Create Homeschool Workboxes with an IKEA Kallax Bookshelf

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The number one tip I have for homeschool moms is PRAY OFTEN.  Tip number 2 is take time to get organized! 

Sometimes that means taking a day, or even a week off.  That’s okay!  Do what you’ve got to do to help all of the other days run smoothly.

I am a semi-organized person by nature, but sometimes I gather up so many ideas from Pinterest or wherever, that I get overwhelmed with always wanting to do something better and I can lose sight what is really working.

One thing that is really working and has always worked in our homeschooling is using the workbox method.

We used to use a 10 drawer rolling cart for our workboxes but as the books have gotten heavier we’ve found that they weren’t the best option for us anymore.  Don’t get me wrong, when we were schooling only the earlier years these things were perfect!  However 7^th grade math books are quite a bit heavier than early elementary books.

When we realized they were no longer working for us we switched over to using an Ikea Kallax, and then added drawer inserts.  We took our time switching over, as it was pretty expensive, but years later I still feel like it was worth the cost.

If you want to adapt this system to work for you, here’s what you need to get started:

Ikea Kallax Bookshelf – in whatever size best suits you.  We are homeschooling 3 kiddos, so we have the largest one, it also fit our space perfectly.

Ikea Kallax Drawer Inserts– Count up your subjects and see how many you need.

Ikea Lekman boxes (OPTIONAL).

What we did before did work in that season of life, but it just wouldn’t serve us well now.

This year we labeled the drawers with clear adhesive pockets from the Target dollar spot so I can change out labels quickly as needed.  In the past I’ve used notecards, or printed little labels and laminated them myself.

I always let the kids pick the font we use on their school materials and this year my son wanted Wingdings.  He’s really into coding things, using walkie-talkies, and being an all around awesome undercover spy.  To be a fun mom, I did print his labels in wingdings, but also included a line of standard font so I’d be able to find the drawers quickly.

My oldest daughter loves the script I use for my blog header, so that’s what I used for hers.

See, organizing can be really fun!

As a suggestion I would say don’t group subjects together if you can avoid it.  Or at least never put more than 2 together.  You want to keep it organized so it works well for you, and for your child.

Are you using workboxes in your homeschooling?  How do you organize yours?  I’d love if you’d upload a picture to my facebook page and use the hashtag #HomeschoolWorkBoxes so together we can inspire other home educators!