Homeschooling Downunder
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Getting Homeschool Work Organised Using Boxes!
Choosing our own homeschool curriculum and setting our own routine is one of the many advantages of homeschooling but this freedom of choice also has a level of anxiety attached to it. We see homeschooling is possible, others seem to be managing –but how can I actually do this?
Limitless options bamboozle us, procrastination, quest for the perfect curriculum (it doesn’t exist), or planning the ultimate timetable becomes our routine instead of actually getting on with the job. After floundering around and feeling defeated pre-packaged programs look appealing.
I don't really like routine and structure and I resisted it for a long time because I didn't want my homeschool to just imitate school at home. This resistance meant that we weren't really operating our homeschool as best we could. I was the lynch pin to the day and if I got distracted (which I often did—still do) the whole system fell apart.
If these scenarios describe you (that was me once), don’t panic—there is hope! With a little bit of forward planning and structure you can foster independence and give your children a rich and living education that is not merely school at home.
What we do is not necessarily what you are supposed to do. I have found something that works for my personality and my children. It has the perfect mix for me, a little structure to stop me stressing out and feeling like “we do nothing”, and the freedom to pursue all those other things.
I set aside time to homeschool.
This may sound like a ridiculous thing to say but it is one of the best lessons that I learnt. In my early days of homeschooling I found it hard to say no to others expectations of how I should use my time. If I was asked to help or attend an event during the week, I felt compelled to go. People would thank me for giving my time. I was transitioning into school work but I still had babies and some days my friends would pop in for a chat and then stay for the whole day. I was feeling slack about neglecting the homeschooling but also feeling torn because the other things I was doing, I wanted to do. Then I read somewhere that as a homeschool mum you are a working mum. People wouldn't drop in at your work and stay for the whole day. This empowered me to make a stand. I took the phone off the hook and stopped going out in the mornings and dedicated that time to school.
Homeschooling requires time and you need to carve it out or it won’t get done. If your schedule is completely full before homeschooling starts then you need to carefully look at it and evaluate how you are going to change it. Decide on your needed hours and then inform friends and family you are schooling and are not available. Pull the phone out of the hook if you have to (I can’t resist a ringing phone.)
How We Got Organised
Our homeschool day is split into two main parts. The first consists of group work. Here we do activities as part of a family. This varies in its format but includes Bible study, nature study, art appreciation, unit study and read alouds. This is done before or after our homeschool independent lesson time. It all depends on how organised I am.
For our primary aged children we use cardboard magazine boxes to organise their work. Each box has a specific purpose. They are clearly labelled with the child’s name and stored on a book case when not in use. Theoretically they keep all their books together in this. It works most of the time.
*I have used homeschool boxes for a number of years, I took the idea from Mary Pride’s School Proof. Recently I read about Sue Patrick’s Workbox System and I have fine-tuned the method even more. Both of these books are worth reading.
Homeschool Storage Box
This is their group work and general storage box. This box stores their portfolio for the year which is a clear sleeved folder in which I place their term goals and reports, narrations, certificates etc. It also contains books we use during our group study time and other things that I haven’t really dealt with, things such as pictures I don’t have the heart to throw out, or an unfinished resource. At the end of each term I clean out the boxes so we can start afresh next term. I store away what I want. I don't keep everything, if it’s just drill or worksheets that I know I will never use then it goes in the bin. This way I keep their homeschool boxes fairly lean.
Homeschool Work Box--Mostly independent work
The other magazine box is their homeschool work box. This magazine box has 6—10, A4 size, plastic numbered envelopes—we’ll call them lesson envelopes. The homeschool box also contains a numbered schedule chart. This chart has removable numbers that correspond to their numbered lesson envelopes. I got this idea from Sue Patrick’s Workbox System.
