Any experience with the Workbox System?

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Permalink Reply by Merry on March 30, 2009 at 6:12pm

I've been reading about this for a couple of weeks & just implemented today! My kids actually were already working well independently (we've used a MOTH--Manager's of their Homes--variation schedule for years, and it's been so helpful). However, my kids struggle with putting things away and turning in work, even though we have designated places. About once a week something would be missing. And I want to check their work daily in math especially. So, I decided to do it with those goals in mind. (My kids are 12 and 10, btw).

I did vary from the author's recommendation of shoeboxes (not enough room here, plus I hate the thought of books getting curled up in them!), so I'm using tower drawers. Since they aren't easy to remove, and I wanted the kids to have the visual benefit of seeing how much (or little) is left to do, I decided to do the velcro numbers on the drawers. I wondered if my 12 yo might think that was childish, but when I explained why I wanted to do it, he was excited--so I did that!

I like that the system encourages breaking things down, and also putting some of the fun learning items in that are harder to get to. I also added non-numbered items on our velcro-chart--the kids have ones for making their bed/cleaning their rooms (they do this before breakfast each day), family service, music practice, and exercise.

Hopefully we'll keep up with this system! I told them that they can't move a velcro sticker from the drawer to their chart until they have turned in their work, or returned the book to the drawer (and in the case of the granola bar I put in their "fun" drawer with a quick skip-counting assignment, they had to throw away their wrapper, LOL!)

The author definitely advocates using it for teens. She writes in her book:

"Using the Workbox System for High Schoolers
will make teaching them and inspecting their
work all the easier. Sometimes a High School
parent’s initial reaction to the Workbox System is
that it seems too immature for a High Schooler.
But with all the competition that High Schoolers
have for their time and focus, the Workbox System
is just what they need."

Merry :-)

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Permalink Reply by A home for their hearts on April 15, 2009 at 9:35pm

I would love to learn more about the workbox system. I need to find something that keeps us organized. It seems my day is filled with moving piles of paper and books from one spot to another. LOL

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Permalink Reply by Merry on April 15, 2009 at 10:08pm

We're still going with it! I posted some pics on my blog here.

Here's another blog that gave me lots of ideas.

Merry :-)

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Permalink Reply by Cindy P. on April 15, 2009 at 10:36pm

The blog you linked to provided a great overview of the Workbox System!

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Permalink Reply by Merry on April 16, 2009 at 12:20am

It's the best one I've seen on it! Merry :-)

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Permalink Reply by Janet K. Coile on April 27, 2009 at 8:17pm

Merry,
I'm intrigued, but still on the fence. Where did you buy your drawers and how much did they cost? I'm not sure I'm organized enough to get everyone else organized this way?! I have stressed over trying to implement MOTH, but I just can't seem to get it all together to start! HELP!

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Permalink Reply by Merry on April 27, 2009 at 9:52pm

I got them at Staples & they were $30 for a 6-drawer cart. You can take them apart & add more drawers to other carts (all but the top drawer are interchangeable).

I've used MOTH, but not exactly as written. Several things that I think help with getting MOTH to work:

1, give yourself the freedom to only schedule part of your day (like just school to start).

2, make sure your schedule is realistic (add in time for switching subjects and changing an emergency diaper, clean-up, things like that).

3, Be willing to ammend your schedule (I ALWAYS find that some things look good on paper but don't work in reality & I have to try again).

4, when you start a new schedule, implement gradually. Try the first hour. Does that hour work? Does everyone have something to do, does it flow? Do a walk-through before your first trial run of that hour. Then if it works, try adding another hour after a day or two, and see how that one works. Work up gradually.

5, Know that the sum might be greater than the parts. Sometimes we are overly ambitious about what we can accomplish--and while any one individual part of the schedule would be fine, all together it's too much. It takes a bit of time & finagling to get to a workable pace.

Personally, I use MOTH mainly to figure out what one child can be doing while I work with another--and I find the same kind of thinking goes into organizing the workboxes.

HTH some! Merry :-)

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Permalink Reply by Janet K. Coile on April 29, 2009 at 8:11pm

Merry, Good advice! Thanks! I'm still scared about workboxes because I feel that *I* won't be able to stick with it. That's kind of how I reacted to MOTH--like I really wanted to be able to do it, but it scared me since I didn't know how to start and was afraid of "failing." I know you must be an organized person, or you would never be able to accomplish all you do. It's hard to say whether a totally abstract random person like myself could stay with it... I do like your Staple's drawers better than the shoe boxes--our shoe boxes probably wouldn't stay put, kwim? Anyway, I'm praying about it and we'll see if I can find the drawers (we don't have a Staples nearby). Thanks again, Janet K.

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Permalink Reply by Bonnie Webb on April 29, 2009 at 8:30pm

What I did was try a "trial" run before I bought the supplies, book, and spent the time on it. I too was wondering if it would be worth the time,effort etc. I did it only 2 days so far, and it really helped my daughter(age 5) to look forward to the day, stay busy, not ask what can I do now, and it helped her stick to a routine. I had 6 empty shoe box containers and no shelf. I just numbered them put them on the floor, and told her what to do. She did it! I want to order the book and purchase the shelf and other things. i don't think we fail if we try at something, but if we don't try then we will never know. Be easy on yourself and find what works for you and your child.
Blessings,
Bonnie

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Permalink Reply by Merry on April 29, 2009 at 9:25pm

Actually I'm pretty abstract random myself! I like to GET organized, but I struggle to stay organized. The workbox thing was my PLEA to myself AND my children to try to get some kind of system working that would keep us on track (because I DO get distracted, and they are worse!), and to keep books from getting lost, etc...

We did have places for things before, but they just didn't get put back there. This workbox system has enough built-in accountability that it has worked fairly well for us. My kids will still occasionally forget to turn something in, but at least things are usually in their drawers if that happens--and not lost in their rooms! And hey, it only took me 7 or so years of homeschooling to come up with the idea to have an actual, physical box for them to turn in work, LOL!

I asked my kids today what they think of the system & how it works. My son (who seems like a concrete sequential but can't keep his room clean--does that make any sense?!), likes the number order. My dd sometimes prefers to do things in the order she chooses. Since I let my kids decide order before we started workboxing, I told her I was fine with her rearranging the content of the drawers if she wanted to. I think she has a good handle on how she works and what motivates her, so I'll let her try that & see if she can do it w/o forgetting to do something (we talked about that).

I did a bit of reading about meta cognition last year (basically the understanding of how you think), and I like to encourage my kids to know themselves, understand how they work best, how they think, how they learn, and to pursue what works for them. Anyway, she was pleased with this modification.

Merry :-)

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Permalink Reply by Janet K. Coile on May 1, 2009 at 6:53am

Wow--very helpful info. What book did you read on meta cognition? I'm going to a homeschool conference today and I'm going to look for the workboxes book. My problem is that I keep wanting to find something *new* when the problem is MY disorganization--which a system won't really fix. But, I do like the "fun" factor in this system. Thanks! Janet K.

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Permalink Reply by Merry on May 1, 2009 at 10:27am

Actually the "reading" was in an online class, so not in a book. It wasn't a lot--I'm sure I barely scraped the tip of the iceberg.

A system might not fix all your struggles with disorganization, but if it gives you a handle on how to change one thing, or one aspect, to make something easier, I've found that just that is worthwhile. I figure by the time my kids are grown I'll have some of this figured out, LOL!

Merry :-)

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