Workboxes

We have been using workboxes nearly all of this school year, and they truly changed our school dynamics!! I am not sure how I schooled without them now! A woman named Sue Patrick invented the system and has book on it. She designed them for a child with ADD but I truly believe they are great for any child.
The basic idea is that each child has a number of drawers, file folders, boxes, bins, magazine holders...etc. (You can use what ever system you choose, however the principle behind it is a visual one...so if you have a visual learner or ADD child you may not want to use the file folders).
We chose to use the Sterilite clear drawers (set of 6) for Carson (3rd) and Madelyn (1st)...I also purchased an extra set and I use that for Cam & Ann (ages 4). I bought mine at Staples and they were about $29 each...pricey but worth it!
So each day (or on occasion, the night before!) I stock the drawers with 6 things (sometimes less) that each child can complete on their own or with a bit of help from mom.
This sounds too simplistic...but it works. The children know what is expected of them, they know the order they need to go in, they can see their work at a glance so they realize what is expected of them to finish for the day etc. With multiple children they can all get started and work side by side on different things without the dreaded "What do I do next?" or "I'm all done" (when they are NOT!)!!

So what goes in them?

Well for my 3rd grader it is usually any of his "workbook" work...so handwriting, copywork, reasoning, Wordly Wise, spelling (he brings that to me and I give him the test), Apologia review work or crosswords, math, pen pal letters (include envelope, stamp, paper) etc.
I like to throw in a card game with Maddie, a puzzle, 15 minutes of free time, build a lego structure etc. Just a little something to break up the day and add a little hands on activity.

For Madelyn (1st grade) I keep things a bit more spiced up, because she is a struggling learner and too many "workbooks" send her into a puddle of emotional breakdowns! So hers usually have 2 "fun" things each day...now by fun I mean an art project, drawing project, pen pal letter, fun journaling page, preschool activity bag, art dobbers, etc.
Her other boxes would be spelling, phonics, math, handwriting etc.

For Annie & Cam (4 year olds) I keep it all hands on fun with maybe one handwriting page or themed activity. So if we are studying farm animals they might have a farm animal printable book, farm lacing cards, construction paper with farm stickers, a mini play-doh with a cookie cutter...etc. They can do the boxes in any order. Any many times I do not even switch theirs out daily..maybe weekly.


Our drawers fit under each childs desk. Attached are numbers 1-6 that are laminated and velcroed on do each drawer...as the drawer is finished they remove the number and place it in a tray. This way at a glance they can see what is left to do!

A card game for an older child..

a preschool activity bag....

This is what I plan to implement next year. This will be laminated. The way this will work is that there will be picture discs for any number of these spots. #1 might be brush teeth, #2 might be make bed #3 might be get dressed then #4,5,6,7,8,9 will be the workboxes , #10 will be clean your jurisdiction, #11 etc...

I am adding this because the visual-ness of the workboxes work so well, so I figured adding in the daily chores would make sense.

An example of a preschoolers box...

What the box looks like after boxes 1 & 2 are completed.

Extra Tidbits!

-I switch up the order of the subjects each day.

-I split up things that require a lot of writing with math or puzzle etc

-It gives me an opportunity to print fun holiday activities

-It helps me use things that I normally will not build into a school day

Here are some of my FAVORITE workbox blogs/sites! Enjoy!


She uses the bin system!

Here is everything you need to know about workboxes!

Homeschoolshare has some great printable and activities!

She has some of my favorite resources out there! (poke around her site becuase she has lots of great preschool resources too!

That should keep you busy for awhile!!!

Easter Day!

We had a great Easter morning...great Easter service and then out to my moms for lunch! After lunch we fished, hunted eggs, rode on the four-wheeler and enjoyed time together as a family! Several times throughout the day we reminded ourselves that these two precious little brown boys were sitting in an orphange last year. It is so hard to believe that they have not always been here, with full tummies, baskets of candy and lots of hugs and kisses! I think of all the children home this year with their forever families....and all of those still sitting in orphanages waiting for a mommy and daddys love. Our lives have forever been changed by these boys! What a wonder day to remember our King and how we are also adopted and loved by a ever-loving father!


My Maddie and cousin Maddie!! Yeap, My step-sister and I were pregnant at the same time...and we both picked out the name Madelyn...and they were both surprises and were both GIRLS! We don't seem them often enough but they get along SOO well once they are together! On you mark, get set go!!! Find those Easter eggs....!!

The boys safe from the doggies in daddys arms!!

Our sweet family! (that is my moms pond on her property..isn't it beautiful)

The sweet grandchildren...

My sweet kiddos and my two nieces!

Ready for church..

Our eggs including our fun tie-dyed eggs. We also made chocolate covered pretzels!!

Fun at Louisville Slugger

Paul grew up in Chicago, and is lucky enough to kept in touch with many of his childhood friends. One his friends married a really cool girl and if they lived closer I feel like it is safe to say we would be very close! Add to that, all of our kiddos get along great too! We get to Chicago about once or twice a year and they get down here about the same. They came down a few weeks ago for a long weekend.
We started off at Waffle House (evidently they do not have WH in Chicago, so that was a must for Pete!) then we headed to Louisville Slugger Museum. The kiddos all enjoyed the museum, the daddys hit some balls in the batting cages and we all went on the factory tour and received our little mini bats!

Next we headed to Waterfront park...whew that was so stressful to keep an eye on so many littles ones. So after awhile we decided Tumbleweed was calling our name! This was a pic of all of the kiddos on the hill prior to rolling down!

