My Twist on the Workbox System

What is a workbox?

Basically, it's a way to organize the home school day so that your children have a visual of exactly what they're supposed to do during the day. If you're interested in more info, you can watch this slideshow from the woman who created the system.

After seeing the original workbox system, I was a little disappointed. It's a big system and I have four children. There is no way I'm going to buy four wire racks and 48 plastic containers. Plus, the type A in me was really bothered by boxes thrown askew (*shiver*) by the large binders in them. Thanks to the wonders of google, I found a few different interpretations.

I wish I could remember where I first saw this variation so that I could give the mom some credit, but I can't recall who she is.

This is what my system looks like:



Noah's box:



I put almost everything he needs in each folder. You can't see the rest of his hanging files because I put math in front. But you can see Abbey's:



And Ben's:



His Bible is in front. Binders and notebooks are behind the hanging files.

You can see in the next picture that I put the day's assignment on post-its which I put on the book they are to use.


It takes some extra time on my part to stick the post-its on their books. But, overall, the system is working well so far. If they want to, the big kids can take their boxes to another part of the house to work. They know exactly what they're supposed to do, they have almost everything they need to get it done, and they can see, at a glance, how much they have to do every day. I haven't had to answer, How much school do I have left to do?

This system is helping me stay organized by forcing me to get all of their lessons together the night before. In the past, I would plan the lessons, but not have them ready until the morning the kids had to do them.

Lord willing, this will work for the rest of the year.