Workboxes « Growing In Grace

Workbox grids and printables

09 Aug 2011 1 Comment

by Tracy in Workboxes Tags: kindergarten, lesson plans, organizing, plans, preschool, workbox

Months ago I wrote a post about the different workbox options, but I never got around to posting about where to find grids and printables (or at least, where I found mine).

Our System of Choice

First, our workbox method is a space-saver version from Amazon, 12 pocket files that hang from Command hooks beside each child’s chair. I attached velcro dots to each file pocket and each laminated workbox number card. When work is completed, they turn it in to the “teacher tray” which is simply Wal-mart’s cheapest paper tray. Then the workbox number is pulled off the file and placed onto our “workstation” grid. I’ve seen many people cut these grids into strips and hang them from office rings, but the single sheet of paper works best for us. I have velcro dots attached to this as well. (And I laminate everything!)

I place scissors, glue, pencils and whatever else is required directly into the pockets. For art projects, I put the small pieces in a ziplock, and then place the ziplock and supplies into a pocket. If a project is too large for a pocket, I stick a card in the pocket for them to see me, and I’ll hand the activity to them. And that’s our system, as simply as I can state it.

Our Workstation Printables

Just search Google for “Workbox printables” or “Workbox Grids” and you’ll find a myriad of options. But some of the ones that we use and love are from two separate websites. First, our grids, number cards, and a few of our activity cards were from Robin’s Heart of Wisdom blog. I love how bright and colorful they are! And they coordinate with our bright red pockets, which of course is important. She also has a workbox weekly planner, though her’s is not the one we use. Robin also has a beautiful workbox directory to give you some inspiration for how others have used this method.

I’ve also used a number of printables from Erica at Confessionsofhomeschooler.com (scroll to bottom of the page for the workbox printables). And all of last year, I used her workbox planning page, modified of course, to fit our schedule. Erica’s blog is actually where I first read about workboxes, and I am forever indebted to her!

This year, I’m going to try a couple of things differently. Primarily, I’m using an editable pdf planner from Homeschool Creations, so my format is more lesson plans than necessarily workbox plans (for my son). She also has a couple of preschool planner pages, which is what I’m trying for my daughter.

I’ve actually used the preschool pages as a template for our week, more than specific plans. And the space for workbox planning, I’ve kept very general. Since her schedule is pretty routine, I figured I could just look at my template, find the activity for the specific pocket (i.e. “wipesheet”) and pull out the activity for the letter of the week that we are working on. Trying to streamline my planning, we’ll see how it goes. If all fails, I’ll go back to Erica’s method; it worked great last year.

And if you’ve made some printables or have a favorite you absolutely love, please share it with us in the comments section!

Workbox Pockets–Toddler Style

30 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment

by Tracy in Workboxes Tags: workbox

Because of our relaxed summer schedule and the fact that I haven’t really been doing “school” with the Little One, I have not filled up her workbox pockets. She has NOT been okay with that.

In fact, the other day, she took it upon herself to fill her own pockets. I thought you might be interested in taking a peak.

Homer Hanky from the Minnesota Twins baseball team

a silly band

a magnetic fishing pole

Should I take a hint?

What’s in the Workbox?–summer edition

08 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment

by Tracy in Workboxes

We have had a blast with our new summer schedule this week. Our morning routine usually takes about an hour; and then I spend another hour in the heat of the afternoon with just my son. I’ve loved the change. It feels like summer–without all of the randomness and chaos of boredom.

Here’s a peak at our summer workbox contents.

Pocket #1:

Smells Notebooking Page

We took two 10-minute nature walks yesterday. One during the day, and one in the evening with Daddy. The day smells were recorded into the kids’ nature journals. The night smells will be written on our smells notebook page this morning.

Pocket #2:

We are going to watercolor one of the flowers we pressed this week. And yes! Those ARE watercolor crayons. I ordered a set of pencils for myself, but the crayons have turned out to be my favorite. I love them! It will be the kids’ first time to use them today.

Pocket #3:

Van Gogh Picture Study

I can’t wait to share more about our Van Gogh study. Today we get to continue our picture study of Van Gogh’s “Bedroom at Arles” painting. And the kids will get to color their own copy of the painting while listening to Handel’s Water Music. In my plans for the summer, I have art scheduled for Monday through Wednesday; we simply listen to Handel on those days. On Thursdays and Fridays, we will actually look at Handel’s bio and study the music itself; we will not do much with art on those days.

And that’s it for our morning routine. Now for the afternoon pockets–

Pocket #4:

Rather than placing my “Poster Center” card in the pockets, I’ve experimented with placing things for him to bring to Poster Time. This has helped him immensely, and he is learning to be a little more independent with his review. I let him do his chart and flashcards on his own while I just listen in. The felt-backed letters are for our Make-a-Word game. I’ll make a word on our felt board, and then he will read it.

Pocket #5:

Since I’m still waiting on my K5 materials to come in, I’m using the left-over worksheets from K4 with the lesson plans for K5. Not ideal, but it’s working. Because I didn’t follow every iota of the lesson plans in K4, I do have an unfinished workbook (EEK! I know. Horrible, isn’t it?) I concluded that it was really a matter of what he knew, not what he finished that mattered. And since he aced all the K4 evaluation material, why make him do busy work? (Especially when we can be busy with watercolor and nature walks, right?)

