Our improved Workbox System!

I have (not faithfully) used the workbox system for about 2 years now.  This system takes a lot of preparation time and for me, it is not always easy for me to keep up with.   However, when used...it has been a life saver and I'm ready to push myself to use it again.  We started this system when I had problems getting my boys to be more independent.  I also found that it helped my Aspie do much better, by knowing what to expect (how much more work he had, when he would get a break and even when his break was over).  The "workbox system" was created by Sue Patrick.  I did not purchase her book, but yet I researced 100's of blogs about how different people use the system and I created my own system.  Since I've never seen the book, I truly do not know how the "true" system really works.

Since our system worked so well for us, I recommended it to a lot of my friends.  I've helped a lot of people by introducing them to the system and many have used it successfully!  Even though our system has proven successful not only for us, but for so many others I am forever trying to better my own system and this week, it was time for yet another update!

We haven't been using our workboxes for months now because they just weren't working as well for us.  It has taken a lot of thought for me to figure out what wasn't working and what I could do to change it.  Out of nowhere, the solution just popped into my head the other day! 

One of my biggest challenges of teaching so many children is keeping up with everything all of them do througout the day...who has done what, what does each child have left to do, who needs help with what, etc....With 6 kids things can get pretty hectic.  I simply needed a better way to know exactly where each student stands at any given moment of the day so that I'm not wasting time trying to figure out who has done what and what else needs to be done and trying to remember who needed help with what.  

I created this new system to cater to me and my own needs.  I need to know what everyone is working on, what everyone has finished, what everyone has not started and what everyone needs help on.  I don't want to help someone with a lesson right away when I have forgotten that a sibling has already been waiting for me to help them.

Here is how our new system works...
First, the boxes:

Cardinal who was not using workboxes on our old system and still is not wanting to use "workboxes" will be using a wall hanging file folder workbox system. 

Cardinal's Hanging Subject Folders

I chose this for her because we do not have room for more boxes and she is capable of getting the books and materials she needs to complete a lesson.  So, she can simply pull the folder for the course she wants to work on and gather her own materials needed to complete the lesson.  Each course folder will contain the work for the entire week.  This way, she can still work at her own pace. 

Hawk will be using workboxes.  He will have one box for each course.  This is a bit different than he is used to, as with our old system each box contained one lesson and all the materials he needed to complete each lesson.  He has become a very independent worker and he no longer needs to have his boxes set up that way.  His boxes will be set up the same way as Cardinal's folders.  All of his work for the week will be in each course box.  Since he has boxes, his books for each course will be kept in each appropriate box.  He will have one box for his supplies (scissors, pencils, glue, etc).

Eagle will also be using workboxes.  He is still learning how to work independently and he is not capable of gathering anything on his own and as an Aspie, he doesn't deal with change well anyways so, he will be using his boxes the same.  Each box will contain a lesson or activity.  All of the materials he needs for each lesson will be included in his box.  This helps cut down on distraction (just looking for a pencil can be so much of a distraction that he would be unable to do the lesson).  Some things he can work on independently and some he can not.  Lessons that need to be completed with me or Falcon will contain a red square of paper.  This is his sign that he needs a coach to complete the lesson.

Our main workshelf (and workboxes)

Macaw has used "activity boxes" for preschool so this won't be completely foreign to her, but now she is halfway through Kindergarten so it's time to train her on the true workbox system, as next year she will advance to using the system the same as Eagle uses it now.  Since we are making a change to our system, I figured now would be a good time to start switching her over to a new system.  She will be learning how to use the system so that she can learn the routine and she is definately old enough to do some lessons independently.  She will be using a crate with hanging file folders.  Each folder will contain a lesson.  She will learn how to distinguish a lesson that can be done independently from a lesson she needs to work with me on (folders which contain a red square of paper need to be completed with a coach).  Her supplies (scissors, glue, pencils, etc.) will be kept in her handy crate on her school shelf.  Her crate will contain her lesson folders and any games or other materials we will need for the week.



Macaw's workbox crate



Emu and Duckling will be using their activity boxes during their independent work time.  They have 6 boxes to work from.  Each box will contain an activity which they can work on independently.  Each week, the activities will change.  I will post more about these boxes and what they contain very soon!  In addition to their boxes, they will also have their structured lessons.

On to the Status Board...