Most of the work in their envelopes is "work alone”. It is theoretically meant to be done sequentially. The activities that require my input are placed at the end. Each day I fill their homeschool work box with their lessons for the day. If needed, I place a sticky note on the front of the lesson envelope with specific instructions. Everything needed for the lesson is in the envelope if possible.
In the morning the child takes their homeschool workbox and an empty basket to their desk and begins their work. They remove the lesson from the envelope and begin working on the lesson.
As they complete a lesson they remove the corresponding number from the schedule chart and place it on their lesson envelope. They then put the completed lesson back into in the envelope and place it into a basket. They then begin with the next envelope in the magazine box. When the magazine box is empty their homeschool independent work is finished.
I have simplified this method to a quick set up I know that they are getting the basics of the day done.
I mark their work while I am setting up for the next day and this prompts me to forward plan when I can see they are finishing assigned activities.
I can refill the envelopes for the next day from the baskets and stack them neatly together back on the shelf.
The children like having their independent work all set out and understanding what is required for the day. Seeing their schedule strips and magazine boxes empty motivates them to finish. They like knowing where they are up to and how far they have to go. It helps us all stay focused on the task.
Charlotte Mason Ideas that will help when filling your boxes!
I have found short lessons to be very effective in getting homeschooling done. The emphasis is on concentration on the topic and getting the work done well. A focused lesson of 10 to 20 minutes per subject for 5-9 year olds and slightly longer for the older ones is adequate."A Natural Reward.––What is the natural consequence of work well and quickly done? Is it not the enjoyment of ampler leisure? The boy is expected to do two right sums in twenty minutes: he does them in ten minutes; the remaining ten minutes are his own, fairly earned, in which he should be free for a scamper in the garden, or any delight he chooses. His writing task is to produce six perfect m's: he writes six lines with only one good m in each line, the time for the writing lesson is over and he has none for himself; or, he is able to point out six good m's in his first line, and he has the rest of the time to draw steamboats and railway trains. This possibility of letting the children occupy themselves variously in the few minutes they may gain at the end of each lesson, is compensation which the home schoolroom offers for the zest which the sympathy of numbers, and emulation, are supposed to give to schoolwork."Charlotte Mason
I order the lessons to encourage concentration and give variety. Giving children a variety of lessons helps them stay interested and focused.
The teacher should have some knowledge of the principles of education; should know what subjects are best fitted for the child considering his age, and how to make these subjects attractive; should know, too, how to vary the lessons, so that each power of the child's mind should rest after effort, and some other power be called into play.”Charlotte Mason
How I Pack Their Work in Boxes
Here are some samples of how I have packed their envelopes.
Magazine Box Folders Content -Miss 7
• 5 mins piano practice (this is a card inside the envelope)
• Primary language Lessons Emma Serl lesson (work with Mum and brother)
• One page of copywork
• Read a chapter of assigned reader (work with Mum)
• One exercise of Singapore Math
• Play phonics racing on computer 20mins
• Read on your own book.
Magazine Box Folders Content Master 9
• Math copywork 2x &3x
• Primary language Lessons Emma Serl lesson (work with Mum and sister)
• Singapore Math 1 exercise
• Downunder Copywork
• Music Ace computer 1 lesson
• Read 5 pages Wilbur and Orville Wright
• Look through nature book all the bird types.
• Work on bird book (his request)
Magazine Box Folders Content Miss 11 
• Intermediate Language Lesson by Emma Serl –one exercise
• 15mins piano practice
• Life of Fred Fractions Bridge test
• Read chapter of When Science Fails by John Hudson Tiner
• Mathletics 20mins
• Go on blog for 15 mins
• Rosetta Stone study guide review page.
• Work on water colour painting 30mins
Magazine Box Folders Content Master 13
• 15mins Piano Practice
• 2.Wordsmith exercise
• Rosetta Stone CD 20mins
• Times table races. Work with Mum
• Study guide questions Apologia Physical Science
• Mark questions
• Life of Fred Algebra- Your turn to play questions.
• Adobe Flash 30mins