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The twins (4 1/2) are now using a modified version of preschool workboxes. The way most people use workboxes requires them to change the contents every night in preparation for the next day. The way I use them means that the contents are changed approximately once a month. See this post for an explanation of how it works.

Workboxes allow the twins to work independently if I am caught up breastfeeding during the time when I would normally work with them. Having two sets of workboxes for two children working at the same level means that at the end of the month (or a couple of weeks) I can swap them over with each other’s boxes without having to refill and be set for another couple of weeks.

We complete one page per day of a basic handwriting book as the twins are very interested in learning to write their letters at the moment and I would rather they learnt the correct shape and pencil grip first off than need to re-learn later.

There is one workbox per day and in combination with the handwriting books that we work on first, there is enough to keep them going for around an hour. If they finish early, they pull out their Lego or a sensory tub to complete their school time. The older children attend a homeschool group on Wednesdays so we don’t use workboxes on that day.

Monday’s box:

• Domino Parking Lot game (Free printable available here.)
• Wikki sticks fine motor page (Free printable here)
• Simple puzzle

Tuesday’s box:

• Dotted line tracing pictures (I pulled apart some pre-writing activity books)
• Upper and lowercase alphabet letter match (Explanation here)
• Simple puzzle

Thursday’s box:

• Addition cards (Count the pictures or use jewels to solve the sum then find the answer card.)
• Playdough face mats (Free printables here)
• Simple puzzle

Friday’s box:

• Cutting practise strips (Free printable here)
• 3 letter word spelling cards (Explanation and link to printable here)
• Simple puzzle

Monday’s box:

• Addition cards (3 possible answers are given underneath the sum with a hole punched through the card. The child uses the blocks to solve the addition sum and threads the string through the hole next to the correct answer.)
• Simple puzzle
• Cutting and gluing pages. (I pulled apart an activity book so that they can choose one page to push out the pictures from and then create their own drawing by gluing them onto a page.)

Tuesday’s box:

• 3 letter CVC (consonant vowel consonant) word and picture match. (Heaps of free CVC word printables on the web)
• Dotted picture tracing (Another pre-writing book pulled apart.)
• Simple puzzle

Thursday’s box:

• Plastic cutlery addition (The cutlery have basic addition sums written on them. The child uses the plastic fruits to solve the sum and finds the correct answer circle to place with the item of cutlery.)
• Playdough skewer threading (Full explanation here.)
• Simple puzzle

Friday’s box:

• 3 letter CVC word and picture card match (Link here)
• Cutting practise strips (Free printable here)
• Simple puzzle

Filed under: Homeschooling | Tagged: home-made Montessori, homeschooling multiple ages, homeschooling with a baby, homeschooling with toddlers, independent learning, managing large families, Montessori for preschoolers, Montessori style tray activities for toddlers | Leave a comment »