This is where our big change comes in.  I have never seen this idea or one similar in all the blogs I frequent.  This idea was a solution I came up with for our family and our circumstances...but I can see how many would love this board! :) Instead of completed assignment stips (where a velcro number is removed from the workbox and put onto a strip), we have a board for Cardinal, Hawk & Eagle.  I will explain how this works the best I can :/

 Instead of velcro numbers that would be switched from a box to a strip or assignment card...my students will use this board.  Each student has a pocket for each subject.  The top row belongs to Cardinal.  Her pockets are multicolored because they cordinate to the matching colors of her workfolders.  The second row is Eagles row.  His pockets are all green because usually all of their folders, pencils, scissors, etc are color coded (one color for each student).  Eagle's color has always been green.  The third row is Hawk's.  His "color" is blue :)  The fourth row has 3 red pockets and 3 yellow pockets each with their names.  Next the red pockets is an orange pocket.  This orange pocket contains index cards numbered 1, 2 and 3.  The red pockets are the "help" pockets.  When they need help, they will draw the first available number card from the orange pocket and put the numbered card in their red "help" pocket.  This way, I know who has been waiting the longest for help!  The yellow pockets also have each of their names.  These pockets serve a dual purpose...first...they hold their "status cards" and they serve as their "chore" pocket.  The orange pocket next to these has an index card labled "done".  When they are finished with their chores, they place a "done" card into their yellow pocket. 

They will begin their day with their first box or folder.  They will take their "working" status card from their yellow pocket and place it in the appropriate subject pocket.  Then I will know what subject they are each working on.  When they complete a subject, they will place a green status card into that subjects pocket.  If they need help with  subject, they will place a red status card into that subjects pocket.  Each time they finish or move past a subject they need help with, they will move their "working" status card to the next subject they are working on.  If they are not scheduled for a subject for that day, they may find a fun activity, message or treat in their folder or box along with a note that instructs them to put their status to done for that subject.

Status Cards...

Sorry, the pic won't turn

At just a quick glance of the status board, I can see who needs help (and who asked for it first), I can see exactly what subjects they need help with, what subjects they are working on, what subjects are done and what subjects they have left.  Not only do I get the information that I need to make our day much more organized, but the kids have a visual on how their day is going as well.  Falcon teaches all of the Algerbra and when needed will pitch in on teaching other subjects as well.  This is a great communication tool, as he will not even have to ask what needs to be done when he comes home!

Subject pockets with status cards (red = help, yellow=working, green=done)
I am confident that we found a solution that I have been dreaming of!  I am so glad this idea came to me and I hope it helps a few others run their day a bit more efficiently!
Please comment, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

New clothes are NOT clean!!!!!

I couldn't think of a better time to post a post like this than around the holidays...when everyone is sporting their new holiday best, or unwrapping all the new clothes that this time of year brings!

Here's the deal though people....

New clothes are NOT CLEAN!!!!! (I am shouting this at the top of my lungs)!

The following information was taken from these websites...

ABC News

3US

About.com

Please read on...

Did you know that new clothes can contain things such as:

• vaginal organisms
• yeast
• fecal germs
• respiratory secretions
• lice
• chemicals such as Formaldehyde

Many clothing items are unintentionaly contaminated when people try them on in the store or purchase them and wear them then later return them to the store where the tags are often put back on and the item put back on the shelf.  With evidence of feces, viruses such as Norovirus (a nasty stomach virus) or even MRSA (a serious staph infection) can be passed along by infected clothes.  In a sense - if you put on "new" clothes before washing them - you are touching someones arm pit, groin or even their buttocks :/

ABC News even did a segment on this subject.  To summerize their article...

They bought numerous clothing items from three popular clothing chains and had them tested for germs by Dr. Philip Tierno, director of microbiology & immunology of New York University. 

Tierno found disturbing results...

On a blouse he found:

• respiratory secretions
• skin flora
• fecal flora

On a jacket he found:

• feces
• skin flora
• respiratory secretions

On a silk blouse he found:

• vaginal yeast organisms
• fecal germs

A few of these items had extremely high counts of germs, far above normal.

There are other reasons why you should wash new clothes. 

• One reason is to wash out the extra dye that can be transferred to your skin.  This alone is important in our family, as I have numerous children with sensitive skin and eczema. 
• Another reason is to remove chemical finishes that manufactures put on clothes.  These chemicals are put on clothes to enhance color or texure.  Formaldehyde is often used to prevent mildew on clothes.  Regulations are not the same for other countries such as Asia and often one washing will not even remove these chemicals completely.

Many people are mislead to think that because they purchase an item at a fine clothing store in "new" condition with the tags attached, that the item arrives to their home "clean".  If you are one of these people...you couldn't be more WRONG!! 

Washing new clothes is an important skill you NEED to aquire!  Please don't be one of the millions of careless people who don't wash clothes before you wear them.

New clothes are NOT as clean as you expect!  Spread the word, share the knowledge and enjoy that new sweater this holiday season, without it being a health risk!

If you liked this post please vote for me

Happy Holidays!

~Mother Goose

Memories will never fade...

Yesterday, one of my worst nightmares happened.

