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** See Update of this year's workboxes viewtopic.php?f=6&t=8698 The post below is from last year!**

A few people have asked in pm's about my scheduling and workboxes. I love to organzie and plan and this is just a bit of what I have been doing.

Here are the kids main Schedules side by side. They have been set up with the subjects in the same order that they are placed in the workboxes. The numbers in the colored boxes to the left correspond to the workbox numbers.



Also notice, above the schedules are what look like little rocks on paper. That is actually a reward chart to be used with my little "store" through the year.

Next...the Bigger Hearts manual (Bryce's). This is where the colors come in from the schedule. Each subject in the HOD manual is numbered (in the order that he will complete the subject) and also in correspondace with the workbox. The numbers in the manual are then circled with the color that corresponds to the color on the schedule I am hoping this will make it easier for him to find the box in the manual that he needs to be working on. The white piece of paper taped over the blue divide is the extension schedule. The divider moves with each day, so the extensions assignment stays right there.



This one is a close-up of Bryce's main schedule.



And...Workboxes. These are Bryce's - my yonger son's are on the bottom, but since I have shown Bryce's stuff for everything else, I will just post his workboxes.



You can't really see them, but the little tags under hte 3rd cubby down on the left side, and the 1st and 3rd cubbies down on the right side say "15 minute Break" - that way, he will know how far he has to work before he gets a break.

If I really wanted to bore you, I have also finished his timeline and histoty/science notebooks, but those aren't nearly as interesting. Who would have known that HOD would appeal so much to my organizational side.

WOW Rebecca,

You are an organizing inspiration !

So, if I wanted to have a system as organized as yours, what would you say would be the first step I needed to take?

Looking forward to your advice!

Terri

It all looks great, Rebecca!

My reason for organizing our daily stuff this way was so that my oldest son could be more independent with Bigger Hearts since he is on the higher end (age wise) for the manual. I first sat down with my Managers of their Homes schedule (Teri Maxwell) and looked at the time that I was available to work with him. Then, I scheduled the subjects accordingly (i.e. - the ones where he will need my help to get started or to complete are schdeuled FIRSt because that is the hour time block I have to work directly with him. The following two hours, I will be working with his much younger brother, so things he can do mostly on his own are schedule during those two hours). My point is, to start the schedule, I organized the subjects based the need for my assistance.

When I had that down, I plugged them into my excel schedule and followed the HOD manual for assignments. We also use CLE for English and Math, etc. so I schdeuled those things as well by lightly crossing out the box in the HOD plans and writing CLE with the circle and number over that box. For instance, HOD Math - I would cross out the box lightly, write CLE Math at the top and then write a #5 with a blue circle because it will be in the 5th workbox, it needs to be the 5th subject he does for the day, and the blue circle gives him a visual for his schedule...look at the blue box with the #5, find the day of the week, and voila. This system became really useful to me because we run a 4.5 day week and HOD Bigger runs a 5 day week. I have to go in and figure out what to do when and such so I have to make sure that my son has a very clear idea (and so do I) before he starts the work.

Once I finished the schedule with color coded boxes, I went to the HOD manual and wrote the numbers with circles around them in the color that matched the schedule. Mostly, this is just because my son and I are both very visual. I get lost in a lot of black print, so adding color draws my eye to the box faster and it does his as well.

Then I just loaded the workboxes according to number (colors were left out for now...but I may add them if I find it necessary in the future).

It seems complicated and is likely not necessary if you are just doing HOD as written because it is so open and go. With me using CLE for math and English, doing a 4.5 day a week schedule due to co-op, etc. I had to find something that would work for us. It also allowed me to schedule the subjects by difficulty and need for my involvement which is really important with my older son. My younger is only is 1st grade, so he is pretty much dependent on me the entire time he is doing school. I needed to make sure to give my older the time he needed while also letting him work on his own some.

Oh...and, as you can see, I also color code my kids. LOL Older is blue, younger is green. Sounds silly, I know, but it sure does cut down on fights and errors.

