Our Workbox Set Up Using Recycled Boxes

I got to set up workboxes for our homeschool just in time for the start of our kindergarten year. I didn't have any plastic boxes and husband doesn't want me spending any more money for a while (I've been on quite the shopping the past month getting ready for school!) so I used old shipping boxes I've been saving. They really came in handy!

I didn't want ugly boxes though so we decoupaged/glued magazine and old calendar pictures to the outside of three of them. I used a whole thing of stick glue and the mod podge was making the papers bubbly so I decided to just tape on construction paper to the remaining boxes.

I added a pocket to the front of each box by taping a small piece of construction paper on three sides that is just big enough for our cards to fit in. Instead of using numbered 1-12 cards I used 12 cards with a famous person from history on them. This gives the boxes a small added educational value.

To make the cards I used unlined index cards cut in half and glued a small picture of our famous people onto each card. The people I chose are: George Washington, Cleopatra, Mahatma Gandhi, Leonardo Da Vinci, Anne Frank, Sitting Bull, Dante Alighieri, Albert Einstein, Moses, Hokusai, Confucius, and Martin Luther King Jr. I may add a few quick facts to the backs of them later.

When N is done with a box he moves the card over to a pocket chart I made in a similar way using a piece of cardstock as the background and construction paper pockets taped on. When all the people are on the chart our homeschooling for the day is finished.

I would like to cut the top flaps off of each box to make them go on and off the shelves easier, so that is something I still need to do. I may also label each of the pockets on the chart with the location of the homeland of each famous person so when N is done he has to put them each back in their "home".

Recycled Cereal Boxes as Stackable Organization Boxes

Our homeschool room bookshelf had become untidy and very disorganized so I came up with a solution that works great and lets you reuse old cereal boxes for a greater good.

They are very simple to make. First, gather some empty cereal boxes of various sizes (note that only very similar sized ones will work with stacking though!). Cut out either the front or back leaving a very small rim around the side and do not cut any of the edges of the box (you'll need to poke a hole in the cover with the scissors to cut the cover off.)

The only other thing you need to do is staple the top opening flap part of the cereal box (which is now a side). You can glue or tape it also, but stapling works the best.

You can also glue/staple on a piece of construction paper to the front side and label it with whatever it is the box will be holding. I knew saving all of those cereal boxes would come in handy some day!