Anyone here use Sue Patrick's workbox system?

I do – very modified (I never read the book, just learned from groups etc.)

I have a word document with a 5×12 grid, which I have entered in any constant subjects for each day – not necessarily in the box it will be in.  It generally leaves us with 2 to 3 extra “fun” boxes (or catchup boxes….)

We have little buckets, with the numbers stuck to them.  My son (age 6) works through each box – almost all of them are done with me because of the stage he is in in school.  He piles the empty boxes up.  When he is done, he puts all the boxes back on the shelf, and while working on his last fun box, I gather up quickly what we need for the next day – then he goes and fills the boxes, and picks out a few fun activities for the fun boxes (or I have him leave a few for me to fill if I have something special for him.)   That way it takes almost no prep time for me!

His almost 4 year old sister has 6 “boxes” with mostly fun things in them that help keep her entertained a bit.  Once she is really schooling later, I will probably add a few family boxes to be done before they start their own boxes.

Right now we have the little boxes – but they do take a lot of room, and I have even younger kids coming up…. so I think after a couple of years, we will move to one of the more compact variations…. probably a portable filebox with hanging folders for the “older” kids.

Oh, I have a couple of “stations” to pick up stuff that doesn’t fit in the box – a card goes in that says “Pick up at Station 1″….

If you do her system – keep in mind that it was definately designed for “School at Home” – and that her book says “It must be done this way” – but there are MANY blogs out there that prove that you can modify for your household.

I do.  I joined the yahoo group titled Workboxes, there are free Workbox Numbers, labels and even Schedules.  Instead of using a Monday-Friday normal Planner the one I like has Monday with 12 boxes through Friday on one page.  I fill it in and that is what we are doing for school down to the order we are doing it in.  It has helped me especially to plan for my 2 boys.  I usually put our family school work and bible in box 1.  Then I can stagger the boys boxes so one is on his own and the other is with me.  I also figured out what part of the day each subject works best with the baby.  Things that really take absolute concentration I do when the baby naps.  We do keep each box 15-20 minutes following CM.  This means that Grammar, spelling, and handwriting all get their own box instead of combining.   The shelf from Target is $15, its a 4 rack shoe shelf in the target brand stuff in the storage area.  The boxes are clear plastic shoeboxes that cost $1 each.  I bought strips of velcro and printed everything else online for free.

I didn’t buy the actual program, so I don’t know what she says.  I just saw it on some blogs and loved it so I made it my own.

Thought I’d bump this up and see if any of you are still doing workboxes?

Just this year, I’ve started a very simplified, condensed version (without reading the book) that is just a pocket chart and file folders. It’s great so far for my girls to see what is left to do and then to know when school is DONE for the day… that part’s good for me too!

I wouldn’t call what I do a workbox system but here is what I do for my two older kids, 8 and 12…

Each one has their own totable box filled with their books and work to do independently. I have one of Sonya’s printable charts that show what to do for each day. This list does not change but they refer to it everyday to make sure all is done. They just go from lesson to lesson, or chapter to chapter. (sometimes I put a Post It note inside a certain book if I want them to do something extra)

During what I call our Guided Time, they bring their box to me and I check their work and then do whatever is needed with them (like dictation, etc.)

It’s nothing fancy, but it really works for us. And I don’t have to keep refilling boxes which I know would not enjoy. 🙂

I have each individual’s work and books inside their own desks (the 2 oldest, anyway, have their own “old-fashioned” desks with either a lid or shelves – the other 2 will have them as soon as our guinea pigs leave us with more room LOL).  This saved me a lot of space on my bookshelf.  Each day, I still have to pull out all the books/papers we need, but their individual work stays in their desks.  They pull it out when I tell them to.  🙂  My oldest does a few things completely on her own now, so I write down her individual assignments on a small whiteboard.  She erases them as she gets done.  I have the main schedule on the wall, and though it is not CM, it is mostly the same from day to day (it was too confusing for all of us to switch the order every day).  I set all the family books & assignments (& anything I don’t want in their desks, such as manipulatives or word cards, etc) on my desk in the order in which we’ll do the subject.  The downside is that I can’t use my desk at all until school is all done for the day….  I have been searching for a way to make these workbox things work for us, but so far, this is all the farther I’ve gotten.  I figure I’ll get another great idea next spring, right?  😉