Our New System

This school year I decided to try something different for Emily. I usually just tell her what she needs to get done in the first subject and then when thats done I tell her the next subject and so on. It means that I am always stopping and going over what she is doing and it makes it hard for me to get any tasks completed in the day, and i felt she was becoming to dependent on me instead of becaoming an independent learner. I want her to want to learn not just do it because I am there and told her too. While looking for ideas to be better organized this year I stumbled upon Sue Patrick's workbox system.

 I LOVE IT!!

This woman is brilliant. She used boxes on a shelf and each box is a task they need to get done. The kids start with the first box and when it is done they move to the second box and so on.  Here is what Sue said about it during an interview with Love to Know Homeschool.

Sue: My system simply makes homeschooling easier by creating physical and chronological structure. It makes it easier to organize curriculum and to present it in a way that is easier for the child to learn. This system allows home school families to get more schooling done in far less time, and it is especially helpful in creating kids who can work independently. So many homeschooled children can become addicted to Mom sitting there with them even when they don't need the help. My system is very visual and the children know at all times what is expected of them - whether they are readers or not. You would be surprised at how independent very small children and developmentally delayed children can be.

The workbox system also encourages parents to present work in smaller, easier chunks which will help keep behavioral problems and learning struggles at a minimum. My system for integrating a lot of review and more fun, hands-on materials will also help with attention spans, behavioral issues and learning retention.

Here is a picture of her system.

I don't have enough room for two shoe racks so I found these awesome scrapbooking drawers at Michaels. They have 10 drawers instead of the 12 that she uses but thats ok. I think they will work great and the girls are very excited about the bright colours, they can't wait to get started. Best of all they are on wheels so the girls can just pull them over to wherever they are working and I can easily move them to clean.

Gratitudes

1. That Rob is taking the kids to the parade so I get the house to myself this morning.

2. That Frank is feeling alot better and is leaving for a 2 day canoe trip.

3. That we can see the stampede fireworks from our front yard, it's nice to not have to go anywhere and stil get to see them.