Yesterday, I plugged my external hard drive in....and.....

click...hum

click...hum

 click...hum 

Now, I'm no computer expert by far...but I knew by that noise that my hard drive was shot. 

 Nearly 4 years ago, I had that same feeling, when every picture and video was robbed from me.  During the search warrant of our house (as you may know, my husband abused at least one of my children and I turned him into the police) the police took every computer, laptop, server, video camera, camera, sd card, flash drive, hard drive, dvd, etc.  With the investigation went every picture and video I had of my precious children. More than a year later got my precious photos & video's back, but I will never forget what it felt like to be robbed of them in the first place. 

During the following year there were many "firsts", many special moments, holidays, Baptism, etc. and one day, my sd card got corrupted.  I lost an entire year's worth of precious pictures.  As a busy mom, I never backed them up...they were gone.  I learned an expensive lesson...back up my pictures!  So, since then I've been sure to download my pictures/videos to an external hard drive.

Now we are up to the other day.  I went in search of pictures for our new blogs, so I went through every picture on my hard drive.  I had so many pictures!  I smiled as a remenised with each picture I looked at.  "Oh, I remember that"..."Aww, look at ..."  I even came across a video folder that I didn't remember I had.  All of the video's that were downloaded off of our video camera.  When the police gave me back the laptop, I cut them off of there and put them on the external hard drive.  I didn't have time to mess with figuring out how to open the files, but I couldn't wait to go back to them later.  Even though Macaw's birth was the most horrific birth experience I have ever encountered, I couldn't wait to watch it.

Yesterday, my heart sank.  I felt my world come crashing down.  I felt an immediate emptyness.  I felt completely lost!  Even though I knew my drive was "gone", we took it to get an opinion from the "Geek Squad".  The news was, our hard drive was shot and the only way to retreive the data from it would be to send it out to a "clean lab" where it would have to be completely disassembled.  The cost...$2,500.  At this point, I literally thought I was going to puke.  I knew exactly what I had lost, because just the day before I had looked through every last picture.

  

Gone!  All of them....forever Gone! 

I never printed any pictures, simply because I couldn't afford to.  I never backed them up because I never took the time to.  I cut them from my camera card and put them on my hard drive and that was it.  Stupid, this I know.  So, to save myself from this heartbreak I felt done...done with cherishing my "stupid" photos.  Falcon had just gotten me a new camera for Christmas.  He gave it to me early so that I would be familiar with it and be able to use it for the holidays.  I didn't like it anyways...it wasn't a good "fit" for me...so it made it a bit easier to say "I don't want to take pictures anymore because I don't EVER want to feel this way again.

We got a few more estimates on our drive.  Most of them bring the same news...it's going to cost around $3,000 for me to get my treasured photos back.  Now, I did do some research and it seems I may be able to put it in the freezer and be capable of getting the data off of it.  When I can think with a clearer head and be sure I'm making the best decision, I just may try it!

  

 For now...Falcon talked me into keeping my camera (although we went and picked out a new one).  From now on, I will never delete a camera card, I will put a copy on a hard drive and I will download my pictures online to an account such as photobucket, picasa web albums, etc. and every few months, I will burn my pictures to a cd and maybe somday, we will be able to afford to get our pictures back.

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Sonfish Gear

I thought some of my readers would find interest in a new online store.

In early 2012, a new online Christian apparel and accessory store will be offering many products for individual purchase!  For those who are involved with their church, Sonfish Gear is offering a unique fundraising program in which groups can purchase products at wholesale prices and resell.  They promise a wide range of apparel and accessories, so there will be something for everyone and if you'd like a sneak peek, you can grab up a Sonfish Car emblem which is already available to purchase (just in time for a last minute stocking stuffer)!

The Sonfish emblem reminds Christians that Jesus, the Son of God, is always shining his love upon us.  Check out Sonfish Gear HERE!

To learn more about The Message of the Sonfish click HERE.



Tips for Homeschooling with a TODDLER!



How to entertain and incorporate a toddler/preschooler into an older child’s school day!

Anyone who has tried to school an older child when there is a toddler in the house, knows that this is quite a task! As a homeschooling mother of 6 children (three of whom are all almost exactly 1 year apart) I have learned some creative ways to keep the little ones busy!

Someone was asking for tips and as I typed this up for them, I decided there may be other people who would find some of these tips useful, so I decided to share it with everyone.

When I had the room, I had a big storage bin of rice with sand toys, and also a play doh bin with tons of cookie cutters, etc. I sat the box in the center of a plastic baby pool. It kept my little ones entertained for quite some time and when they were done, I just swept the rice up and dumped it back in the bin. Now we have about half as much space as we used to, so we have a plastic shoebox bin full of beans instead. They use measuring cups and bowls and just dump them back and forth (if you put them on a cookie sheet, clean up is easy). It is sometimes hard for them to control themselves, but when they start throwing the rice it gets taken away.

