DIY Task Boxes

You can spend a fortune, literally a fortune, on meaningful task boxes for your Vocational Class, Autism Unit or Self-Contained classroom… believe me. When I started teaching vocational training, I inherited some fancy non-DIY task boxes from the teachers before me. Most were missing pieces and the ones that were complete my students had done so many times… they were over it.

The vendor for the original task boxes did not sell replacement parts alone, you could only get them with by replacing the entire set. I could not afford to replace all the sets that were missing pieces, but I needed something to use as part of my vocational training as well as work systems. Have you ever been there? Needing meaningful and functional task boxes but not actually being a millionaire? Yeah, the struggle is real.

DIY Work Task Boxes

Way back in the day, I can remember pulling things out of recycling bins, trash cans, and the halls at the end of the year to make materials for my classroom. You too? That is part of why you will love this set. Everything looks so fresh, current, and cohesive. Like an expensive set, but on a teacher’s budget.

If you are looking for work system tasks boxes, vocational task boxes, or just activities to build skills in your classroom… and you are not a millionaire, then these Dollar Store DIY Task Boxes are for you.

Dollar Store Task Boxes

Every time I go into a dollar store, my mind goes crazy over all the new things they have added and how I can make them into a task box… there are literally a million things you can use with your students in your classroom. I teacher-junkie’s paradise!

Problem is, if you just pop over and dump a bunch of dollar spot or dollar store items into your basket, my guess is when you get back to the classroom the stuff will not be purposeful. That is why these sets are so awesome- they come complete with the visuals, the labels, and the direction cards (with IEP goal ideas) that you need to make a pile of dollar store finds into something meaningful and functional.

Included Essentials

The very first thing you will need to get started is to identify the activities you want to set up. Then you will print the shopping list (literally the best thing ever) and head to the store. The list will tell you exactly what you should get and how much if it you’ll need. You may even be surprised to find out that a bunch of the items you need are already in your classroom and you don’t need to buy it!

Once you have the materials, print the pages for the boxes you want to set up. You can laminate and Velcro all the pieces, but I have used lamination hacks to skip some of the prep. And mailing tape… lots of mailing tape. I tape the directions on the inside lid of the task box, tape box label on the side of the box, and then only laminate the visual task strip and bin labels.

Then when it is all put together, you will feel like the king or queen of the mountain! They look great, are completely functional, and if/when pieces are lost, broken, or worn out, it will not take a lottery ticket and a dream to get them back up and running.

I actually think the best part is the directions for the adults. When you work with paras, aides, or substitutes, having those directions available no matter who it is makes the delivery to the student so much smoother. You will be able to assign monitoring to whoever is available.

And the boxes have different functions as well to meet student needs. Some are assembly work tasks, some are order fulfillment, and still more are focused on classifying and sorting. With all those benefits, you will be able to meet student needs with ease.

The Jury is In!

These task boxes are a store bestseller and are being used in classrooms throughout the world (yes, from Australia to the US to England) with rave reviews. Check out what people are saying:

“You are making my life so much easier. Thank you for doing the leg work for so many of us. Keep up the great job!” –Robin
“Thank you for the ready to go materials! I had most of the supplies on hand, and the rest were easy to come by. The simplicity of these stations will be a blessing!” –Joy
“These were the first task boxes I made with my class of students with ASD and I am so glad I used them!” –Colleen
“This is amazing! I have adults with disabilities and these are some really great work tasks that I can use with them!!!” –Brenda
“I am the head teacher in a functional life skills classroom. These job boxes have allowed me to teach not only job skills, but independence and functional skills in a new way.” –B. Smith

With hundreds of reviews, all of the Dollar Store Task Box kits are 4-star rated (out of 4 stars).

Which To Choose

Remember, you have several options to choose from. If you are a Vocational training teacher and most of your students will work with the task boxes, go for the Mega Bundle. If you are only needing them for a small part of your student population or only for a small part of the day, start with the Original Dollar Store Kit and build up from there.

Remember, there is a savings to buying the Bundle, so if you know you will eventually use them all, save now by getting the bundle. You can click on the titles above to get to the items, add them to your cart, and purchase them today!

Either way, if you read this far then you know the value of good classroom materials… so pin this page for later and share on social media so other teachers can find it too!