After years of homeschooling, I’m still discovering new planning methods and styles for teaching my kids at home. I’ve come to understand that there is no “right” way to homeschool. The same can be said about your homeschool planner – there is no “right” planner. A homeschool planner that works best for you might not work for someone else. It all comes down to what you need, how you’re planning to use it, and what planning options you want to have available to you.
Whether you’re using it to plan the weekly lesson or help your kids keep track of their homework, having a homeschool planner is necessary. Keeping track of lesson plans, work due, and creating an organized path to follow throughout the year will be made easy with a well-structured planner. The only decision you need to make is what type of planner will work best in your homeschool lessons.
With so many different homeschool planners to choose from, this can be a difficult decision to make. Luckily we have some useful tips that will make the selection process simple. Before you’re able to find the perfect planner for you, it’s important to understand what makes a homeschool planner tick. Here are three planners that I’ve used while homeschooling that has proven to be quite useful.
Our Favorite Homeschool Planners in 2022 Reviewed
I’m certainly no expert on making a quality planner, but I know what resources have worked best for me. This section includes three of the best homeschool planner products that I’ve used throughout my homeschooling years. They fit into my homeschooling budget and have been proven to be the best school year planners for homeschool families. From their design to the contents and structure, these planners add a layer of organization and record-keeping that homeschooling parents require.
The following three homeschool planners are affordable and are available on Amazon.
1. Schoolgirl Style Academic Teacher Planner
The Schoolgirl Style Academic Teacher Planner is certainly the most whimsical of the items available but has proven to be one of the best resources for parents with younger homeschoolers. This is a yearly planner that is updated to be accurate each year. It comes in a week-by-week layout that makes organization simple and goal setting easy.
Planning with the planning pages in this homeschool planner – a mouthful, I know – will take a load off your shoulders when homeschooling. It offers a bright, cheerful path towards success and provides checklists to track your progress and stay up to date on the curriculum. This book includes 128-spiral bound pages and plenty of stickers to mark movement.
2. The Homeschool Planner
Simple in name, but complex in all the best ways in use. This popular planner is organized in a way that makes accessing resources easy. The Homeschool Planner includes monthly tabs that help you find your place and continue the work where you left off. It comes in a stunning and sleek hardback cover for ample protection and is held together by a golden spiral.
Track your progress throughout the year with this 192-page homeschool planner and never miss a single lesson or assignment again. One unique feature of this journal is that it’s updated so that users may start planning at any point in the year. This makes daily planning easy but may be difficult for tracking your overall homeschooling curriculum.
3. Mega Homeschool Planner and Organizer
This thing is the ‘Mega’ homeschool planner for a reason. This book comes with 227 pages and enough room for up to eight kids. No matter how many kids you have to plan for, this homeschool planner has you covered. The planning pages are organized in a weekly fashion and by subject to add an entire day all on one page.
It even includes an attendance tracker, though chances are you’ll know whether your kids are in school as you teach them in the house. This homeschool planner makes things easier for both the parents and the kids as each page is structured to ensure you get the most out of them. I’ve been using this planner for a couple of years now and have noticed a significant drop in the time it takes to plan a week.
DIY Homeschool Planners
My style of homeschooling has a preference in the type of homeschool planner I use. The great thing about homeschool is that what works for me might not work for you, and you’re free to be as creative you want. The best homeschool planner is ready to work with you and adapt to your needs. The three planners we listed above were based on my preferred style of planning, but you can find tons of different planners that are more suited for a style you like and if you can not find a planner that suits your need, make one yourself. Here are three different homeschool planner types.
3-Ring Binder
Sometimes, you don’t need to find a dedicated planner with organized planning pages – a 3-ring binder will help you out just as well if you understand how to use it. You can fill the binder with paper and organize your plans in your own creative style. It can be used how you want it to so that you can keep an active record of progress over time in a style that you like and a plan that works for you.
Spiral Notebook / Spiral Binding Spines
This might be the most common type of homeschool planner and is the journal that I love to use for my kids. Typically, spiral binding seems to be the one that most companies use when making their homeschool planner, and for a good reason. You’ll find that spiral binding is affordable and easy to make, so you don’t have to spend as much money on a planner as you might with other binding types. All you need to do is printing out the homeschool planner pages you need and binding them with binding spines.
Bound Planners
The more difficult it is for your paper to come undone, the better the planner. You lose the flexible nature of the spiral binding, but the pages inside will keep together unless torn out. The bound homeschool planner typically uses glue or some adhesive to keep things together.
Online Programs
In the modern world, much of what we do in the homeschool environment can be found online. This even includes our planners. Some of the best homeschool planner products can be found online and are accessible through a quick search and subscription. Many online programs are on par with the best paper planners. Some are even better!
Disc Binding
For the final options, we’ll take a look at our disc-bound planners. These are styled after the 3-ring binders but offer the flexible nature found in spiral options. They are planners that use three discs to hold the pages together. The discs are removable and interchangeable, making this one of the most customizable options you’ll find. You can get some Discbound Disks and Covers and on Amazon and attach your printed homeschool planner pages.
The Best Contents For Your Planner
The life of a homeschool teacher can be difficult when it comes to planning. The time you spend searching through paper after paper of different plans and curriculum requirements can really take a toll on how you teach. As the school year progresses, that homeschool planner can become packed and disorganized. To combat that inevitable issue, you’ll need a homeschool planner that’s filled with the contents you need in a manner that works for you.
Layout Styles
The first question you should ask yourself when shopping for a homeschool planner is what style works best for my school? What content do I need to get to help make life easier for both my kids and me? A homeschool planner’s layout is a small change in the design but can make a massive difference in your homeschool life.
The two most popular types of planners you’ll see are the verticle and the horizontal layout planner. Homeschool planning allows moms and dads to get creative and discover the style planner they like, making things easier. For me personally, I love the horizontal type. It’s easy to read and organized in a way that makes planning school simpler. However, one of the best tips we can give you is to get the planner that suits you, not us.
Daily or Weekly
The most popular styles of homeschool planner include the daily and weekly options. When you organize your planner by the day, you have much more room to write down lessons, keep track of assignments and personalize what you record. Moms with many kids in the homeschool might want to include this type in their search bar.
The weekly homeschool planner is better suited for the mom with much planning to do. This homeschool planner is organized with two pages making up a week and allows you to see the whole seven-day spread simultaneously.
What to Consider When Shopping For Planners
Before buying a planner, understand that it’s important that you don’t just like it; you love it and what it does for your life. Here are some of the most important questions you need to ask yourself before you start shopping for one.
What Are You Using the Planner For?
There are plenty of different uses for a planner, and the method you intend to utilize will change the type we recommend to you. Use the planner how you like, but always make sure that it’s one of the most organized aspects of your teaching life. Before you purchase a planner, it’s important to ask yourself, “how will I use this for teaching?” Understand what goals you intend to achieve and place markers on what you hope to achieve by using it.
From Pre-K to High School
When you find a planner that you love, you’ll be able to use it as long as it’s available. The products we recommended are constantly updated and can be used all through high school. Some products are specifically designed for high school students, just as there are ones designed specifically for parents of younger audiences. We recommend spending your money on a product that will follow you from the beginning or pre-k throughout high school.
