Weekly Wrap-Up 3.6.10

My blog has been pretty dead the past few weeks. I have no excuse for you other than to say I haven’t felt much like writing anything lately. I have had lots of ideas for posts, they just have not made it to a finished product.

Wondering what’s been going on the past few weeks? There has been no shortage of events in our home, from toddler colds to crafts. Here are some highlights…

We have been doing weaving projects for Fine Arts, here are some pictures of the kids working on theirs

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They are not finished yet, they had to be put up out of reach one day, and I have neglected to remember to get them back out.

I have also redesigned our Workbox System. I just wasn’t getting the boxes filled every day and it has been a pain trucking things up and down the stairs to get them ready. We have been using daily workfolders while I spent time trying to figure out how to make our workboxes work better for us. Here’s what I came up with:

 

I used materials I already had on hand. These are bankers box file holders that I painted. I could not get the kind of coverage I wanted with he craft paint I had, but they do look better then with no paint at all. This system uses file folders instead of boxes and is more compact and will sit on the table next to where the boys are working.

 

 

This part of the system I cannot take credit for in any way shape or form. I got the idea from Sheri at What’s in the Box? She made weekly schedule books and you can read all about it on her blog here.

 

 

 

I was originally going to make my schedule books just like hers, but then I realized how many velcro coins I would have to use. SO instead I used her printables to make a reusable daily grid. The left page will have the day of the week and the date written in with wet erase marker. I am thinking I will use the 6 boxes on the left hand page for chore cards.

 

 

Here is a view of the folders inside the box. I taped the numbers onto each tab and placed a coin on each folder to hold a Work With Mom card when needed. Things that are too wide to fit into these folders will but put in a “Holding Station” box with post it numbers on them. There will be a “Holding Station” card in the folder that tells them they need that item from the box to complete the work. You can also get those printables from the link I shared above.

 

This page (on cardstock) is a temporary addition. I plan on printing and laminating a more permanent one with reminders to make sure all their materials are put away for the day (yes, this is an issue in our home). As they finish each folder, it will go behind this divider, and this “happy” is what they will see when they are done for the day.

 

I know, not very pretty to look at, don’t ask me why I didn’t paint the backs also, I just didn’t. Anyhow, attached to the back of their box is a baggie to hold their schedule numbers and Work With Mom cards as they complete each folder. I have not yet decided if we are going to have an “inbox” as we did before, or if I will just have them place completed pages back into their folders when done. I will probably do the inbox, it worked well for us.

 

I have also figured out a way to utilize my wonderful Homeschool Tracker Plus program with TOG, and I am devising a way to use it in streamlining my workboxes also. I will keep you updated on that. To wrap up the school stuff, here are our plans for the coming week:

Lesson plans - 3-8-10 -

I will be back to share more pictures and news about what we have been up to soon!

Blessings,

: ) Cassie