Thanks Rebecca, I will have to sit down and study that when I have more time.

I really need my dd to be as independent as she can be next year as I will have 2 still learning to read. So, the workboxes sound like a great idea for her.

Thanks again,

Terri

HAHA! I am doing workboxes this year and thought about combining MOTH with them somehow Will have to try and see how I can make it fit into our boxes now that I see someone else doing it! Great job!

Tree House Academy wrote:Oh...and, as you can see, I also color code my kids. LOL Older is blue, younger is green. Sounds silly, I know, but it sure does cut down on fights and errors.

I color code my kids too! 1 is blue, 2 is red (or black), 3 is orange (or yellow), 4 is green and youngest doesn't have a color yet. Love seeing how you organize. I am very visual also.

Momtoamayalilal2 wrote:HAHA! I am doing workboxes this year and thought about combining MOTH with them somehow Will have to try and see how I can make it fit into our boxes now that I see someone else doing it! Great job!

Managers of their Homes has been a Godsend for me. I really need the schdeule to keep myself on track and get things done around here. My kids work much better with structure too and, like I said, they are very visual, so seeing it all laid out really helps too.

Thanks for sharing your pictures - that helps us visual learners out so much! Your organizational system looks great - everything is neat and right at your fingertips, and I bet your dc appreciate it as well.

In Christ,
Julie

Rebecca,
Thank you for sharing your schedule and work box with us. I have also used MOTH to help me get more organized. I am working on getting stuff ready for Bigger and the visual sure helps.

Can you tell us about your "rocks" and incentive program? Would love to hear about it. Thanks, Amy

Visual here too.
I am so glad you posted. I want to use workboxes this year too. Just wasn't sure how it would look. I also see that you put your manual into a three ring binder. I was just wondering if there was enough edge to do this. You answered that one too. LOL
Love that your children have there own binders for their schedules & "rock" incentives (you really DO need to explain those. lol To me, it looks like a tractor pulling hay wagons?)

Thanks again!
Mindi

LOL - it is a tractor pulling hay wagons! I wasn't sure it was obvious from the picture.

Our reward system:

The 4 tractors represent the 4 rules in our school. The kids start each day with 40 cents (10 cents per rule). If they break the rules (mostly things I am having issues with - interrupting each other during school time, complaining about work, etc), they lose 5 cents. That gives them 1 chance to straighten up or they lose their money in that category for the day.

At the end of the week, I tally their money and then we have "store time." I have things that the kids can purchase (mostly treats and little neat goodies like highlighters and little bendy pencils, etc). They can decide to spend all or some of their money or to save it. Most of the time, they spend at least some of it. As an added bonus, the store teaches my younger son to count money in a very practical way. It has worked so well for us!

Tree House Academy wrote:LOL - it is a tractor pulling hay wagons! I wasn't sure it was obvious from the picture.

Our reward system:
The 4 tractors represent the 4 rules in our school. The kids start each day with 40 cents (10 cents per rule). If they break the rules (mostly things I am having issues with - interrupting each other during school time, complaining about work, etc), they lose 5 cents. That gives them 1 chance to straighten up or they lose their money in that category for the day.
At the end of the week, I tally their money and then we have "store time." I have things that the kids can purchase (mostly treats and little neat goodies like highlighters and little bendy pencils, etc). They can decide to spend all or some of their money or to save it. Most of the time, they spend at least some of it. As an added bonus, the store teaches my younger son to count money in a very practical way. It has worked so well for us!

Leave it to the (now city) farmer girl to get that right. LOL
Your system sounds wonderful. How long have you used it? I like that the children are able to go for a "goal", AND learn money, AND you get cooperative children.
Do you have a closer pic of it? If you don't mind, I would love to make my own up.
I'm an organizer too. My children are color coded (I mean, even their towels), and I LOVE making charts! LOL
THANKS!

Mindi