Worboxing and Lapbooking!

I feel like I am finally with the times when it comes to homeschooling. I feel like it's all starting to come together for us. It's been quite a journey so far and I feel like I have tried and flopped at so many things...but finally I feel like I have an answer to the issues. The first issue was Abeka...enough said (I blogged about it a few posts back). We've branched out and all of our curriculum for next year has finally all arrived and I am beyond excited! We have just over a month of school left and I can't wait until July 6th when we start our next school year!! Hunter will be in 2nd grade and Dalton in kindergarten. (Wow, can you believe they are that old already???)

In doing various research I have found so many wonderful bloggers that are so open with things that they have tried and have either flopped or have worked. It has helped me so much while I have been searching for something to keep school interesting, fun, and something we look forward to everyday! I fully believe that two of those answers come in the form of workboxing and lapbooking.

The workbox system was designed by a fellow homeschooling mom. It is a system that helps with so many skills, not only for your child, but for YOU, yes..you, the homeschooling teacher! YOU prepare the boxes (or in our case, folders) the evening before (I will do mine in the afternoon after school is over) and you get everything together that you need for any task that you put into the boxes. It helps the children have a visual of what they have to complete before they are done with school for the day and to some degree they are in control of getting it completed. In our house we have a "no tv before school is done" rule...so this will help that. I plan on using the folders until we are finished with this school year. If it's successful then I will probably go ahead and purchase each of the boys 12 boxes for next school year.

The next thing that we are starting to tackle is lapbooking. If you are new to homeschooling or you don't homeschool and you've just found my blog..lol.., the best way I know of to describe a lapbook would be to say it's like a mini scrapbook on one topic...though scrapbooking sounds gay for boys. LOL You can make them out of anything...file folders, notebooks, etc. I have some of those paper folders (you know, the kind with the brads that hold the paper in the middle?) so that's what we are starting with. You can make a lapbook on any subject/topic that you want...I've seen them on anything from horses, to letters, desert, etc etc etc...the possibilities are really limitless! I told Hunter that he could choose the first one he wanted to make and he picked "horses". So today we cut out the letters on some sticker paper that I have and he wrote the first page on why he chose horses as the topic. I ordered some ink for our printer (we've been out for AGES!) so he'll be able to print off some pictures, coloring pictures, and information on horses to use in his book. I am going to purchase a filing cabinet for the school room and we will file the lapbooks away and definetly pull them back out for review or reading fun on down the road.

I'm really excited about both of these ideas! We will start tomorrow with the workboxes. I just finished getting both of their boxes ready.

Here's what's in Hunter's 1st Grade Box
1. Awana book (verse)
2. Phonics worksheet
3. Phonics flashcards (work with mom)
4. Horse lapbook
5. My America, My World (history book) (work with mom)
6. Math worksheet
7. Art (tomorrow is painting two sun catchers)
8. Math subtraction flashcards (work with mom)
9. Reading
10. Health, Safety, & Manners book (work with mom)
11. Fun Math book on weights and measurements
12. Site Word Bingo (play with mom)

He will take breaks after every 3 folders. The first break is 15 minutes of free time, the 2nd break is do to chores off of his chore chart, and the 3rd break is another 15 minute free time. As you can see, this system has plenty of "work with mom" time as well as many things that he will be responsible for on his own. If I'm right there by him all the time he tends to need to ask me 600 questions when I know he can figure it out on his own.

Dalton is only 4, but he wanted to get in on the fun...so I gladly made him a workbox folder set as well. Here is what I've got ready for him.
1. Noah's Ark coloring page
2. Number worksheet
3. Fishing game
4. Awana book (verse)
5. Science book (A Robin Grows Up)
6. Art (same project as Hunter)
7. Reading book w/mom
8. Alphabet flash cards
9. Penguin audio book (book comes w/cd and the cd chimes when he turns the page..he loves them!)
10. Number puzzle
11. Number flashcards
12. Name writing practice

I will take some pics of the system and post them tomorrow! Can't wait!