Does the workbox system....

[kayben]

take the ease out of Carrie's organized TM"s. I have all the stuff. Read the book cover to cover. But I don't want to lose the pleasure of the HOD guides having everything in one place. Do you take each box from a page, rewrite assignments and put them in the boxes? Or basically use it for the reading, math, independent work, and extras? I will have four sets going, K, 1st, 3rd and 6th. Two programs. Is it worth it. I need ease of use or I tend to get overwhelmed. I LOVE the book and the idea behind it all! I have her starter kits in different colors for all seven of my kids so in the future I can add them in. I also bought her fabulous typing program and the best of all, the record keeping binder. Love this. It is color coordinated with the colors of the velcro numbers in the starter kits for the boxes. So I have a place to record each kids work already color coded. But... is it worth the work and can I really do anything in the summer to make it easier in the fall? Or can you really only do it one day at a time? thanks for your advice.

Rebecca

[Mom2Monkeys]

I made a main schedule of what subject goes in the boxes on each day of the plans (days 1-5). The units are planned out with certain things on certain days, so it's the same rotation each week. This makes it very easy. Then I pack the boxes at night for the next morning. I have dd use the Bigger guide instead of writing out assignments. If I am including something not in the guide, I might use an index card to write out what she is to do. I posted a lot of info in a recent post, so you might try searching HOD workboxes or if possible, search my posts that I've started. You'll see examples of my schedules there.

I've enjoyed using the workboxes b/c I don't have to stop the flow of the well planned guides to gather anything. It's already all in the box. And there's no time where dd is waiting for me to tell her what to do next. It's worked well for the short time we've been using it.

[kayben]

Tamara,
are you using the boxes for both programs? I saw your schedule strips on the wall. Are you still using that method, or are you actually using the clear shoeboxes that she suggests? I guess you answered that with the "I pack the boxes the night before"...lol SO... Is there anything I can do in the summer to help things go smoother in the fall? I will start late August. The week before labor day. I am going to attempt a major decluttering throughout the summer to make my schooling a bit smoother.

So, how are you feeling. Better? Your house is beautiful by the way. I saw your pics on your blog. Gorgeous and so clutter and toy free!! I still have writing on my walls, and mismatched furniture..

[Mom2Monkeys]

dd8 has all 12 boxes and I dropped the strips b/c that left her having to gather materials and such. With the numbers on the boxes, she didn't need the strips to know what order to do them in. I have a large grid on the wall that tells her what to do throughout the school day. (Wake/Chores, play with dog, breakfast, Workboxes 1,2,3, swing for 10 minutes, 4,5,6....etc.) If you look at the files I posted in my workbox post, you'll see what I did to make things smoother. It's a HUGE help for me b/c I don't have to make any plans. I just put the right books and materials into the boxes.

I am feeling better...as good as you can feel being pregnant, homeschooling, and chasing a toddler! LOL You saw those great pics of the house that are so different from the real day-to-day! That was a posed picture for my blog to show the new place off to family Now there are toys, cd's, and dog hair all over the rug and couches and constantly a puddle of water in the bathroom from ds2 so it smells like sour towels and rugs . We had to get new furniture b/c ours was destroyed in our move. Our other couch was older than both of us! It's the first new anything we've ever purchased so I was quite thrilled! Thanks for the kind words! Oh, and there is now writing on the walls to go with it

[mskogen]

I used a little different approach to the workbox system. I got the idea here, from the following blog http://www.rubyslippersschool.blogspot.com/
I don't have the room to have a system for 4 kiddos so the file box system works better for us. I tweaked it alittle. I changed the numbers to the actual subject name. The kids are loving it. It is really helping them become more independent and they are getting their work done much quicker and with less complaining. I give it a great thumbs up!
Hope this helps....

[Dorla]

Please visit my blog http://escuelitaaparicio.blogspot.com/2 ... boxes.html
We are just starting Workboxes today, but I have listed our plan for each box.
I hope it works!!
Dorla

[kayben]

Michele, Dorla and Tamara!

I can't wait to hear from you in a week or so and let us know please how it is going... Getting tired of the filling... loving it... tweaking etc. I like the file box idea too, but I think my kids would need the visual.. two with ADHD at least.

Thanks so much for your replies. I am drinking it in.

Rebecca

[Carrie]

Ladies,

I love sharing organizational tips for HOD, and it's so fun to read others' ideas. With that being said, each mom needs to find what works best for her situation, and every situation is different. The Workbox System sounds interesting and may actually be very freeing to some moms, however for other moms it may complicate their lives in the set-up and day-to-day implementation.

I must admit that I do not plan ahead to use my HOD guides and that the guides are written to enable you to open up and teach, so if you do end up having to prepare quite a bit for the next day for HOD by using the workbox system you may be adding to your workload. Only you can know. We don't plan for you to have to rewrite the HOD plans, but rather look for both you and your child to read directly from the guide.