Not sure why this pic turned on me...but this is Maddie holding Mickey Mantles bat!

...some great words

Our friends who are adopting from ET are simply incredible with words. Nearly everytime I read their blog I am blown away...last night was yet another time! (And this time it is even a quest blogger!)
Please check out JT & Natalies blog so you can think about what might have been.....

Adoption-Where to Begin!?

Over the last year Paul and I have been contacted nearly monthly by families with questions about adoption. I love sharing our story with anyone who asks and can only hope that I can help another family start their journey to adoption!

I am not much help in the area prior to your decision to adopt. My husband and I knew we wanted to adopt from the time we were dating. So once you have come to the decision then maybe I can help! So here are my ideas below and if you have adopted and want to add to this please add to the comments!


The first question for most families is WHERE do we adopt from?? I believe God will most assuredly lead you in the right direction for your family. Some of us can do very little research and immediately be drawn to the right adoption path for our families. Others are very unsure of which path to take and need to do a little detective work!

Options include:
1.) Domestic infant adoption-There are many agencies that specialize in infant adoptions. This is for a family who wants to adopt a newborn (most likely will bring the child home from the hospital). These adoptions can be opened or closed. This is up to the birthparents and adoptive parents. Normally this process includes preparing a "scrapbook" of your family and the birthparents "choose" the family they want to raise their child. The cost is near the highest end of adoptions, normally around $30,000. The cost varies depending if the birthmother has insurance to cover the birth etc. The cost will also be higher for a caucasian child and less expensive for bi-racial, hispanic, or African children. (no comments..I know it is ridiculous)

2.)Domestic infant adoption (variable 2) There are families who just spread the word that they want to adopt. Someone who knows someone who knows someone can then agree for you to adopt the baby. This can be less expensive because many times you are only looking at lawyer fees. I know of several successful adoptions like this. There are usually adoption lawyers that sometimes know of children that need homes as well. This just takes the adoption agency out of the equation..lower costs and usually wait time. I have heard of families spending less than $5,000!

3.)A waiting child in from the US- There are only about 123,00 waiting children in the US. (that seems like alot but remember there are 5 million in Ethiopia which is equivalent to the size of Alaska). A waiting child is legally free to be adopted and usually a ward of the state. You also have to know of these 123,00 many are sibling sets and/or special needs. Special needs....this can range from wearing glasses and having asthma to cerebral palsy. A friend of mine is finishing up this process. She searched from February until September. She searched every state in the US. She was looking for a caucasian boy between the age of 4 & 7. She met her son in October and he came home to live with her in December, the adoption will not be final in a court until 6 months after placement. This process works a bit differently for every child and every family. She found that in the US they are a bit more picky. For instance some children need to be an only child, some needed to be a middle child, some could not leave the state they were in because other birth siblings were still there etc. I just give you this information so you know WHY it is a bit more difficult to find a child here in the US that will work for your family.
The cost for these adoptions are usually under $2,000 tops. You can get a free homestudy done through your state. If you get a private homestudy the cost is about $1500.00 The other fee would just be a lawyer fee for court. These children will get insurance and college scholarships and some will qualify for monthly stipends depending on the severity of their disibility.

4.)Foster to adopt-If going this route you first become an approved foster home. You would foster child who are most likely going to be available for adoption. The process of how a child is deteremined adoptable, the ages of children, the length of the process before it is legal is all dependent on the state laws. The cost of these adoptions can be relatively free from what I understand. I know many success stories however the families will tell you there is heartache for every happy ending!

5.)International adoption-There are many countries that are open to the US for adoption now. If you know you want to go international but have no pull to a specific country it is easiest to start crossing some off the list. Bethany Christian Services has a great information page that shows the basic details for each country.
A few of the criteria that you can "cross" a country of the list for:
-age of adoptive parents (ex. Prior to the quake I believe you had to be 35 to adopt from Haiti)
-length of marriage
-if you are single
-specific health conditions (ex. with my history of cancer I cannot adopt from China)
-number of children already in your home
-length of travel (we could not adopt from Russia due to the required travel of nearly a month in country, because we had the other 3 small children)
-Do both parents need to travel
-Cost
The cost for intercountry adoption is from $16,000-$30,000 depending on the country and travel. The time varies in each country from 6 months total to 3+ years.

I know someone who has adopted from each of these options. If you want I can always connect you to these families who would be happy to share their experiences with you!

I was once told the adoption journey is like a roller coaster. You consider riding, you think about riding, you might ride, you might not, you talk about and then you get in line! You might consider leaving the line as it gets closer but then once you are on the ride there is no turning back. You wait, you cry, you smile, you laugh, you love, you scream.....and then when you get off you want to do it all again!

I also want to share my church website that has some great information.

How Great Thou Art...

If you are looking for a great art program, we love Barry Stebbing art. We are currently working through I Can Do All Things. We do other art projects all through the year, so we use it sporadically. This covers basic drawing techniques, color mixing etc. The best part is that the lesson is taught on a DVD! So after our school day is nearing the end I can pop in the DVD and the children will sit and draw for hours! This was the first time Annastyn aged 4, tried the program and she loved it! She did remarkably well for her age as well!

This lesson was teaching straight lines. This is Annie's work.

African Curriculum

I have used this product but just came across it and it seems to have great reviews! Just wanted to share with you. If you have used it leave a comment and tell us about it!

I found it all individually priced out here at Lamppost Publishing.

And here in an all-inclusive kits or individually!