed to them. Some things, like the calendar notebook, writing, reading, or math review days, they can do alone. When we are learning new things, review harder things, or need to work on a subject together, I put the “Mom’s Help” on the folder. The night before, I place their necessities inside the folder, like a worksheet, their reading book, a spelling list to review, a review game, Wrap-ups, or a note that says what they should grab: a puzzle, a game, etc. If I want something specifically done, I will stick a post-it note to it, “Read pages 61-65, then discuss with mom.” I do this for my oldest daughter. I usually keep a running post-it note. She crosses off as she does the work. When it’s full, I trash it and start another one.

After they have finished a folder, they remove the activity card from their folder and place it on the grid on the front. My youngest loves doing this. She can visually see what she has left to do. She would always ask, “How much more do we have to do?” Now she checks her folders to see what needs to be done. She is so much more apt to do school work now!! My oldest doesn't really need to have the activity cards and grids, but she’s like her momma. We love to be organized and have a spot for everything.

This is our Workbox System in a nutshell. I hope I have covered everything. If I wasn't clear, or you simply have some questions, please feel free to ask! I’ll help the best that I can. :)