Keep a box of toys that they are only allowed to use during "school time". I always reserve more educational toys such as shape sorters, puzzles, lacing beads, stacking cups, building blocks, Lincoln logs, legos, etc.

I have found that if I spend some one on one time with my younger ones first thing in the morning…read a story, do a workbook page, play a game or something...and they will tend to entertain themselves much better and you can work with the older one.

I also take full advantage of nap time!!! You can sometimes get half or more of your school day done while a little one is sleeping.

It's amazing how much the little ones pick up just by sitting in on lessons. Here are some ways to include them:

Have some scrap pieces of paper and let your little one write when the older kid is writing something, assign the younger one something to write too…be sure to give them a stamp or sticker for their hard work and job well done!

Try and find a color page for whatever you are reading about in LA and let the little one color while you read the story.

We almost always find some craft or activity to go with the story we are reading and the little ones understand that if they don't sit and listen to the story they don't get to make the craft...it helps to let them turn the page.

Go to the $1 store and get some magnetic alphabet and numbers and if you don't have an old cookie sheet, get one of those. When you are doing phonics let your little one either play freely with their own "phonics" kit or you could pick out the letters you are using that day and limit him/her to using those letters just like you.

Put shaving cream in a gallon size Ziploc bag and zip and tape it shut (to keep them from being tempted to open it). Put it on a cookie sheet (just in case it leaks or breaks and to provide a nice flat surface) Let them use their finger to copy the letter you are working on (chances are they will get caught up playing with it and forget all about you an your phonics lesson (don’t be offended).

My little ones also have their own whiteboard to write on and they love that or you can get wipe on/off board books with letters and let them use those during phonics as well

Let them use their magnetic numbers and cookie sheet during math. It’s fun for them to try and find the numbers and model the numbers you are working with.

If you are using manipulatives with your older one, try dividing them and allowing your little one to work along side or you, or get them their own counters, etc. Just today, my little ones had a blast with the plane figures, they even built a castle.

During math, let your little one use pattern blocks, there are a lot of free printable templates for them to use…my little ones stay busy with these for quite some time!

We love “Learning Resources” learning toys…we have the Counting Cookie Jar (teaches numbers and counting), Rainbow Color Cones (teaches colors and counting), Sorting Shapes Cupcakes (teaches shapes and matching).

Dinosaur counters are a great tool for math

Lacing beads

Plastic sorting buttons

Little ones love to cut! Give them a pair of safety scissors (the ones that will ONLY cut paper) and draw some lines on a sheet of paper….this will buy you lots of time!

Join or start a Preschool Activity Bag Swap and if you can’t, make your own! A few hours of your time will provide your toddler/preschooler with countless hours of self entertaining! If you have a toddler or a preschooler, activity bags are a MUST have, trust me! ( I will have a list of activity ideas at a later time).

The MOST important thing you can do is reserve these things ONLY for school time! Rotate your ideas so that they do not get bored and NEVER give in and let them play with any of these things outside of school time.

Get about 6 plastic shoebox storage bins from the $1 store. Pick 6 things from the list above and put one activity in each box. Let them sit in with your older child and pull the boxes that coordinate best with your older child’s lesson.

There are many wonderful sites/ideas out there…here are of my favorites:

http://www.redshift.com/~bonajo/preschool_activities.htm

http://www.preschoolpalace.org/

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/

http://www.dltk-kids.com/

http://www.preschooleducation.com/

http://www.preschoolprintables.com/

I hope you find some of these ideas useful and it gives you some ideas as you experience and try to survive homeschooling with a toddler in your house! Remember, you are blessed and you will get through these days!  I often have to remind myself of that!

~Mother Goose

A whole new look

Do you like our new look?  It's amazing how much time and effort can go into this blog, but it was time for a few changes!  I've worked really hard on it and I hope you like it :)

I've also decided to give Duckling and Emu their own blog.  It will take me a while to really get them going, but I thought it would be a better way to educate people on their medical conditions and that it would also be a great tool in keeping friends and family members up to date on what is going on with each of them.  It will also help me to be better able to concentrate on other things going on in the Life With My Flock! 

Eagle also wanted to have his own blog and he was so excited to take his own pictures and put them on his blog, I don't think Cardinal realizes how much her siblings look up to and learn from her but it really makes me proud.  I was so proud of Eagle trying to figure all the technical things by himself.  I think he did an awesome job getting his blog all set up.  It will be fun to watch his blog change as he gains new knowledge and figures everything out.

Macaw already wants her own blog too, lol.  I'm not sure what we could put on her blog but I'd best be thinking of something!