With any organizational system the more you use it, typically the easier it becomes. So, whether you use the Workbox System or just a plain old schedule, consistency is the key. Following the same order or routine helps immensely.

I pray each of you finds the system that works best for you!

Blessings,
Carrie

[Dorla]

Carrie,
Thanks for your input! This is the exact reason why I took so long to try it out. I wanted to make sure that I was not going to spend more than 10 minutes getting the boxes ready - which is the amount of time I usually use to get ready with just the Teacher Manual.
Our first day was good. Let's see what happens at the end of two weeks!
Dorla

[Carrie]

Dorla,

I'm glad it went well! I love it when something new I've tried makes my life better too! It's like finding a diamond in the rough.

I'm just always reading the board with an eye toward the hundreds of other moms reading the board who are thinking, "I can't do that! I must not be able to do HOD because I'm not THAT organized!" HOD is truly meant to be open-and-go, working for organized moms and for those who aren't as organized.

Blessings,
Carrie

[kayben]

Carrie,
This was my original question in a nutshell. I am looking for ease of use this year. Open and go was what I am looking for and I don't want to complicate things. I am truly organizationally challenged and that is part of why HOD is so peace provoking... The boxes may help me organize some art/spanish/PE type stuff and provide a visual schedule so to speak. Or they may give me a nervous breakdown trying to prepare them for 4 kids...lol I think I will think long and hard then I will chime in with whether I sank... or swam...

Blessings to you,
Rebecca

Dorla,

I'm glad it went well! I love it when something new I've tried makes my life better too! It's like finding a diamond in the rough.

I'm just always reading the board with an eye toward the hundreds of other moms reading the board who are thinking, "I can't do that! I must not be able to do HOD because I'm not THAT organized!" HOD is truly meant to be open-and-go, working for organized moms and for those who aren't as organized.

Blessings,
Carrie

[Mom2Monkeys]

And I've only set mine up for my dd8 so she can have everything she needs right there now that she is doing much of Bigger independently (or let's just say she's in training ) Otherwise, I would NEVER have thought to do these boxes! I can't have her trotting through the living room on her way to the school room to get supplies and getting caught up in the TV or boys' happenings when she's between there and her room (which is where she does her independent work).

I love how HOD is open and go! It's simple enough for dd to use the guide even at the age of 8 so long as I get her stuff ready for her the night before to keep her day going smoothly without me.

[Dorla]

Agree, agree, agree! If filling up the Workboxes takes more than 10 minutes, then don't do it!
I think it has been good for us now that we are at the end of BEYOND and we both know the routine, so it is easy to add stuff. Come August we will start BIGGER and I cannot see myself continuing until we get the "gist" of it. SO...for these two weeks before traveling, it will be the variety we need to finish up BEYOND.
And ladies with more than one child...how do you do it? You have my utmost respect!!
Dorla

[Dorla]

To those of you who have been doing Workboxes more than 3 days...

I am just wondering if the HOD "atmosphere" of relaxed no pressure learning with my parents - is being lost, and a more workbook environment is created I have completed TWO days of Workboxes and my son was not happy plus he took FOREVER to finish, instead of our regular 2 hours. So, today, our 3rd day with Workboxes, they are filled with stuff that he likes to do, to be completed AFTER SCHOOL, in order to avoid "Mom...what can I do now?".

So a few minutes ago he came to me and said that he checked his boxes and thanked me for preparing fun things for him to do after school...that is how we will be using the Workboxes.

For us HOD will remain AS IS!! (hmmmm....I think I have said this before. But I just had to try it!)

Dorla

[lmercon]

To those of you who have been doing Workboxes more than 3 days...

I am just wondering if the HOD "atmosphere" of relaxed no pressure learning with my parents - is being lost, and a more workbook environment is created I have completed TWO days of Workboxes and my son was not happy plus he took FOREVER to finish, instead of our regular 2 hours. So, today, our 3rd day with Workboxes, they are filled with stuff that he likes to do, to be completed AFTER SCHOOL, in order to avoid "Mom...what can I do now?".

So a few minutes ago he came to me and said that he checked his boxes and thanked me for preparing fun things for him to do after school...that is how we will be using the Workboxes.

For us HOD will remain AS IS!! (hmmmm....I think I have said this before. But I just had to try it!)

Dorla

IF I try the workboxes, that is how I will do it. I have no intentions of breaking up HOD into little shoe boxes. I may put in a card that says, "Come to Mom to do HOD," or something like that. I was thinking it might be great to use for "break times" from HOD or when I'm schooling my little one as a way to keep my ds busy. I also think it can be very useful for using all those great "extras" I have that I never seem to get to otherwise. I agree with this poster that it would be a shame to force the beauty of HOD into a segmented system. I hope to tweak the workbox system (or something of my own design) and make it fit HOD, as opposed to fitting HOD into this system.
Laura