Pocket #6:

He has read all of these “Little Book” Readers for K4, but I’m insisting that he reads them perfectly now–no sounding or guessing. When he reads a book perfectly, he gets to take it to his “library” in his room. I love these A Beka readers. So colorful and fun!

Pocket #7:

This is handwriting today. We are learning about the structure of a sentence, and I love this activity from Confessions of a Homeschooler. After making his own sentence, my son will write the sentence he has made for handwriting practice. We’ll do this for about 10 minutes (I’ll set the timer).

Pocket #8:

Math Poster Center, bring-along activities. He’ll review numbers 1-20, 1+ addition table, and counting to 100 (by tens and by ones).

Pocket #9:

This is another bring-along activity for Poster Time, from A Beka’s arithmetic games. We’ll be reviewing counting change. I usually have him write the amount on the chalkboard as well, giving him some extra practice writing his numbers.

Pocket #10:

Last activity of the day is an oral graded evaluation. I will repeat a number orally two times, and he must write them. The numbers are pretty simple, so I’m not worried about the grading part. But I think it will be a tremendous exercise in being attentive (I can only repeat the number twice). Listening and following directions is a skill that needs a little work right now.

Just as I had thought, we finish our phonics/math activities in about half the time without the little one there (she’s napping during this time). Which means that our afternoon activities usually take about an hour. He loves this. An hour of just “me and mommy” time.

And that’s our day! I’m loving summer right now.

The Workbox System: Finding your Method

11 May 2011 Leave a Comment

by Tracy in Workboxes

I have loved the idea of workboxes. The method has literally transformed our homeschool. Not only do they keep me organized, but they have kept our day moving–THE key to a successful day with little ones that have zero-attention span.

One fantastic thing about workboxes is the variety. From blog to blog, I see so many variations of this idea, each family finding what works for them.

The basic idea is to have 9-12 compartments (or however many you need) for different assignments and projects. As the child works through the assignments in a compartment, he will take off the number attached to the compartment and add it to a grid. Then, the completed assignments will be returned to the teacher. (For a video tutorial from the originator of the idea, click here.)

Though the original idea calls for actual boxes in a rolling cart, there are so many ways to incorporate the principle. Let me highlight just a few.

The space-saver version is what we use–file folder pockets that hang from the wall using Command Hooks. You can purchase these for around $15 on Amazon (click the picture below to take you there).

Another idea, especially for younger children, are the toy bins or trays. A more expensive option, but they allow little ones to see what’s planned for the day.

For older children, some other ideas I have seen include a file box with numbered hanging file folders. The assignment pages would actually go inside the folders, perfect if you have a lot of workbook pages or notebooking pages.

Last idea, create a notebook with pockets and place assignments inside. To see this idea in action, check out the blog posts at Homeschool Creations or Zonnah’s Addictions.

In my next post, we’ll check out ideas for setting up the grid and printables that you can download to get you started. In the meantime, leave a comment or a link to let us know how you have used the workbox method.

What’s in my Workbox: Toddler Pockets

04 May 2011 Leave a Comment

by Tracy in Workboxes

Okay, we’re going to take a peak into the toddler pockets today. Keep in mind that my toddler is almost three, working her way into preschool, so some of these activities might not work for a true toddler.

Pocket 1–This is our second step for the rainbow mobile we will be making. We colored the rainbow yesterday. The pages are from the A Beka Readiness Skills book for K4. I’ll probably cut these out while the kids are working through another pocket. Then, I’ll slip them into Pocket 6 with the rest of the items for our mobile.

Pocket 2–Vowel Practice from Letter of the Week

Pocket 3–Make a rainbow from pipe cleaners; finish up the time arranging Teddy Bears from smallest to largest.

Pockets 4 and 7 are always time with me doing songs and review. Anyone notice the teeth marks on number 4? Sigh.

Pocket 5–”R” puzzle and “R/r” sort from Letter of the Week.

Pocket 6–Our rainbow mobile! I’ll add the pieces from Pocket 1 when they have been colored and cut out. Little one will need help with most of this project, but I figured at the least she could arrange the yarn from longest to shortest. Didn’t she do a great job coloring?

Pocket 8–Lol. This was actually assigned for yesterday, but little one got “dismissed” from school early because of her bad attitude. Only big girls can do school, so she went to play in her room while I finished up with my son.

Pocket 9–Scavenger Hunt! Another activity from Letter of the Week. Big brother will help with this, but it really helps her to identify sounds.

Pocket 10 is considered our fun folder, a reward for all of our hard work. It’s also the item to go if behavior puts us way behind schedule. This little card means an educational game on the computer or on my Nook Color.

That’s it! Even though this may look like a lot, we usually complete everything in about 2 hours (9-11:00), with our faithful timer buzzing every ten minutes to let us know it’s time to move on to the next pocket. Happy Wednesday! I’ll share pictures of our rainbow activities later this week.

To see our pocket system, click here or on the tab at the top of the page “Take a Tour”>”Our School Room.”

What’s in a Workbox?

27 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment

by Tracy in Workboxes

Here’s a peak into what we are doing today!

Note: Numbers 4 and 7 pockets are “Poster Center” Tickets; the kids come “play” with me, reviewing letters and numbers, flashcards, intro of new concepts etc. This week is the letter P and the number 13.