Workboxes: My Variation on a Theme

If you haven’t heard the latest buzz in the homeschooling world, it’s all about something called the Workbox System.  This stroke of genius is the brain child of Sue Patrick.  Patrick, whose son was diagnosed with Autism at the age of two, studied, struggled, theorized, practiced, tried, erred and tried again to find methods and practices that would support her son towards a fullness of life and hope that doctors simply didn’t give.  The result?  Sue Patrick’s Workbox System.  It wasn’t only a tremendous success for her own son, it’s been a boon to many families who are home educating their special needs children, and to a great many other families and home schools as well.  Sue’s eBook is a great investment to have in your resource cache; lots of wisdom and know-how that you can’t find anywhere else.

When I first saw the Workboxes, I knew that it would be a great help for my supremely tactile bunch.  My only problem was the space issue; we’re already pretty full up here in this house.  After a lot of brainstorming, inspiration.  This is my version of Workboxes.

my Workbox variation: a hanging strip of 12 laminated cards per student

The laminated cardstock allows me to write assignments with a Wet Erase pen

Cards 1-12 hang on the wall; finished assignment cards tuck in pocket

Thick watercolor paper is a strong base. I cut the corner slits where waiting assignment cards are placed.

Simple card stock folded and stapled at the bottom makes an easy storage pocket for finished lessons.

I used 3M pull tabs to hang these on the wall. Simple and works great.

This is my “variation on a theme” of the Workbox System.  We’ve only just started with “tactile checklist”, but I can tell you that it’s brought motivation and peace for us already.  Boyville loved hidden surprise activities that they discovered upon turning over the assignment card; that was great fun and they were extremely focused on getting through their lessons. 

If you love the idea of the Workboxes but are short on space or it’s just not in the budget, there are other creative adaptations that can make it work for your space and budget.  This is just one way; I hope that it helps you to brainstorm what will work for your school.