Taking care of our workboxes (envelopes)

Previously, I have posted about the workbox system that we use, and that we actually use clear poly envelopes instead of boxes. The envelopes are expensive, and I feel like they need to last us over a year, or else the system would be too costly.

Here are some rules we try to follow to keep our envelopes in good shape so they can be reused longer:

1. If possible, we keep the book in the envelope on days when it is not used. We have more books and notebooks than envelopes, so this doesn't always work. With bigger books, I've found it is better to not take them out and put them back in the envelope extra times.

2. When replacing the books in the box, we return them to the envelope first. We tried just putting the book back in the box separately from the envelope, but soon found that the envelopes always ended up being folded or awkwardly crushed.

3. We only wrap the string around the button one time. Sometimes the envelope doesn't even need the string to remain closed, but when it does, it doesn't help to wind the string around several times. This seems to save the string, and also helps mom. I might have 12-14 envelopes to prepare for school the next day. It's time-consuming to have to unwind all the strings.

4. Mom is the only one who takes the Velcro numbers off the envelopes. This keeps them from getting lost, and Mom seems to be able to best handle that Velcro. Even though I used sandpaper to prep the area for the sticky dots, they still have trouble staying on, and you can't just rip the number off. You have to hold both pieces of the Velcro and pull them apart gently. This is another reason we chose not to use the number strips called for in the workbox book.

5. The biggest books are the hardest for the envelopes to handle. If a book completely fills your envelope, you can bet that the envelope won't last the year out. You just have to decide if it's worth it to continue sticking it in an envelope, or figure out another method.

Week Three Recap

I had enough "demo-skipping" when I was in school.

We are using AmblesideOnline curriculum, Years 4 and 6.

Dad brought home a super-fancy little scale home from work that would measure in grams so that Peanut could do one of her science demonstrations. The demonstration did not work out as planned, I think maybe the scale was too sensitive. She actually has had a few demonstrations this year. We try to always do anything mentioned in our book. I had enough "demonstration skipping" when I was in school. I am sure we did less than 10 hands-on projects in science, and that counts watching something the teacher did, at least up until high school.

We got an audiobook of Robinson Crusoe. It is better that way, I don't have to stumble over words, etc.

We did some nature study at the local park. Each kid picked a tree. We took samples of the leaves home for identification, then by the time we all got time to look ours up, the samples had deteriorated quite a bit. Ooops. Guess we'll repeat next week. We did see a ground squirrel sticking his head up out of his little hole, so that was fun. I am not a fan of ground squirrels and moles, but this one was at the park, so I can live with that.

This is not the one we saw, it's just a picture off the ol' Internets. We couldn't get to our camera quickly.

Peanut's Report - 2

A few weeks ago, Peanut had to give a report to her co-op class on an Oklahoma product or something invented in Oklahoma. She chose the shopping cart, which was invented in the 1930s in Oklahoma by Sylvan Goldman. It is an interesting story. Here is her report:

Sylvan Goldman was the owner of a chain of grocery stores in Oklahoma City, called Humpty Dumpty-Standard. In those days, when people shopped at the grocery store, they carried a basket in their hand to hold everything they wanted to buy. In 1936, Mr. Goldman got the idea to make a folding cart that would hold two baskets, so that it would be easier to buy more groceries. A maintenance man named Fred Young helped him design the cart. It took them a while to get it
right, but in a few months, they had shopping carts in all the stores.



At first, no one would use the carts. Men thought their arms were strong enough to carry around a little shopping basket. Women thought the cart looked too much like a baby buggy. A few days later, Mr. Goldman got the idea to hire men and women models to pretend to shop at the front of the store where people could see them when they came in. The lady at the front of the store would say, “Everybody is using these, why not you?” So their idea worked and now everyone uses shopping carts at the grocery store.



Mr. Goldman kept improving the cart, and he made them bigger so that people would buy even more. The shopping cart is the invention that has helped grocery stores the most.

New Drawings

Table with Flowers and Violets
This is a new drawing that Peanut did. After this, I gave her a nicer sketchbook so she can draw without the background lines. I notice today she is still drawing in a regular lined notebook, but I guess she will get used to it sooner or later.

The Big Bad Wolf
Here is another that she did in the same notebook, but I cleaned it up on the computer. I think this reminds me of something in a book. Maybe Maisy, but I can't remember. He looks a little bit crazy, anyway.

New drawing

Here is Peanut's drawing of the inside of the birdhouse. It has an attic and also a staircase for elegant birds who do not want the trouble of flying up there. They have stored a trike and a Christmas tree up there.

We had rain and wind today and stayed in all day. A squirrel ate all the birdseed out of our feeder, that was the most exciting thing that happened. Six feet from the bird feeder is a squirrel feeder where the food has not even been touched. But oh well. He was pretty funny, he had to do some serious gymnastics to get the food, so I guess he earned it.

Old Children's Books

This year I have discovered a lot of really good children's books that I either had forgotten or missed when I was growing up. Have you ever read any of these?:
The Story About Ping
Make Way For Ducklings
The Giraffe Who Walked To Paris
Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories
Really good stories and I am glad I got the chance to read them to my own kids even though I don't remember reading them when I was little. I guess you're never too old.


Here is some artwork Peanut made today. I am not sure where she came up with this one, but it was very interesting.

A page from Peanut's nature book

Peanut has been keeping a nature book that she started in January. She is using it to record what she sees outdoors. It contains mostly drawings because writing takes so long. But I've been having her label the months. We started out in January watching birds at the bird feeder. We ended up just pouring out bird seed on the patio so more birds could eat at one time. The birds don't stay on the feeder more than a few seconds, but when they all can eat together, maybe they feel safer.

This is a picture she did Saturday. In the middle is a picture of a moth that she saw, and she is comparing it to a butterfly. I was proud of the moth drawing, because she used the actual shape that she could see, instead of making a cartoon-y drawing like the butterfly. I think at the bottom is a side view of the same moth.