After hoping and praying for a baby for ten years, Sue Patrick recieved a beautiful bundle of joy from her Heavenly Father. Grief was to follow, though, when her son was diagnosed at the age of two with Autism while Sue was working on her master's degree from North Carolina State University and getting ready to give birth to her daughter. She got through her grief as quickly as possible so that she could give herself to raising two little children. While they slept, she spent time researching and making materials and curriculum to use with her son. The result of this time of research and creativity is her Workbox System. It is loosely based on the structured teaching approach advocated by TEACCH (Treatment & Education of Autistic & related Communication-handicapped Children), a division of University of North Carolina's Department of Psychiatry.
While there is no cure for autism, the program Sue created, the Workbox System, has worked for her son. Even with a seemingly insurmountable language disability, he is at grade level academically, participates in group activities, and plays team sports. Sue believes that the research she has done and the resulting home program she has created for him has made all the difference in his life.
God opened the door for Sue to share what she learned with other families who had children with developmental disabilities. Trial and error, continued research, and interacting with more and more families has allowed Sue to improve the Workbox System over the years.
The Workbox System consists of two components: the physical structure and the educational philosophy.
Physical Structure
Each child has a rack or set of shelves filled with workboxes (clear plastic shoeboxes). Each workbox is numbered and a "schedule strip" guides her through her day. Each night before she goes to bed, mom fills each workbox for each child with tomorrow's daily work assignments. In the morning, the child finds each workbox filled with schoolwork that needs to be completed. They know that when the workboxes are empty, they are finished for the day. Schoolwork includes difficult work, fun work, group projects, and hands-on projects.
Here are the physical requirements to use the workbox system:
A wire shoe rack or shelves
6-15 clear shoe boxes (disappear as emptied--visual reminder..."I'm almost done!")
Numbered cards with schedule strip
Velcro
Structured schedule cards/strip (for activities and centers placed on desk)
Desk and chair
Centers (e.g. poster center, science center, game center, geography center)
Non-verbal reminder cards ("get back to work," "wait for mom")
Place to "clock in" and "clock out"
Your own curriculum (traditional, unit studies, your own creation--it all works with this system!)
Educational Philosophy
The educational philosophy is connected to the physical structure. Expectations are visual and clearly laid out each morning. There is firm structure for each day, week after week, for the entire year. Yet, school is simply taken one day at a time. Didn't Jesus say something about that?
The schedule strip gives each student a working timeline for their day, so that they can have a sense of accomplishment and independence by staying on course. At one glance, the student is able to see how much schoolwork is left before the day is over. Also, when he sees something really fun coming up in a later (chronologically) box, he will be motivated to hurry and finish the tough work to get to the fun stuff. Because there is organization and clear expectations, confusion is eliminated for both student and teacher.
Many parents struggle with staying on course for the school year every bit as much as their students. This system eliminates that struggle. I think the system is just as effective for parents who struggle with scheduling and administration as the students. While reading Sue's book, Sue Patrick's Workbox User's Guide, I kept thinking, "This would be great for many teenagers I know!" I had to giggle when Sue shared in her book that she has worked with several moms, setting this system up for their teens!
Sue believes that any good Christian curriculum will work with your child, regardless of her learning style. The material needs to be altered by adding lines to write on, color, or pictures, depending on your child's learning needs. If not already in the curriculum, review needs to be added in. Keep in mind that Sue has never met a child that was a self-starter or could teach themselves. (Come to think of it, neither have I!) Sue encourage us to focus on our child during the school day and watch how he is learning the material. Does he need more hands-on activity or visual demonstration? Does the material need to be broken down into smaller pieces? Does more repetition need to be added? The focus is on the parent teaching and the child learning!
A word about high school. Don't expect your high school student to be completely on his own and be responsible for his own education. You are still the teacher and he needs you. This system, or one like it, may be what he needs to stay focused.
I really enjoyed reading through Sue Patrick's book and looking at her Workbox system. IThe only thing I did not agree with was delaying phonics until your preschooler or special needs child knows 2,000 sight words.
Whatever you choose to do, continue to invest in teaching your children so that they learn all God has for them to learn. We are homeschooling for the glory of God!
After hoping and praying for a baby for ten years, Sue Patrick recieved a beautiful bundle of joy from her Heavenly Father. Grief was to follow, though, when her son was diagnosed at the age of two with Autism while Sue was working on her master's degree from North Carolina State University and getting ready to give birth to her daughter. She got through her grief as quickly as possible so that she could give herself to raising two little children. While they slept, she spent time researching and making materials and curriculum to use with her son. The result of this time of research and creativity is her Workbox System. It is loosely based on the structured teaching approach advocated by TEACCH (Treatment & Education of Autistic & related Communication-handicapped Children), a division of University of North Carolina's Department of Psychiatry.
God opened the door for Sue to share what she learned with other families who had children with developmental disabilities. Trial and error, continued research, and interacting with more and more families has allowed Sue to improve the Workbox System over the years.
The Workbox System consists of two components: the physical structure and the educational philosophy.
Each child has a rack or set of shelves filled with workboxes (clear plastic shoeboxes). Each workbox is numbered and a "schedule strip" guides her through her day. Each night before she goes to bed, mom fills each workbox for each child with tomorrow's daily work assignments. In the morning, the child finds each workbox filled with schoolwork that needs to be completed. They know that when the workboxes are empty, they are finished for the day. Schoolwork includes difficult work, fun work, group projects, and hands-on projects.
Here are the physical requirements to use the workbox system:
Educational Philosophy
The schedule strip gives each student a working timeline for their day, so that they can have a sense of accomplishment and independence by staying on course. At one glance, the student is able to see how much schoolwork is left before the day is over. Also, when he sees something really fun coming up in a later (chronologically) box, he will be motivated to hurry and finish the tough work to get to the fun stuff. Because there is organization and clear expectations, confusion is eliminated for both student and teacher.
Many parents struggle with staying on course for the school year every bit as much as their students. This system eliminates that struggle. I think the system is just as effective for parents who struggle with scheduling and administration as the students. While reading Sue's book, Sue Patrick's Workbox User's Guide, I kept thinking, "This would be great for many teenagers I know!" I had to giggle when Sue shared in her book that she has worked with several moms, setting this system up for their teens!
Sue believes that any good Christian curriculum will work with your child, regardless of her learning style. The material needs to be altered by adding lines to write on, color, or pictures, depending on your child's learning needs. If not already in the curriculum, review needs to be added in. Keep in mind that Sue has never met a child that was a self-starter or could teach themselves. (Come to think of it, neither have I!) Sue encourage us to focus on our child during the school day and watch how he is learning the material. Does he need more hands-on activity or visual demonstration? Does the material need to be broken down into smaller pieces? Does more repetition need to be added? The focus is on the parent teaching and the child learning!
A word about high school. Don't expect your high school student to be completely on his own and be responsible for his own education. You are still the teacher and he needs you. This system, or one like it, may be what he needs to stay focused.
I really enjoyed reading through Sue Patrick's book and looking at her Workbox system. IThe only thing I did not agree with was delaying phonics until your preschooler or special needs child knows 2,000 sight words.
If you are interested in using the Workbox System, I would purchase her book, Sue Patrick's Workbox System User's Guide e-book for $19.00 (the printed copy is $19.95 plus shipping and handling). You can purchase the Sue Patrick's Workbox System User's Guide with Consulting Package for $119.95 where the book comes with four months of consulting for your family via email.