Some workbox game ideas from a product I reviewed

OK, so I finished the review and have some pics of them too.  I am plopping these into my son's workboxes from time to time to shake up the ole routine yet, have him doing something where he is learning some things...gotta love that.

My review is for the Super Star Speech Homeschool Games.

Geography Game

All About Animals

This is the Planets, Moon and Stars game in action

Cinema stuff up on HSS

Alright-the templates are up on Homeschool Share! Thank you Ami! It is under the What is New section, workboxables, math section. I think she posted the smaller sized coupons/work duty/badges sizes, but if it is a tad too big for the folder-just trim them to size until she does. I originally did not have parameters around the folder-so when I added the lines-the program only allowed for a certain width-and it is a tad too small for the original sizes of the cards.

Direct Links:
Cinema Patterns

Cinema Instructions


If you need more assistance, just ask. Hope you enjoy it!

Night out at the movies

We took the cinema kit for a test drive last night. Boy was my son excited! I decided to let him do the concession stand for opening night-which was a success (altho, the stand lost more than it took in due to offering a bunch of free coupons) and best of all-the boy learned to count out his money drawer, tally it up at closing, serve folks, take orders, and make change. My daughter served as the ticket taker and the rest of us just came as patrons. I hope to do this a couple times per month at least. I only need to remember to get a copy of the snack bar prices for the employee to know what to charge (we kept turning the menu around to see) and also to get the movie house sign up (still have yet to do that).

Well, I hope to get this into a form you all can download soon-perhaps by Sept. Please be patient with me-I have some projects that need my attention first, then I can get these switched over to HSS (need to get templates and stuff first tho)...I will post when it is finally up. Thanks.

Til then-

Treasure Hunt Idea

My son thought it would make the photo nicer by having some little rocks scattered in front. I think it's a nice touch.



So I found a 4 pack of treasure chest goodie boxes at the Dollar Tree. My intention is to have the kids do a treasure hunt- and when they find the box, they get a sweet reward in return. So for the workbox-I would put in some markers, pencils and a large sheet of paper-so that the one who is hiding the treasure can create a map (now if I am that person, I will have it already done-so the only things that go in are the map, the timer and the time card), and the box with supplies to fill it. Otherwise, they need the supplies to create the map, the box and goodies to fill it (I would put a timer and time card in too-so they don't linger forever on this project-say 20-30 min). And it is that simple.

A side note here: I simply saved the 3 remaining boxes for when the first gets too banged up to use. But if you have several kids, and we know that they like to find things for themselves-you may need to use more at one time. They were in the pirate birthday party section, and I have seen them (similar in style) at other dollar stores and party stores.

My daughter drew the first map (sadly, I forgot to take a pic of it) and then I helped the boy find the treasure. He loved it. I plan to toss this one in, on those occasions where we need a fun distraction and/or are bored with the reg. routine. I just have to remember to keep a stash of loot hidden, so it is there when I need to stuff the box! LOL. This is one way also, for me to fulfill my son's wish for more candy. He made mention of this "need", when I interviewed him about what he likes/dislikes about the workboxes for one of the Thinking Outside the Box memes.

I know he will be excited to try to create a map too, and let others find the box. It is a great way to learn planning, and use math skills, not to mention-sharpening the ole art skills too.

Wanted to share this idea, while the pirate stuff was more readily available-enjoy!