Monday, November 15, 2010

Workbox Labels


So, I thought it might be a good idea to list the labels out for you specifically...just in case you are interested in seeing what non-typical things I came up with! Perhaps some of these will be helpful to you.

  • Math- we are Math on the Level users so we do a family math approach. This is the box we keep our things in.
  • Geography- we use the Trail Guides to World and US Geography (see resource drop down list) because my kids adore it. What can I say?
  • History- we are following Mystery of History and adding in Story of the World and TruthQuest resources. This in addition to our normal unit studies. Mainly, I wanted to blend secular and biblical history while getting in some ancient cultures- something we have not hit much in our unit studies thus far.
  • Nature Study- once a week we do a challenge with Barb over at the Handbook of Nature Study blog or we just do our own observations.
  • Unit Study- this is classified as non-FIAR unit studies. For example, The Photography Amanda Bennett unit for E12 and the Portraits of American Girlhood for R10 or just our own studies
  • Language Arts- writing and grammar which is usually done as an extension of our unit studies or for this month NanoWrimo, etc
  • Word Challenge- this could be a dictionary assignment or daily quest on a word or a word game, etc.
  • Passion Pursuits- refers to approved activities we do after our other school time is complete. For example, sewing, computer programming, sports practice, snap circuits, etc.
  • Programming- Scratch, Alice, and NXT
  • NXT- LEGO mindstorms. We have a personal kit (and a team kit we store) along with some books and of course there are websites.
  • Timeline- this is a box for our timeline FIAR style. On Fridays we put pages in according to what we've learned that week.
  • Math Challenge- puzzles, more difficult problems, math journal assignments, etc and sometimes computer math. We like The Puzzle Site.
  • Art- art materials for our assignment will be here. We do this as a family all together.
  • Spelling- materials for All About Spelling
  • Five in a Row- unit study materials when it's a FIAR book we are rowing. The younger boys are doing mostly FIAR so that is what their unit study box is labeled with specifically.
  • Beyond Five in a Row- same with this box. When we are doing a BY book, this label takes the place of the unit study label
  • Reading- mainly for Reading Made Easy for J5
  • LEGOS- for the younger boys mostly...a time of building during Passion Pursuits
  • Silent Reading- we normally don't need this. Our kids read anytime and often, but it's there when I need it
  • Games- If I want them to play a game during the afternoon, I will put up this card on a box with a card inside telling which game or how to choose a game.
  • Sewing- R10 almost always has a project going so this is a place for storing it while not in use. I give her hand sewing and machine sewing projects and encourage her to try new things. I8 has in interest in sewing as well so we can sometimes insert a project for him. He's all about the sewing machine though...hand sewing- not so much.
 Next up, I think I will further explain a few of these in further detail.

    4 comments:

    Jenn said...

    Hi Heather,
    Great Blog! Our homeschool style is similar, but you are the 'On-My-Game' version - I'm the 'Need-Some-New-Ideas' version. We also have seen workboxing evolve for us, very similar to your usage. I LOVE your ideas for contents. I'm struggling with scheduling, both daily routine and weekly routine. Would you share with me / us some general ideas of how you are implementing all these great boxes? You obviously don't do everything every day (DO YOU???!!)

    Thanks!
    Jenn

    Heather said...

    No Jenn we don't! I will share with you our daily routine next in a post. How's that?

    Stay tuned and thanks for reading!

    Heather

    Tammy G said...

    I've been reading your blog for about 2 years and your posts are one of the main reasons we use workboxes. We to have morphed a bit but I still think they are a great organizational tool. I agree, I would love to see your schedule. that is one of the toughest things, so much I want to do but not enough time--thanks,

    Heather said...

    Hey thanks Tammy! I'll get that routine up this weekend- I hope!

    Heather