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Tips & Tricks: Using A Planner

Recently I got asked how to use a planner. So here is how I use mine. First off I do not have a homeschool planner instead I have my regular personal planner and my homeschool schedule that I make on Timberdoodle's online scheduler. I love love love my Personal Planner. You can literally customize everything in it! I choose the covers, the layout, all the extras in it, holidays, special dates, what date the planner starts on and so much more. I have used them for 8 years and just recently ordered my 9th planner from them. I write what chores I need to get done for the week and anything that we are doing that week. You can get different sizes of planners. There is a huge one that I would suggest for those that want to use it as a homeschool planner. I get a month overview in my planner and use that to put stickers for the main things of the month. This will include things like if I get sick, the girls having a sleepover, field trips, appointments, etc. I also use planner stickers. I have a sticker for just about everything. Chores, being sick, pet stuff, the girls' activities, blog stuff, homeschool stickers, fun things we do often stickers, etc. I get my stickers from Happy Cutie Studio. I found them on Etsy but it is cheaper if you order from their website. They are based in the UK so shipping can take a little bit to get to me in the US but it is so worth it for how cute these stickers are. I even got their sticker album book to hold my stickers. I do buy for the year all at one time that way I have them for the year and only need to wait for shipping once.


If I were to use a planner for homeschool which is what I think I was being asked about I would get the largest Personal Planner. Write down the classes we did that day and the main topic of each class. The same way I do with Timberdoodle's scheduler. I print out the schedule after I make it and I am very precise about the way I make our schedule so that it is perfect for the year. I hole punch it and put it in a binder. The schedule can be viewed as what you need to get done for the week or what to do each day (I choose this one). I use the check boxes for writing in grades and then the blank space next to the list of things to do each day I write the main idea for that item. On a separate piece of paper I keep a list during each 6 week on the main ideas so I know what I need to review at the end of the 6 weeks. In Texas you do not need to keep records of the things you do but I keep the schedule for every year. There is a list at the beginning that shows the things we used and then since I use the check boxes as grade boxes I have her grades recorded. If the law ever changes for us and we need to keep records I have everything from all the years we have been doing school.


And that is how I use my planner and school schedule. If you would like a more in-depth look at my planner or our schedule just let me know. I can always make a video of them. What do y'all use? Do you even use a planner? Let us know how you do things in the comment section below.


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