Homeschool Workbox System

If you are new to my blog (or not) you need to know that we are still a work in progress. I have once again implemented something new that I hope will help with my chronic lack of organization. I had read about the workbox system a while back but it looked way to structured and involved for us. Now that I have a better understanding how customizable homeschooling is, I am giving it a try!

I rearranged the school room last night and moved all of our bookshelves onto one wall and the desk over to in front of the window. Yes, I know I have one weird little one, but until I can get another big one it will have to do.

The little one is actually perfect for the girls to have 6 boxes each. I used $1 shoe boxes I got at Walmart. They aren't quite big enough to put the larger books and papers in without having to fold them a bit, but I already had them and they work well enough.

I plan on using these labels as soon as our printer ink arrives. Wouldn't you know that I ran out today when I was all excited about printing and getting this done. We follow a block schedule of sorts with some days having certain subjects and others having different ones:

Mondays:
Bible
Math
Social Studies
Language
Spelling
Latin

Tuesdays:
Bible
Math
Lapbook on current science subject
Language
Spelling
Cursive

Wednesdays:
Bible
Math
Language
Spelling
Art

Thursdays:
Bible
Math
Geography
Science
Language
Spelling

Fridays:
Bible
Math
Lapbook
Language
Spelling
Cursive Practice

We would also do daily reviews for Latin and daily read alouds. Because our daily schedule varies so much, I plan on using velcro dots on the back of the labels. This will allow me to change them up each day and I think add an element of excitement with not having the same subject order each day. When you look at the schedule it doesn't seem like I have done many fun things, but Weaver actually incorporates many hands on activities, as do the lapbooks. I also plan on randomly letting them skip worksheets in favor of a themed activity.

Here are some pros and cons that I have come up with. I hope they help you decide if this might work for you and your child.

Pros:

Allows child to work more independently.

May reduce stress as the child knows exactly what is expected of them.

Helps keep parent organized and eliminates the last minute scramble of finding supplies.

I have been scouring the internet for ideas and am overwhelmed by the number of ways this system can be organized.

Cons:

Finding the supplies can be expensive depending on what is used.

Requires planning and restocking of the boxes nightly.

Takes space, though this can be minimized through some creative thinking (see below).


There are as many ways to customize workboxes as there are homeschooling families. From using files to the shoeboxes that we used, you can do what works best for your family!