What are workboxes?
Workboxes are simply the 10 drawer rolling filing carts that you can buy in many different craft or office supply stores. You will need one for each child. All 10 boxes will get filled by you, each night or early morning, before school. Your child will work through each of the 10 boxes, in order, each day. They are NOT allowed to look ahead! Each of their assignments will be placed, one assignment in each box. All components necessary to complete the assignment get placed inside the box {including books, materials, etc.}. You will likely have a couple of boxes left over. You can add fun activities to these boxes, free play, chores, or whatever you wish. You can, and I recommend that you do, include fun prizes or snacks every so often in a box to surprise your child!
Why workboxes?
By taking 5-10 minutes ahead of time and filling your boxes, you can save yourself SO much time during the school day. You don’t have to stop and gather things, all the while completely losing your kid’s attention. Do you know how much damage can be done by your sweet little students while you gather supplies to grow your own crystals? By doing it all in advance, everything is already there at your fingertips.
Many times as homeschool moms it is hard to juggle everything on our plate. I used to find myself hurrying to check things off sometimes and end up skipping all the fun things. These boxes allow me a way to throw in that extra fall color sheet, art project, cooking project, game, etc. I’m all for the fun.
I also used to deal regularly with the nagging question “how much school do we have today?” or “are we almost done?”. The workboxes give kids a visual as to what the expectation is for them. Ten boxes, then they are done. I have found that the visual allows them to relax and enjoy the school day.
The boxes are also useful in helping deal with teaching multiple kids at the same time. You can arrange assignments into the boxes in a strategic way. You can stagger the assignments so that you are available to help each child. For example, if you need to be available to help each child with math, you can stagger the math assignments in their boxes. You can put Beth’s math in box 1, Will’s math in box 5, and Eva’s math in box 10. If you prefer for everyone to do math at the same time you can put all the math in box 1 for each child. It’s completely up to you.
As your child works through their boxes, they will move the number from the left side to the right side of that box. This gives you an excellent visual to see quickly where they are at in their school work for the day.
My children respond beautifully to these boxes. Each one is like a surprise gift for them.
In this Workbox collection, you will receive instructions, labels, cards, and a planning sheet. You will also need the following items: 1 rolling cart per child, 20 sets of velcro dots or squares per child, and printer paper (I recommend card stock). Additional items that are helpful are a small hand held timer per child and access to a laminator!
Please let me know if you have any additional questions.
You can purchase your workbox collection here for instant download!
Happy Workboxing!