Coffee is my lover in the morning. So until our lips meet, mommy is off the clock. I can't hear you, I can't see you and I can't comprehend you, until I have my coffee!

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Our Workboxes

So if you've looked around the web for workboxes for your homeschool, you've seen lots of plastic boxes right? They come from Ikea, Walmart, wherever. The idea is the same, you have several bins that pull out, with an assignment in each drawer. Here is a common picture of the workbox system:
Looks awesome right?! The child pulls out an assignment starting at #1 and continues on until they are done. Wonderful system by Sue Patrick. So, I started researching Amazon, Walmart, Hobby lobby, every place I could to find the cheapest bins, as they were at least $35. $35 x 4, was way more than I wanted to spend. So I started looking on Pinterest and Google to find workbox alternatives. Then I found an idea where they used shoe boxes to hold their assignments. Again, I didn't have the space for this many boxes, plus the rack it needed to be contained within, times four. So when I came upon this blog, my lightbulb turned on! It was brilliant! Just the answer I was looking for. It was inexpensive, easy to collect the materials, and can still use the Sue Patrick workbox method. Instead of working vertically, it works horizontally. 
So, I went out and bought 24 boxes of cereal, the giant size, as to be sure all our books fit into the box. Boy did I get many looks and comments! haha "Your kids must like cereal!" "Wow!" "You gonna eat all of that?" Living near the Duggar family, I assume many of them probably thought I had 15 children or something. But no, it was just for a little homeschooling family. ;)


Then, I took the kids to pick out their own scrapbooking paper to put on their workboxes. I thought this would be much more fun, help attach them to their schoolwork, and promote individuality. They really took this seriously and chose the paper that fit their personalities. I love looking at their shelves and nodding my head, Yes. This is totally her, or yes, he really does like sweets.
So many cute prints at Hobby Lobby! It was so fun watching them choose their own prints!

Once they chose their prints, I bought 2 containers of Modge Podge. We went home and there I constructed these magnificent workboxes.
I had to cut the tops down a little to fit them in our bookcase. Then, I wrapped the scrapbook paper around the cereal box, and used a foam wide paint brush to apply modge podge all over the entire box. This helps the paper seal to the box and soften, as well. Once this dried, I used a packing tape dispenser to wrap tape all around the middle of the box and the bottom of the box, so this protects the scrapbooking paper and also helps it be more sturdy for the books that will be put in and taken out of the box. Now you're done and you let it dry. It doesn't take very long. I proceeded to find some workbox numbers to attach on the boxes. They are often called, workbox tags, and you can find them in all different kinds of characters. I chose some by what characters my kids like. Izayah got Transformers, Skyler got Phineas and Ferb, Alexi got Disney Princesses. I laminated the tags, then used square Velcro tabs to attach to the front of the boxes. Once the student completes the assignment inside the box, they take off the Velcro number and put it in the box. This signifies that the assignment is complete to the student, and the teacher.

If you have ANY questions, please please ask me below in the comment section! I was so blessed by this idea, that I would love to help you in any way that I can! Here is the finished product.


My kids absolutely love their boxes and this method. My 3 year old has claimed 4 of her older sister's boxes as her own, because she wants to have workboxes like her siblings! It's adorable. She loves to school and gets so tickled when she finds work in her boxes. She takes the whole box into the front room, pulls out the assignment, and gets to work! Usually she has a coloring page, Toddler Bible, busy bag activity, math, etc, that she works on while the older kids do their Heart of Dakota curriculum. I will do another post of what's in each box, to help you out! :)
Remember, don't stress if you can't do what that blogger is doing, or that other family is doing, because it may look fabulous, but it doesn't mean it's going to work out for your family. Find a way to fit it to your budget, your personality, or your ideals. That's one of the many perks of homeschooling, we do what we want to! {wink}


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