In organizing the school materials, I realized that I was going to need new school planner. In previous years I've used the
Well Planned Day, and been very happy. It's pretty, easy to use and allows for planning up to four students at a time. This year, though, I wanted to try something different. I didn't think I'd have enough room to record each day's assignments in the space provided without a complex code system that I would most likely not remember. I'm also the sort of person who simply needs to change things up once in a while. I spent some time checking out different ideas online, fully expecting to have to design something myself, until I stumbled upon the
Life as Mom blog. She very helpfully has designed an ebook planner that is right up my alley, complete with a vision-casting and homeschooling section. She also has a
post about a great way to bind and organize your planner. So, so good - I had to give it a try.
After buying the ebook and printing out the necessary pages, I followed her advice and had some of the pages I would use a lot laminated, bought some
wet erase labels (like the Expo Vis-a-Vis markers), and had it all spiral bound within a pretty pocket folder. So happy!
I laminated pages like the daily to-do list, the meal planning, and the weekly lesson plans. My view for the school section is to have each student's weekly plans made a month or two in advance for record keeping purposes, give them to each child for the week they need so they know what they're supposed to be doing, and use the master copy to fill in my week's plans. That way I can keep my personal records up to date without over-filling my planner with paper. Clear as mud? I thought so.
I'm still working on getting it ready and usable for the coming academic year. I work on it a little at a time, because at the moment I still have time for that. We'll see how long my timing holds...
Anyone else have an excellent planning method for homeschool and/or life beyond? Please share!
