Setting up Workboxes for the New School Year

Last year I set up our workboxes and wrote about it last fall. This year I knew I wanted to use the workboxes but with some improvements. Attending Sue Patrick's seminar really gave me some ideas.

For my elementary student, I used the traditional workbox system using the shoe rack and shoe boxes. This is the same set up that I used last year.

This is what I did different this year. First, just like Sue suggested, I made him a way to 'clock-in & clock-out.' It seems silly and a waste of time but the younger kids really like it. If it gives them a reason to be excited to start school each morning, then that is something to utilize. My son really does enjoy 'clocking in and clocking out.' He even does it on the weekends when he is doing chores. You can use anything to make these. I just took a letter size envelope and cut it to look like a pocket. Then I laminated it. Using an exacto knife, I opened the slit. For his time card, I printed it on card stock and then laminated it.

Last year, I had a chart where he put the numbers after finishing the box. This year I decided to make the strips. It tells him what box to work on, when to take a break, do activities, play instrument, do lunch, etc.

When he is finished with a box, he places the completed label on the box. This is different than Sue Patrick suggests. In her book, she says to place everything back into the box and then stack them beside the students desk or with younger students put all the boxes into a large rubbermaid container. To me this just wastes time. I usually use a lot of the same materials everyday. So it makes sense to place everything back into the box and replace the box on the shelf for tomorrow.

I am pretty much doing the same thing with my high school student. He uses magazine files on his book shelf instead of the shoe rack. This fits into his room and works much better for an older student. I am using the strips with him too. Works great!

We have also started doing Centers which is another part of Sue Patrick's system. I will explain better how I have i instituted that in another post.

Re-visting the Workbox System Part I

Last August just before we started our new school year, I decided to give the Workbox system a try. I even wrote three posts about workboxes which you can find below (fall 2011). It's a great organizational system and I highly recommend it. Now I could have said that last year just from reading the different Workbox blogs. So what is different this year? Why am I revisiting the Workboxes? Well, because I actually got to meet Sue Patrick and attend one of her seminars.

What I found out by attending one of her seminars is that the Workbox system is not just an organizational system; it is a whole new way of presenting information. Sue Patrick came up with this idea because she had a severely autistic child. She used this system to begin teaching him basic things at the age of 12-18 months and on to the present at 17-years-old where he is a regular high school student with a drivers license and taking a Senior's course of study. Although, as Sue has said, if you only use the workboxes to organize your current curriculum, you will already be better better organized, the kids will work more independently and you will get more done in less time. But don't you want to do even more for your kids?

Sue made a statement that I just loved: "Don't asses them on their weaknesses but on their strengths." For example, if you have a reluctant writer (and in my case my son is dysgraphic) then don't put the majority of his assessment on writing. And that is exactly what the traditional school system does in testing our kids. So with the Workbox system, Sue is trying to get homeschool parents/teachers to think outside the box and be creative in finding ways to assess/teach our kids. In doing so, we not only assess our students more accurately but they too have a much better time with school and end up learning and liking it so much more.

In her seminar and book, Sue goes through how to improve your current curriculum to work better for your student. She shares what to put in your 'Centers' time which will reinforce learning and assist in assessment. I've taken her ideas and applied them to my own homeschool with my 3rd grader and 9th grader this year. In Part II, I will share a couple of those ideas.

Helpful Resource: ICR Education

Homeschool Teachers, if you are not signed up with ICR (Institute for Creation Research) go ahead and do it today. You will receive their two free periodicals, Acts & Facts and Days of Praise. They They also have some more education related resources. There are science curriculum supplements called Science Education Essentials (available for purchase), a new education blog hosted by Dr. Rhonda Forlow, and an online video program called Thats a Fact.

My Reasons for Switching to Heart of Dakota

I am a curriculum junkie, I admit it. I've tried lots of them. I'm subscribed to the different curriculum review boards and I love looking at new curriculums. In January, I usually begin figuring out what we will use the next year. We never use exactly what we used the previous year; although, I do seem to be nailing down what works best for us...finally--after 8 years of homeschooling!

This year I looked into using a more prepared curriculum for my youngest son who will be in the 3rd grade this coming year. We contemplated My Father's World for about two months. In fact, I was just weeks away from making my order. Then on a whim, I decided to go check out Heart of Dakota because I had heard that the two curriculums were similar. Within a couple hours of looking, reading and spending time on the message board; I made a complete turn around on my curriculum decision. We are going to use Heart of Dakota.

A couple months ago, I was at our local homeschool book store and I noticed a couple with some Heart of Dakota curriculum and they were trying to figure out some things. I thought I'd be helpful (I do try to do that when I can) and spoke to them about HOD. Since I've been homeschooling for so long and am now switching to HOD, they wanted to know my reasons why. The bottom line is (drum roll)--this curriculum does what I always try to do except it's even better.

