Giving workboxes more thought

Now that the idea of workboxes has been on the scene for a while, I have been reading more about how people are implementing the idea. Where have I been reading? Well, here, here, here, and here, to name a few. All implemented differently, all really seem to enjoy it. None of them are "just like me!" Not that I expect anyone is! Just makes me realize how much more flexible the "system" is. I have said would would never implement it as I understood it from the snippets I have pieced together. I still won't buy the book. I don't like the idea THAT much. I see it more as a starting point, and idea. Something for me to build on!

As I have been struggling lately to feel like we are even getting in the most basic things I would like (we are very relaxed homeschoolers, but I still feel like we need to cover reading and math on a daily basis), I have been thinking more and more about how workboxes might help me. I am not the most organized person, which is a big part of the reason that things don't get done. If I had to fill workboxes, at least all the pieces would be in place! I spend a great deal of time finding all sorts of great ideas (the internet is great for that!), downloading pieces for things, and we never get to them. If I had to fill workboxes, we might get to them. Kiddo responds well to a list of things to complete, and works through things quickly, so I don't see workboxes encroaching on his "free" time. Instead I see them more as accountability for me. I won't do 12 a day. I am only envisioning putting in reading, math, and unit study items. Reading is 2 boxes (actually reading plus explode the code pages), Math is 2 boxes (a worksheet plus a math activity), and unit study is one box. That is only 5. I might do 6, and throw in something I think we should do, a science experiment, a game, a recipe, something else fun. That would probably always go in the last box, since it would probably be the most open-ended of the items. I also think I would do them in the same order each day. Again, I don't see these as being for Kiddo's needs as much as for my own accountability. Kiddo is very flexible and will work through whatever I ask him to. He often asks me for specific things and I am not ready to give them to him. Sometimes they are quick to prep, other times we never get to them. At any rate, I have been thinking more about it. And you just might see some "workboxes" pop up around here soon!

LOOK! COOKBOOKS!

LOOK WHAT I GOT IN THE MAIL LAST WEEK!

If you aren't jealous, you either already own these WONDERFUL cookbooks, or you have never heard of them.

If you've never heard of them, let me explain.

Pretend Soup and Salad People are cookbooks for KIDS! They are written by Mollie Katzen (She wrote The Moosewood Cookbook, in case you think the name is familiar). They are FABULOUS! Each recipe is 4 pages long. The first two pages are the adult pages. They give the recipe the way we are used to seeing a recipe, and give you tips and pointers for working with kids on the specific recipe. The next two pages give the recipe in pictures and simple words for kids!

These cookbooks came highly recommended from a friend. She had told me about them a while ago, and I kinda let it go. Then when I was reading about workboxes, and someone mentioned they put a recipe in one of their child's boxes for the day. I got to thinking. Kiddo loves to cook. I don't always like to cook with him. So I looked into these cookbooks again. I got them from the library first. They have been a HUGE hit. Tiny Tacos quickly became a favorite lunch. There are so many recipes I still want to try! I let Kiddo choose a recipe each week. The recipes would make great workboxables for younger kids.

There is another cookbook, Honest Pretzels, that is for 8 and up. I am looking forward to getting that one in another year or so!

A great new game!

We received an unexpected package in the mail last week. We have a relative who occasionally sends us fun packages and we never know they are coming. We opened it and found this inside:



I had never heard of Shut the Box, but it is such a great game! It says for ages 8 and up, but Kiddo loves it. Basically you roll the dice and then flip down shutters to total the total of the dice. The objective is to flip down all the shutters. There is a bit more to it than that, but that is the general idea. We play a little bit modified for Kiddo, we only add two numbers together to get the total..more than that is just too confusing for him right now.

I have been adding this into our school day as fun math practice. Kiddo will play several rounds of it without tiring of it. I am anticipating a travel version with cards (lay down cards 9 to 1, then lay cards 1 to 9 on top of them). It would also work really well for a workbox, I would bet!

What passes for planning

I like to make lists. I like to find resources. I just don't always follow through on my plans! As a mentor of mine once said, "A list is just a suggestion of what could be done until something better comes along!" I tend to follow that philosophy. In homeschooling, however, there are times when I need to plan. While I was without computer this weekend (hubby and Kiddo took it over to use Lego Digital Designer. It's very cool, but it left me without computer for the better part of the weekend!), I started jotting things down for school. I went through a stack of books and listed a bunch of things I wanted to do. So this is currently what my planning looks like:



Now, I just have to implement....

Maybe I should reconsider those workboxes...for me, not the kids!

Workboxes

On a couple of the message boards I read, including the one over at HomeschoolShare, the Workbox System is getting a lot of attention. As I understand it, you have somewhere between 6 and 15 boxes that you fill with the days activities. Then your child can work their way through the boxes, some independently, some with help. While I doubt I will be making this a part of our homeschool, there are a few things that appeal to me about it.

First, the fact that Kiddo would be able to see what he needs to do for the day. I could add games and crafts, etc. to our already fairly stable daily routine. I also like the variety it would add to our days. Changing the boxes daily would make each day different. Finally, it would hold me accountable. If it is in a box, we should be doing it.

But, there are also some things that either would not work for us, or I just don't like--at least from what I have heard. First of all, the boxes. I don't have the space to have a rack with boxes set out on it. 12 boxes (which seems to be the number of boxes that is most common) times 2 kids is 24 shoebox size plastic boxes out and about. I have no place to put that. There is also great mention of setting time limits for open-ended activities (like playdough). One of the things I like about homeschooling is that I don't have to have limits on those things. Kiddo can play for hours, if that is what suits him. And, I am not sure how it would work for following Kiddo's lead. At times, Kiddo will do more than I ask him to. He might get on a roll with math and decide to do 3 or 4 pages instead of 1 or 2 There are many days when we get reading a book and have to stop and look up something on the computer, only to have that lead to another question, and more research, etc. We usually get through our basic stuff, but some days we don't. Some days we spend so much time following trails that we never get back to what we started. And that is fine with me. Finally, I am not sure how motivated I would be to fill 12 boxes each night.

I haven't had an opportunity to read the book, and at this point, I can't see myself spending the money on it. Still, I can see myself taking some ideas from what I have read. Kiddo would get to more if I had it ready for him the night before. I can see myself setting up a weeks worth of stuff I'd like to get to, and then doling it out each day. I would have to build in some flexibility so that we could follow our little paths as they pop up. And I will not set a timer for Kiddo. There are very few things that have to be done in a specific amount of time, and he has plenty of time to learn about time limits. Right now I want him to learn about exploring and learning all that he can from every activity he does.

Do you have a system that works particularly well for you? Tell me about it! I am always looking for ideas to draw upon!