Workboxes

I had a wonderfully descriptive post written about the Midwest Homeschool Convention and what a great time I had there and how wonderful Raoul was to arrange childcare so I could go and descriptions of all the sessions I attended and what I bought and on and on. Then Firefox crashed and it was all lost. So, I wrote it again and added more about who I went with and how wonderful the Exhibit Hall was and the exhibitors there I hadn't seen and who wasn't there. And then Firefox crashed again. I may rewrite the post yet again, but in the meantime here's a brief workbox post.

Workboxes seem to be all the rage in the online homeschool community. It's based on Sue Patrick's Workbox System. I'm sure the powers that be at Target are mystified by the Accessory Racks flying off the shelves. We started using it with Miss Purple first, then added in Miss Pink. When Mr. Blue saw all the great stuff we were doing with the 2 girls, he asked to do the system as well. 2 weeks later, I decided to add Miss Green in. I had a great time at the conference looking for things to add in to our system. Here's what we got:

Scratch Off Hangman
Several Buki Books

(At this point Firefox crashed again, but I was finally smart and had saved it as a draft!)

Several Dover Historical Coloring Books
A few Little Paper Dolls
Some Kumon Preschool Books


I have quite a few things already for Miss Purple, as this is our third time through preschool. I just need to dig them out of storage. We won't unpack everything until we're in a permanent home instead of a rental. We just have too many books to lug around!

At this point, you may be assuming the workboxes are all about fun, and I'm afraid I'm misleading you. Our workboxes have allowed us to do our regular studies so efficiently, we finally have time to add in those fun things you always hear about homeschoolers doing. I love being able to break up the monotony with educational, entertaining tasks. In some blogs I've read about mothers putting the ingredients and recipe for baking cookies in a workbox or a lunch menu. Others put in a cookbook and let the child plan a meal for later in the week. There are so many possibilities that we're just beginning to scratch the surface of. I'm on the lookout for educational DS games to add to our workboxes occasionally. I have been putting educational dvds in, especially those pertaining to our history studies. I put Leapster games in Miss Pink and Miss Purple's occasionally. I put an index card in to remind them to practice piano and to do their online drills. I'm looking forward to adding more to our day in our workboxes. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them.

Here are a few blogs to start you off! If you google workboxes and homeschooling you'll find enough to keep you reading for a long while.

What's in the Box?
Our Busy Homeschool
Walking by the Way