tell me about workboxes

[onyxravnos]

i've been to the site but i don't understand... what is workboxes? is it like lap books? would it be something a preschooler could / should do?

[meetoo]

I use work boxes with a preschool, but not at all in the way the e-book describes. My preschooler has 4 boxes, I fill them up with different activities and he does them if/when he chooses. He does not have to do them and he does not have to do them in any order. It is a nice way to make certain materials available if for him to choose. I also am homeschooling an 1st grader and have a baby that like to get into everything. Not sure I would need the boxes if it wasn't for that. I could just set up certain things on the floor/table....

[elizawill]

we use workboxes, but not like sue patrick describes. we have our own version & it is much more relaxed. i simply put things in my kids shoeboxes & when they're done - they put on a velcro smiley face. i incorporated workboxes to make sure we have time for the fun things i wanted to do but seemed to never make time for.

there is a worxbox yahoo group that is really active and has TONS of ideas and info. i'm not a member anymore but i'm sure you could easily find it through google. hth.

[Collinsky]

I'm really interested in finding out more about this as well, in fact was coming here to ask about them!

[onyxravnos]

[mangopassion]

We do workboxes here, too. Although, like elizawill, it is nothing like Sue Patrick describes. We don't even call them workboxes... we call them Discovery Boxes.

There are two Yahoo! Groups that I belong to, but I know that there are several others (some that specify age groups, etc.).

Workboxes Yahoo! Group is very active. Your email will be full if you join this one, but there is a lot of great info there! Also, in their links section, there is a folder with a lot of links to other Yahoo! Groups and blogs. If you do join this group, be sure to visit their files section and links section for a wealth of more information, materials, and resources. Also, you can probably spend a lot of time just reading their archives as I'm sure by just reading those messages, you'll get most of your questions answered.

Also, there is a following of workboxers on the Five in a Row forum.

[kittywitty]

Originally Posted by elizawill

we use workboxes, but not like sue patrick describes. we have our own version & it is much more relaxed. i simply put things in my kids shoeboxes & when they're done - they put on a velcro smiley face. i incorporated workboxes to make sure we have time for the fun things i wanted to do but seemed to never make time for.

there is a worxbox yahoo group that is really active and has TONS of ideas and info. i'm not a member anymore but i'm sure you could easily find it through google. hth.

that

My kids aren't required to do theirs, but they are independent learners and ask me to do them. I find them a little stressful to put together. I am so unimaginative. But they help pick out things to put in, tell me what they want in them (we're somewhere between eclectic CM/Classical/waldorf plus unschooling if that makes sense). I have hanging file folders for my kids and made velcro stickers of different things-dinos for my son, cats for my oldest daughter so that they can see they've done things.

[onyxravnos]

Originally Posted by kittywitty

that

My kids aren't required to do theirs, but they are independent learners and ask me to do them. I find them a little stressful to put together. I am so unimaginative..

what kinds of this would go in them? i guess worksheets/books could.... what else? examples please?!

[rainbowmoon]

Very intrigued here as it sounds like something my kindergartner would love. We are just getting into lapbooks too! Off to check out the yahoogroups!

[Jeannettea]

I did this set up at the beginning of the year for my son (who turned 3 end of October), and he loved it. My 10 yo dd liked seeing what she had to do in the whole day and choosing what/when each item would get finished. Also, using workboxes is a great visual aid for me to see where we are in the week's lessons and what's finished/needs more time.

In my 3yo's, I put:
puzzles,
playdoh w/ cookie cutters and mat,
matchbox cars w/ pieces of pvc pipe (he rigs the pipes up through the kitchen chairs and shoots the cars across the room),
lacing cards,
number cards with counters (our counters are candy, erasers, pencil toppers, tiny plastic animals, etc. - anything that catches my eye seasonally!),
workbook pages
paper and crayons for freedrawing
dvd to watch
trains and wooden track
little animals (Little People animals, plastic ones, all sizes, etc.)
scissors and straws (or index cards w/ lines drawn in squiggles, etc. to cut)
stickers and old cards, index cards, or paper
old catalogs and a glue stick and construction paper
wiggly eyes, styrofoam egg cups (cut apart), pipe cleaners, glue, etc.
books (lots of books - I try to put these in to go w/ our weekly/monthly themes)
magnetic letters to match to a file folder game w/ the letters on it
magnetic numbers to match to another file folder game w/ groups of animals
ice trays, a bunch of our counters - he categorizes as he wants (color/type)
a banana and a wooden ice cream spoon so he can cut it up into pieces
paints and brushes (when I'm feeling brave)
sidewalk chalk
sand toys for the sandbox

His favorite is a large clear bin @ 4" tall but @ 24" on each side long that we have various bowls, pitchers, creamers, etc. in - he climbs up on the kitchen chair and fills his little pitcher w/ water, then back down and fills every single container in the bucket. Then he practices pouring from this one to that one, measuring w/ teaspoons and measuring cups, and using a turkey baster to transfer water from this one to that one. Seriously - this one keeps him busy for an hour!!!

For my 10yo dd, her boxes have a lesson for each subject we're working on that day, a fun thing (website address, cookbook so we can cook something she chooses, art supplies, board game Wii game, dvd, etc.). I also introduce new concepts this way - when we get ready to do weather, the lead in will be Groundhog's Day, and I'm going to put a little stuffed Webkinz groundhog in there. She will have to figure out why.........she'll hit on Groundhog Day pretty quickly but it will take her a little while to figure out we're going to study weather after we learn about groundhogs that day.......LOL...

I love the workboxes idea!!! I'm so glad I read about it during the summer and remembered it when we started hs'ing this year again!!!

[Stacey B]

wow this is so inspirational, especially what you (Jeanettae) wrote about what to do with a three year old. We have one and some times I just don't know what to do. This seems like a great way to have some projects and activities already set up!!!