Introducing Workboxes

Schooling was so much easier with Neil visiting! Some lessons I teach to John and Mary together, but some I alternate and ask the other child to go play with Margaret. That's when chaos and screaming (theirs) breaks out. While Neil was visiting, he'd play quietly or read books to the child not having a lesson and occupy the baby--it was bliss!

Now he is gone, so I put an experiment into action which I'd been intending for some time: workboxes! The idea behind a workbox is to have an activity and all its supplies in a box to give to a child such that the child can do the activity by herself while the teacher works with another child. I was inspired by my awesome friend Jessica who is writing a series on her blog entitled Workbox of the Week: I suggest you visit her blog and check under the Workboxes label for more detailed instructions than I am giving below. In addition, Jessica's blog is very useful because she reviews homeschool curricula and product several times per month.

So far, I have obtained most of my workbox ideas from Jessica's blog. I already had some Montessori activities prepared from a few years ago so I converted those to workboxes. Also, I followed a link from Jessica's blog through to Confessions of a Homeschooler: her printables are like workboxes ready to go! I got other ideas from there as well--all free! I foresee other locations for workbox ideas (such as the teacher's lounge at More.Starfall.comhttp://more.starfall.com/m/welcome/index/load.htm) and I bet that when I do a Google search for "workboxes," I will be inundated! So far, I am not putting each project in its own workbox for sake of space, but have each in a large Ziploc bag, all stored in one big box. Then when I pull out the three, four, or five workboxes for the day, I place those bags in our box-for-the-day.

This project helps the child recognize the numeral and the number written out, and then uses counting bears to see the number of units. It is self-correcting because of the boxes.

Afterward, Mary wanted to write out the number words.

Margaret insisted on participating so I instructed her over and over to put the bears in the lid, then put the bears in the container, then put them in the lid, then put them in the container. Above, she is "smiling."

This neat project has the child assemble strips of paper by putting them in to order number. It is self-correcting because the picture will not turn out right if the numbers are out of order. I gave Mary 1-10, but I have all the other decades of numbers too, which John might be able to do.

The "alligator game" was a huge hit with the kids. It teaches the concepts of greater, lesser, and equal to. I gave Mary the slips of paper that used numbers ten and below, and John the slips that used bigger numbers, as well as formulas, such as: 5+1 versus 4.

This workbox teaches the child to memorize his address, phone number, and the 911 emergency number, plus it can serve as the child's handwriting practice for that day. Note the tongue of concentration!

This is a "name box." Mary has long written out "Mary" but she doesn't know how to write her last name or middle name. I wrote out her letters on index cards and had her put them in order, following the model I'd written on lined paper. Then she wrote out her name. Once she learns her surname, I plan to have her learn her nine-letter middle name.

Mary enjoyed this color matching game using free paint swatches from the hardware store and clothes pins.

This workbox teaches counting at a slightly more advanced level than the one using boxes and counting bears. I wrote out a numeral and number word on each index card. Then Mary had to recognize the number and put down that many stickers on the card. Then I had her place the cards in order. Bonus points for increasing fine motor skills by manipulating the tiny stickers.

Bonus Material

With a twinkle in his eye, John asked if he could smash up old boxes with a rubber mallet: what fun he had! 

What great thwacking noises!

All dressed up in coon skin cap for handwriting

John is learning the Ten Commandments in catechism at home right now. I am using Chats with God's Little Ones and I like how that program uses a child's version of the Commandments. In the opinion of the writers, the Commandments were given by God to an adult (Moses) to be taught to other adults in the community, and the parents would have explained the Commandments to the children in children's language. I'm not of the opinion that it's bad to teach the Commandments straight as they are written, but I have appreciated this short and simple version, both for lack of adult content matter and ease of memorization. Also, the smallest of children often follow instructions or commands better if given in the positive format ("you need to walk slowly") versus in the negative format ("don't run") because, as glaringly obvious as it is to us adults, children often don't understand what they are supposed to do just because someone told them what not to do.