I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was revising our workboxes. While I love the concept, I had to simplify the process for us or I would be forever filling boxes.
- Every Friday or Saturday afternoon (depending on our week), I spend time looking over our Sonlight plans and our Apologia science (Swimming Creatures) for the next week, gathering additional materials for the younger ones so they are on a similar track as Nathanael and sometimes Maggie. I also look over all the Crew review materials andor websites we have at the moment.
- Any worksheets that need creating or printing for the next week get printed at that time. This usually includes copywork and handwriting sheets. On Monday they always work on their current memory verse. The rest of the week will be anything that ties into our current studies or a Crew item. Right now we are reviewing Presidential Penmanship from Zeezok, so that is handwriting for Tuesday-Friday. I also use a lot of lapbook mini-books from HomeSchool Share and ABC Teach for Maggie, Katie and Benjy.
- Instead of a placing these items into each workbox, I’ve created 5 folders labeled Day 1-Day 4 and Extra Curricular. We usually do full school only 4 days a week, with an additional day for music, art, science experiments, and home ec. (a.k.a. house cleaning!)
- In these daily folders I also place Maggie’s Saxon 2 pages, Nathanael’s spelling lists, and composition exercises.
- I use sticky notes on Nathanael’s How to Study the Bible for Kids, Saxon 65 and R & S English 5 books, letting him know what to do each day of the week. I do the same for any readers that either Nathanael or Maggie will be completing.
I love using the folders because I can simply shift sheets from one to the next if we don’t finish them on that day. I also have everything I need in front of me and can distribute it as we get to that subject. This is working much better for us than the individual workboxes. Maggie and Nathanael still have their crate or file boxes.
I’ve also shifted the little ones’ preschool activities into a larger clear tote. With this method, I don’t have to resort the items into the workboxes each night, and they pick up quickly when they don’t have to sort too. I’ve started with a few items and will rotate as they get tired of these. What’s in the preschool box now:
- Lacing cards from Lauri
- Lauri preschool and primary activities tote
- Wooden spelling cards (picture/word card with wooden letters to fit into the spaces) from Melissa and Doug (clearance item from TJ Maxx!)
- Puzzles from the dollar store and Target’s dollar spot (these get rotated most often) Even the older ones will ask to do these while I’m reading aloud.
- Mighty Mind and other pattern block activities
- White boards
- Alphabet tiles
