Hi everyone! Back by popular demand is my What’s in the Box Wednesday! I’ve had a few emails asking what happened to this series, and so I thought I’d share another sample of a day of work in the Confessions house:
Today I’m sharing Strawberry Shortcake’s workboxes…in case you’ve just found my blog, she’s in 3rd Grade this year:
Drawer 1:
Bible: Grapevine Studies, and her pencil bag full of special colored pencils for our Bible study. She also has a supply tray with girlie pens and pencils, sharpeners, erasers, glue, a fake ipod? …and a picture of her penpal, Kayla who she would love to meet some day!
Drawer 2:
Phonics/Spelling: All About Spelling workbook, and usually a dry-erase marker and whiteboard. Also in this drawer is A Reason For Handwriting.
Drawer 3:
Math: Math U See Gamma, her math blocks, and a Kumon Dollars & Cents and Kumon Telling Time book. Along with her math worksheet, I have her do one worksheet from each Kumon book.
Drawer 4:
English/Grammar/Reading: BJU Press Level 3, Writing: Write Shop Primary, and her current reading book. Normally we do the standard BJU reading book, but every now and then I’ll let her pick a ‘fun’ book to do. Right now she’s reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins, a Magic Treehouse book “Sunset of the Sabertooth”.
Drawer 5:
Geography/History: In here is her Road Trip USA binder which includes everything she needs for the year. We do this in the afternoon usually as a group, so I just have everyone pull out their binders and turn to whatever state page we’re on for the day.
Not included in his workboxes:
- Art: World’s Greatest Artist Study Vol. 1
- Science: BJU Press: I found BJU Press Science 3 at a used book store and started going through the lessons. They’re fun, easy, and hands-on! (We’re still doing some of the Young Scientist Kits as we have time, but I didn’t like them as much as I hoped, so I supplemented.)
- Typing: Typing Instructor (She does typing daily. Strawberry has actually completed all of the lessons, so now she just plays games for 10 minutes or so.)
- Spanish: PowerSpeak Spanish
- P.E.: Family Time Fitness (We do this as a family, and so I keep the activity guide in my teacher area, thus no reason for anything in his boxes for it.
Once Strawberry Shortcake is done with her work, she’s free to go play. It’s usually time for lunch then we do Time for Fitness PE as kind of a recess/break for them since its so fun! Then we come back inside for Road Trip USA and art or science depending on the day.
If you’re wondering why I only have 5 drawers right now its because my kiddos have talked me into letting them use the Ikea drawers instead of my JoAnn’s 10 drawer carts this year. I honestly prefer the JoAnn’s drawers just because with the Ikea ones I have to put two subjects in a couple drawers, but sometimes a little change is good, and it seemed to make them happy. I still have the other carts, and maybe we’ll put them back in action next year for a little update.
Haven’t heard of the workbox system yet?
Make sure to visit my post to see how to make workboxes work for your homeschool.
Have some workboxes to share?
Make sure to link up below and share your ideas!
Thanks for bringing this back Erica. I like seeing how others organize their boxes. If the thought crosses your mind, how about posting a current weekly lesson plan? I have trouble fitting in all the subjects I want to and it would be helpful to see how you manage to fit in so many subjects. Thanks for your support.
Ditto.
I’d love to see a breakdown of how many times a week you do geography, grammar, and specials (music, art, etc)?
It seems we have a lot to cover each day to complete the year-long curriculum.
Thanks for all the great info/tips!
Ditto.
I’d love to see a breakdown of how many times a week you do geography, writing, science, grammar, and specials (music, art, etc)?
It seems we have a lot to cover each day to complete the year-long curriculum.
Thanks for all the great info/tips!
Due to an overwhelming amount of email, I have not gotten into the blog scene – BUT… I LOVE THIS ONE! It’s the ONLY blog I subscribe to! I look forward to reading everyday, but “What’s in the Box Wednesday” is my favorite. I am planning on implementing this plan this coming school year and love all the ideas. Thank you for the time you take to share with all of us! Kay
How much time does each workbox take?
Hi Kim,
It depends on the box. For example my son’s math box takes him longer than his handwriting one. All in all we spend about 2 1/2 – 3 hours on our boxes depending on the day. That includes our Road Trip USA activities at the end.
Love peeking in your workboxes. We use All About Spelling, but I can’t seem to find the AAS workbooks that you have and I would love it if we had some. I don’t see them on the AAS website. Could you help me out and let me know where you found them?
Hi Mary, the workbooks that are in the drawers are actually the Teacher’s Manuals. I just pull them out when they get to that box and do the lesson with them. Keeping the TM in their drawer is just a good way for me not to lose them LOL! http://allaboutlearningpress.net/go.php?id=202
Where did you buy the nice little boxes for the math blocks? I have tried to find something better to store them in, but have never found anything.
Hi Jennifer,
They’re actually bead boxes from Michael’s craft store. They are the kind with the plastic inserts that you can move around to make the slots whatever size you want.
Just wondering what your thoughts are on the BJU Language Arts curriculum? And did you find it necessary to purchase the Teacher’s Guide as well? I have used a variety of workbooks, but am looking for something a bit more “stable” so to speak, but still enticing to my Boy of Fifth Grade! Your thoughts are appreciated!
Hi Jenn,
I like the BJU English curriculum. It’s thorough and easy to teach. Yes, you do need the teacher’s manual. Although the worksheets do have most of what they need to know on them, the TM has extra information and things to do before you work on the sheet. I do use mine daily.
Do you copy your Math-U-See worksheets?
Hi Thyme,
No I don’t copy them. I buy student workbooks each year, then they work right in the book or I pull out the worksheet for the day. I think MUS prefers you to purchase the student workbook for each child and not copy the worksheets.
I’m homeschooling my 8, 5 and 3 year olds this summer. We use handwriting without tears, sequential spelling, Kumon workbooks and then my own creations. I’m keeping track of our 25 days of summer homeschool on my blog http://www.karasclassroom.blogspot.com
http://karasclassroom.blogspot.com/2012/05/day-3-25-days-of-summer-homeschooling.html
Can I ask your thoughts on A Reason for Handwriting?? I am going back and forth between that and Handwriting w/o Tears for my daughter for next year. I can not make a decision!
Hi Briana,
We do like “A Reason for Handwriting”. That said, I have friends who love handwriting without tears as well. I think if you have a struggling writer, HWOT would be your better option. We haven’t had many issues, so A Reason for works great for us! I like that the lines are a different color than the text they are writing. I’ve used Abeka in the past and the lines blend into the letters and it’s hard to see what you’re supposed to be writing. Also A Reason for is less expensive, and I like that they practice writing scripture verses, so we’ve just stayed with that. Most handwriting curricula all really similar though so I don’t think it’s a big deal either way. Unless like I said you have a struggling writer, then I think the HWOT is a better choice :o)
Erica,
Do you leave the subjects in the same drawers/same order each day or do you mix things up each day? Variety or consistency?? I’d love to see how you PLAN it all out, too.
Thanks,
Misti