It isn’t easy to break down all of the amazing things between the Happy Planner vs Erin Condren Planner. When spending money on a good planner, you want to make sure the one homeschool planner you choose is the best one for you. The perfect planner has a combination of calendars, weekly layouts (various choices), goal-setting pages, checklists, field trip planning pages, and more. This means that your planner has everything you need to organize your unique and busy life. Also, choosing designs that match your style and personality is a major plus! We have everything you need to make your perfect planner choice!
The Erin Condren Planner
First of all, I have to say that Erin Condren planners have SO many different types of planners that you can almost get lost or overwhelmed searching through the website. However, they have a “specialized” planner tab that allows you to narrow down your search. Below are the main types of planners you can use for homeschooling and outside.
Various Types of Erin Condren Planners
Erin Condren LifePlanner Collection
This life planner collection is impressive and has nearly everything you need for daily life. There are four different interior design options, three different planning layouts, and note pages in the back. Also, this planner has many different designs to choose from. More so, you can quickly and easily choose what size would work best for you as there are several to choose from.
Pros and Cons of the Life Planner Collection
The Life Planner has nine different types to choose from, and it can quickly get overwhelming to figure out which one to choose. It seems that these can be simplified to make the shopping experience easier. I do have to give their website creator credit as there is a planner comparison page that breaks down essential components.
On the flip, because there are so many different options for the Erin Condren Life Planner; meaning there is a more extensive variation for choosing what you need precisely. Also, these planners come with beautiful planning pages, and most have planner stickers already included, whereas other planners may be an additional cost for stickers.
Erin Condren Planner for Teachers
As a teacher, this planner has everything I need to plan out my homeschool year. This planner comes with a yearly calendar, monthly calendars, and a weekly layout. There are also goal-setting pages, parent communication logs, lesson planning pages (obviously), checklists, notes pages, etc. These planners are 100% geared for teachers in the classroom to ensure you don’t miss a beat throughout your school day, week, or year.
Pros and Cons of the Teacher Planner
One of the significant downsides for me is that this Erin Condren planner does not include a record-keeping section for assignments. To get this feature, you must purchase a separate planner for record-keeping. For me, having to tote around two planners isn’t appealing. Plus, the record keeper also has parent communication logs and note pages, as does the teacher planner.
Another thing I really like about this planner is that there is an option to choose a cover that allows you to make a collage of photos. I have pictures of my family wherever I am, so this cover option is a great one for all you picture lovers.
One of the significant upsides to this planner is that there are tons of different cover options, each with its own beautiful color scheme. Each Erin Condren planner has a laminated cover to ensure it will last you the entire year. There are always extra stickers and accessories you can purchase with your Erin Condren planner. Overall, my Erin Condren teacher planner can be used both inside and outside the classroom.
The Happy Planner
Happy Planners, like Erin Condren, are fantastic planners that are fun and pretty. The Happy Planner will allow you to create the look and design that you want for whatever you need within your planner from cover to cover.
Best Happy Planner to Choose From
The Happy Planner – Teacher Edition
First of all, I love a pretty color scheme. The Happy Planner teachers edition has some beautiful and fun covers that will excite you to open up your planner and write. This Happy Planner has a weekly spread, monthly layout, and a classroom checklist (which looks like a grade book to me). There is enough space for you to add planner stickers and personal notes throughout the planner pages.
Pros and Cons
This Happy Planner has all the bare essentials to plan your lessons and keep accurate grades. For me, one downside is that there are no separate note pages in this planner. However, there is ample space within each weekly/monthly layout to write slightly longer side notes. I don’t necessarily find this planner to be one I can use in my life outside of the classroom.
A pro to this Happy Planner is that the months are tabbed, making your content search a lot more effective. Also, this allows me to track down my lessons and stay organized easily.
The Different Layouts
When I did a content search of the different types of planners, there really isn’t much of a different planner as there was for different layouts. The Happy Planner offers layouts/planners that include the following:
- Undated and dated layout planners
- Verticle or horizontal layouts
- Dashboard layout
Each of these different layouts is an entire planner that you can choose to have in either a 12 or 18-month cycle. Then with whichever layout you choose, there are then different sizes to choose from.
Pros and Cons of these Different Layouts
When I look at these different planners, it can very quickly become overwhelming because there are so many different kinds within each of these layouts. However, looking a bit closer, these planners are all very similar. Overall, a pro is the simplistic and beautiful design of each planner. A major con is that all the extras you get with the Erin Condren planner, like the stickers or extra note pages, have to be purchased additionally.
Review Summary: Happy Planner vs Erin Condren Planner
When it comes to looking at the specs for the Happy Planner vs. Erin Condren planners, it was not easy! However, here are a few things I could break down for you:
- The Happy Planner has a lot more designs and customizable options.
- Because you can highly customize the Happy Planner, costs can add up quickly, making for a VERY expensive planner.
- The Erin Condren Life Planner and Teacher planner is at a slightly higher price point than the base Happy Planner price. However, by the time you spend money on your Happy Planner for everything the Erin Condren planner already has, the price is about the same.
- The Erin Condren and Happy Planner are excellent planners and have space to write in!
- The first page (pages) of Erin Condren and Happy Planner has space for you to place your information.
- Many Erin Condren planners come with note pages and stickers vs. The Happy Planner, where these must be purchased separately.
- Both Erin Condren and Happy Planner have discounts for first-time users.
- You can easily remove pages should you decide you do not need them.
- The Happy Planner and Erin Condren planners have durable covers and high-quality paper.
- Both planners allow you to view the week and have monthly layouts.
Conclusion
Overall, each of these is a really good homeschool planner and will suit whatever planning needs that you may have. A few things to note are that both the Erin Condren planners, as well as the Happy Planner, are both highly customizable on just about everything from covers to add-on pages. As far as cost is concerned, as I mentioned in the above points when all is said and done each planner will run you about the same.
My cumulative opinion would be that if you are needing a life planner for both school and home, go with the Erin Condren planner. Any one of the Erin Condren planners will do, but I would highly suggest the teacher planner. As far as simple teacher planners that are basic enough to navigate and have overall great reviews, I would suggest the happy planner. Also, Happy Planner products are usually available on Amazon and in-person at Walmart stores so they are a bit more accessible.
