Workbox System

This year we are trying out a new organizational system: workboxes!  I got the idea from a post on Confessions of a Homeschooler and like any great idea, I modified it to fit our needs.

Why We Needed This System:
Last year was my first year doing two grade levels (2nd & K) and it proved to be manageable but sometimes tricky helping one child while not leaving the other with nothing to work on.  What I discovered last year was that my oldest needed a way to feel more accountable to himself for the work he was doing and I needed both boys to avoid becoming each other's distractions - looking at what the other was working on.

Getting Set-up:

I found these beautiful  10-drawer colorful rolling carts on sale for 1/2 price from Joann Fabric's online store (just so you know, the local stores do not honor their website's online sale prices).  I shopped around and read customer reviews and worried quite a bit about durability but am very pleased with the two I bought.  I may even get a couple more so I have them in reserve for when Shorty & a Future#4 need them.  On a side note: Each cart was shipped in its own box and when we got them the first was perfect but the second was full of cracked bins.  Customer service took care of the refund and sent a new one out express shipped.  So yay for that!

Next, I printed blank progress charts on colored paper, had them laminated and stuck velcro squares on them.  I modified the blank progress charts to have bin numbers 1-10 and a picture on them (dinosaurs for Slim, penguins for Birdman & dogs for Shorty).  These I printed on cardstock, laminated them and added the other half of the velcro squares on the back of these.  Here's a picture of Shorty's chart with the dog cards velcroed on.  I made a chart for him even though he's pre-k and only has a table & basket, but no bins.  I figured he'd like to have what the big boys have but I didn't realize it was also going to be a great activity for him to do.  He loves pulling the cards off (the brand new velcro is really loud!) and putting them back on.  When he gets better at number recognition he can put them in order!  My brain is buzzing with fun velcro activity ideas for him now!

Kitchen Timers:
This idea is maybe my favorite part about our system.  I had a bunch of blank laminated cards left over and wondered if I could use them for something.  What I came up with is writing on them with a wet erase marker how many minutes the boys should spend on each bin and then giving them kitchen timers so that they could keep track themselves.  Of course, they were excited to have their own timers and to set them at the beginning of each bin.  On my end, I like that it cuts down on dawdling significantly and takes any nagging away from me and puts it on the timer.  Now, this isn't for everyone.  Some kids will get stressed out by the timers and it's not meant to be like that.  I give them more time than they should need so that they can finish before the time runs out.  With my boys, they need a visual way to track their progress and the combination of the chart & the timer does the trick in a fun hands-on way for them!

Rules of the Workboxes:

We have a couple of rules for the workboxes.  #1 - Bins must be done in order.  #2 - Absolutely NO peeking in the bins until it's schooltime and you've progressed to that bin.  Some boxes have surprises, crafts and/or games in them and I like to keep things fresh and interesting for them.  If they're peeking ahead of time it won't be as exciting come schooltime.  Just the other night there was a big discussion about what Birdman's "Game Center" game would be (more on that in a sec.) and I could tell the temptation was going to be too much for them.  So instead of putting the actual game in the bin, I wrote it on a piece of construction paper and taped it up envelope-style for him to open if/when he got to do Game Center the next day.


How It All Comes Together:
I didn't realize that using the bins and mixing the order of subjects up would actually help me out in creating a workable timetable for assisted vs. solo work for our two grade levels.  Last year, we did the same subjects at the same time.  So they were both working on math and I was going back and forth helping both of them out at the same time.  It was crazy for me and distracting for them.  With the workbox system, because I could visually move subjects from bin-to-bin I tried out a few different combinations before I stumbled upon a sort of a-ha! that worked for us.

I made up a chart showing how we use the bins.  You can see how some bins are done together (they are connected) and how we flip-flop assisted work & solo work.  While one boy does one bin of math for about an hour, the other boy is completing two bins for 30 minutes each.  This may look rigid to some but it helps me make sure we efficiently cover everything we need to while still leaving room for flexibility.  This schedule is a snapshot of a full day - other days we end school early for sports, scouts or field trips.

Keeping it Fun:
I mentioned Game Center earlier.  Inside each boy's math bin there is a square of velcro with a "Game Center" card velcroed to it.  In addition to their math books, I always include a math game of some sort in the bin (or a note about what the Game Center game is).  I'm a huge fan of baskets and bins and I found some really cute ones at the Dollar Store during Easter a while back and they are great for organizing.  So in my closet (one of the few places that doesn't get snooped in) I keep a math bin full of manipulatives, flash cards & math games.  They each get a full 60 minutes for math.  The sooner they finish it, the more time they will have remaining in that hour for their Game Center game.
 I've also just added another inside-the-bin card for Free Reading when they've finished their Language Arts work in the afternoon and have time leftover while I'm still doing Spelling with the other one.  We keep a box of library books in our school room so there is always a good supply of books to choose from.

The variety of these incentives keeps them focused and busy and makes our whole day full of fun learning!


Prep-work For Me:
Over the weekend, I look ahead to any projects we have coming up.  I order any books we might need from the library and make any copies I'll need during the week etc...  Guess where all of this goes?  In another handy bin!  I know, I'm a little bin-crazy.  This one holds everything I'm going to need to put into their workboxes throughout the week.  This week we had a game activity in Story of the World that I had to partly prepare, so I did that set-up and put it in a ziploc bag.  Part of the activity they could start working on with a little instruction so I got all of the materials & put them in ziplocs for them.  When the day came that they were going to do that activity, I just put the ziplocs in their history bins and with scissors and other supplies already in the ziplocs there was no getting up and wandering around searching for supplies!

At the end of each day throughout the week, I bring out my Prep Bin and fill the next day's workboxes.  I check over their work (completed work goes in a file tray on top of their workboxes) & put everything in their binders.  I keep their binders in the bottom workbox since we don't have that many subjects and sometimes I hole-punch the pages and let them put their work away themselves but I'll do it if we've got other things calling for our time.

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So that's how the Workbox System works for us!  If you already use a similar system or if you give this a try, I'd love to hear how it goes!