Here are my reasons for switching to Heart of Dakota:
1. The philosophy of HOD matches my philosophy (mostly). You won't find a curriculum that is 100% perfect, but that is what's so great about homeschooling. You can change it to make it work. It mostly follows a Charlotte Mason philosophy mixed with a Unit Study focus.
2. It is obvious that the author, Carrie Austin, has experience both in the classroom and homeschool. She has a masters in education and you can tell by the way she put this program together that she knows what she's doing.
3. It is going to make my life a whole lot easier because most of the planning is already done. All I have to do is put together my Language Arts and Math lessons (since we use something different than the HOD recommendations) and any additional elective-type classes like Latin.
4. I love the book choices. They were books I would choose. When I look at the book choices of My Father's World and even SonLight, my choices fell more in line with HOD. (Of course, some book choices coincide with all three of these companies.)
5. The Biblical philosophy is apparent throughout the curriculum. It isn't just included in a separate Bible class but is integrated throughout all the subjects.
6. For me this year, the price was right. I had a lot of the books already and the rest I can get at the library. Mainly, I had to get the teacher's manual. The few books I decided to purchase I got with a couple gift cards that I had.
7. The way subject matter within the lessons all flow together so seamlessly from subject to subject as the learning is extended (unit-study style) is phenomenal.
8. It just looks fun. My 8-year-old is going to have a great time with this curriculum.

This Fall my 3rd grader will be using Beyond Little Hearts for His Glory. This level is recommended for ages 6-8. My guy will be 8 most of this year and so falls into this level no problem. I could have placed him in Bigger Hearts for His Glory but decided to wait. Since this is a new curriculum and style for him I knew it would be best to hold off. He isn't big on writing yet and he is reading at slightly below level due to a medical eye condition. I think Beyond will work great with him in conjunction with the extras I've thrown in there. This year I plan to blog about our adventures with HOD so stay tuned.

Learning to Love Discipline

I find with my boys that they hate discipline as they take it very personally. Most of the time it is more like correction than anything else. They aren't in trouble; I am not upset with them and yet it is like the end of the world. Today in reading my Bible, I came to Proverbs 12:1--Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid. (ESV) In all truth, no one really likes to be corrected; but as illustrated in this verse, we learn from discipline. And the true goal of the disciplinarian is that those under their care learn to self-discipline. I pray today that my children learn to love discipline that it will bring them to knowledge.

This past week, my husband and I have been discussing making a chore chart for the kids and starting this new school year right--not only academically but spiritually (which I will get to in another post) and also diligently--more discipline. So today I typed up a chart with their daily and weekly chores. We sat the boys down and went over it together. Needless to say, they were not thrilled to learn about MORE chores and less game time but honestly we weren't asking for much. We will just keep on with the discipline and pray that in time they recognize the knowledge they have gained.

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe

I've been involved in a lot of recipe exchanges this summer between different mom groups and homeschool groups. The great thing is that my cooking has been infused with exciting new delicacies. I know the men in my household have enjoyed it. And I have become more enthusiastic to cook than I had been for the last several months.


One of the recipes I tried was for chicken pot pie. I've never made my own pot pie before, but I've always meant to try. This is a very easy recipe that does NOT include making your own crust--although, I'm sure you could and it would be even yummier. I tweaked the recipe a little and it turned out great.

Ingredients:
2 (9") deep dish pie crust--thawed. (in frozen section of grocery store) You need a bottom and a top.
2 cups cooked chicken cut into pieces
Mixed vegetables (either a 15 oz can or frozen) drained
a few cooked potatoes cut up (use the microwave)
1 (10.75 ounce) can of condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste
a tablespoon of dried rosemary (this is a key ingredient)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Thaw the pie crusts or bake fresh.
3. Precook the chicken.
4. In a bowl, combine all the other ingredients together and then add the cooked and diced chicken.
5. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Place the other pie crust on top of the filled pie. Seal the edges together and poke holes in the top crust to vent.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until crust is golden brown.

This will serve 4-6 people.

To keep the calories and fat content down, make sure to use lean chicken breast, 98% fat free cream of chicken soup, and fat free milk. It's still just as delicious.

Enjoy!

Planning for Next Year—Preparing for High School

Summer is the time when all of us teachers—home and traditional—get ready for the next year. Honestly, I usually start planning in January but this year I actually started researching curriculums and such in November. I suppose part of it is that we will begin high school next year. How is that possible? It seems only yesterday that we started our homeschooling journey with a 1^st grader and a baby. Next year they will be in 9th and 3rd grades.

At this point, I've picked my curriculums and I have just been getting my yearly lesson planning done. I did this last summer and it was a lifesaver during the school year. We had a lot of disruptions to our school year last year and it was great to be able to go back to the plans, see where we left off, and go from there.

Of course, this year is different because I'm not just planning for one school year but essentially for the four years of high school. I need to be sure to a certain extent that what I am doing this year will lead into what credits we need for the sophomore year and so on until we graduate. That has been more of a struggle. And it seems as soon as I have something settled in my head of what we are going to do that I lose confidence in that idea and try something else. It has been exhausting and we haven't even started yet.

Thankfully I have everything set. Most of my curriculum is purchased and most of that is also planned. In about five more weeks we start our next year and the next great adventure. I'm looking forward to it...I hope they are too.