| Author | |
Milehimama
Forum Pro
Joined: July 16 2008
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 202
|
| Posted: July 06 2009 at 11:14am | IP Logged
|
 |
|
I am really loving the workbox threads and I think it's just what our school needs. I already do this somewhat, with activities in drawers and writing on the kid's activity sheets to do them, but I think having everything prepped ahead of time is just what we need.
But... starting next month, I will have a 4th grader, a 3rd grade (second half; son is LD), a new 3rd grader, a 2nd grader, a Kindergartner, a Pre-k, plus a 2 yo and a newborn!
The thought of filling 72 workboxes each night is overwhelming (and we'll be doing a envelopes, I think). I don't always get a shower in, let alone filling that many boxes!
Any tips/tricks for simplifying this? Right now, my *plan* is to use manilla envelopes instead of boxes, but set up several boxes that will permanently house whatever material (we already do this with toys). So there will be a lacing box - laces and cards will permanently live in the box, and the envelope for the day will have an index card or popsicle stick that says "Box A" or "Lacing Box".
A lot of the envelopes for the olders will simply house worksheets/books. I already do this - but with folders, so that's not so big a deal.
Any thoughts? Help me make this work! 
__________________
Milehimama in Houston
Mother of 11 - 8 Church Militant and 3 Church Triumphant
Mama Says
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
Becky Parker
Forum All-Star
Joined: May 23 2005
Location: Michigan
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 2582
|
| Posted: July 07 2009 at 7:54am | IP Logged
|
|
|
Milehimama,
When I first read about the workbox system it reminded me of something a classroom teacher did that I student taught for (way back when! ). Anyway, she spent the first few weeks teaching the students her system and the rest of the year went like clockwork. The system involved what looked like a large gameboard on the bulletin board. There were numbered steps and each step had a different activity written on it. For today, one of the activities might be pattern blocks, and another might be "work with clay", the sort of things that would go in a workbox. Each student had a little marker and they would move their marker from step to step along the gameboard. (I think she used sticky-tac or something on the back of the markers, which I believe were little feet with the child's name on it.) The kids new where everything was located in the room and they would go to that activity. They also carried a book with them at all times so if they had to wait for another person, they sat down to read while they waited. (These were the days when classrooms were mostly quiet!) I couldn't remember how she started the whole thing off to avoid pile-ups at one of the steps, but since it made a circuit, I think she probably started each student at a different step.
When she would call the class together for a lesson, the kids just stopped where they were until it was time to go back to the circuit. They all seemed to love it.
Not long ago, I thought of doing something similar and ordered some multi-colored library envelopes. I thought of gluing them to a board and using cards to put in them for different activities. All the kids would use this same set of "workbox alternatives" and rotate through, but each child would have a different colored "activity card" in each envelope. So when they came to envelope #1, they pulled out their card (red for the K-er, blue for the 3rd grader, green for the 5th grader, etc.) and on the card it would have the activity they were to do. The benefit of a system like this is that the materials can stay on the shelves and the kids go to the materials, based on what the activity card says. The draw back is that you still have to take the time to write up the cards and put them in the envelopes each night. I suppose some of them could be pretty generic though, like "Pattern Blocks Activiy Book" or something. They could be laminated for durability.
Here's where I bought the envelopes but I know there are other places that you can get them too.multi-colored library envelopes
By the way, since our boxes were working so well, I didn't use them as I described above. I might do that for my dd this year though. My boys are doing so well with the boxes, it's worth the effort for me to fill them.
__________________
Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
Academy Of The Good Shepherd
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
teachingmyown
Forum All-Star
Joined: Feb 20 2005
Location: Virginia
Online Status: Offline
Posts: 5128
|
| Posted: July 23 2009 at 8:07am | IP Logged
|
|
|
I bought the workbox book and one thing that she does is to have a master of list of workbox activities for each child. You would work on this once a week just like writing up your lesson plan (if you do that, I don't  ) and then your nightly refilling would be a no-brainer, just go off the list. And some things wouldn't change from day to day, either. Math can always be box 1, Latin box 2, etc.
I am just sorting this all out in my mind, so I hope that helps.
By the way, although there isn't a lot to the book, and she has a rather rigid tone, if you buy it you get access to a lot of forms and printable helps so I think it will be worth the cost in the end.
__________________
In Christ,
Molly
wife to Court & mom to ds '91, dd '96, ds '97, dds '99, '01, '03, '06, and dss '07 and 01/20/11
Remembering Today
|
| Back to Top |
|
| |
|
|
4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Workboxes and Large Families
