For several weeks now I’ve been wanting to share what I got via snail mail. Give you 3 guesses what I’m going to use it for…
No, I’m a quilter….
No, I don’t scrapbook…
Yep, you got it. This super planning teacher minded mom is getting ready to start homeschooling her preschool daughter using workboxes.
I was actually pretty excited about this purchase. I ordered this 10 drawer storage cart online from Joann’s Fabric (we don’t have a Joann’s near us). Normally these carts cost around $80, but when I purchased it, it just happened to be on sale for 60% off. I then went through ebates to get another 10% off because it was double rewards at the time and even qualified for free shipping. The final cost…$26! Woot! Woot!
But, I digress. For those of you unfamiliar with the workbox system, it is a organizational system for the homeschooler originally designed by Sue Patrick. I first heard about it from Erica over at Confessions of a Homeschooler. Being one who runs best on organization, I knew that if I was going to teach my kids at home I needed some manner to organize our day. Thus, the workbox system.
One activity or subject is placed into each of the workboxes every day. Peanut will know exactly how much she is to accomplish in one day by how many workboxes she has left to complete. As she completes a box, she will take the task label off the workbox and place it on her Workbox Success Chart. When her Workbox Success Chart is full, she’s done. And, this mom will know she’s done preparing for the next school day when she’s filled those 10 workboxes.
Since its creation, the workbox system has grown into many shapes and forms. Just do a google search for “homeschool workboxes” and you’ll see what I mean. Many people have vamped it to work best for their family. There’s even a Workbox Blogroll with nearly 200 workbox bloggers and several yahoo workbox groups if you decide to really get into it.
Anyway, here’s our setup.
1. I placed 5/8 inch round velcro stickers on either side of the drawer. The dots on the right are for the number labels or subject labels. The dots on the left are for “help me” labels or item labels that Peanut will redeem for an object such as iPod or TV time.
2. Next I created a Workbox Success Chart and a Spare Me card to place all the extra labels.
3. I then added some extra velcro dots to the side of the cart to place the Workbox Success Chart and Spare Me Chart. The nice thing about this is that now we can take the charts off and place them by her work area if we don’t want to leave them on the cart all the time.
4. This leaves us with our finished workbox station. I can’t wait until we start using it!
In all the excitement of planning, I kind of went overboard with workbox labels. I’m providing a copy of our workbox labels below. Some people prefer using the number system for their workboxes while others use subject labels. Thus, I tried to include both to appease both sides of the fence.
I also tried to include as many subjects as I could think of as well as a variety of names for each subject. For instance, did you know that what may be typing to one family is computers to another, keyboard in another, or even technology in still another?
Needless to say, I could have made labels for days but hopefully these 70+ labels will give you a good start if you are interested in developing your own workbox system. I’m also including my Workbox Success chart and Spare Me chart as well. Just click on the image below to download and let me know how you like your new system!
Download Your FREE Workbox System Labels Now!
By the way, I’m currently creating a preschool workbox curriculum which I hope to be sharing with you very soon as Peanut starts school. I’m so excited about it because it not only includes those regular workbox items and activities but also ideas for music, PE, morning board, memory work, and more all related to the topic, letter or number of the week. I’ve seen several amazing homeschool curriculums out there but none that are all-inclusive so be sure to come back and check it out in July as you get ready for your new school year.
