Step 7. Final Step. Organize it/Shuffle Sections/Print your Tabs before you take it to be COIL BOUND.
Please Read Here (Under About the Type of Planner Created) Why I Do Not Suggest Notebooks or to use them for only Special Occasions
Be sure your planner is laid out in the order you like. If you followed my steps, most of it will be organized. However, you may prefer to put Day at a Glance in between each planner page or you may prefer to have a separate section for that and the same way for Journaling. You DECIDE what you like!
Coil Binding The Only Way to Go. {hate sounding so dogmatic, but it’s true}
As far as binding, the way I liked the best is coil bind. For a few bucks more, especially if you printed your pages, it is worth the coil bind. The best reason is that the pages lay flat on my table. Too, the binding does not take as much room on the left margin.
Also, another reason is that the pages do not tear out easy.
Coil bind comes in ALL colors, red, black, white, and even purple and pink. lol. But it just depends on which office supply place you get it bound at as to selection. If you are a true adventurer you can even order ANY colored coil through a binding company and take your own color as I do sometimes.
For example a college town will carry the colors of your local college or even school. Some will just carry the basics like “black and white”.
I use to call ahead to various Office Max locations to see what is in stock before I chose my “cover” so it would all coordinate. But for bigger planners, (real thick ones) the choices are usually limited to either black or white or clear.
Cover and Back
I used to get a clear cover and then a hard back black cover to provide some support because I just didn’t really take it anywhere. That was fine. (This normally is what the average office supply worker usually recommends.) If you choose this, keep in mind you have a selection colors for the sturdy back cover as well. For example, if you choose a purple binding, you can do like a pearl iridescent back. It is very pretty :o) and clean looking, not to mention professional looking.
BUT my favorite trick I have learned –is to laminate the FRONT and BACK extra big. Be sure to NOT choose “thin” laminate. A thicker laminate will serve to protect your binder during the year and give it stability.
I have the office supply worker place my front page on a 11 x 11 piece of card stock. Then they laminate over the whole thing PLUS about an inch PAST my cover page. The same way for the back. The office worker laminates an 11 x 11 piece of card stock for the back.
Even though my pic below is not to scale, there is the same amount of room on both the left side and right side of my cover page as shown by the red arrows. Rounded corners too by laminating – NO sharp corners please!
In other words, my front page of my planner is centered on this 11 x 11 piece of paper with about one inch on each side.
You will notice right away that you do not see ANY of my tabs sticking out or the inside pages as the front and back laminated this way protects all the inside pages.
Here is the pic in case this sounds like “mumbo jumbo”
Each year I decide whether I want to make the front and back cover extra large and have it extend out out past my inside pages or just have the cover I take up to Office Max to be laminated and be regular size with my inside pages.
You decide what you want as I am just sharing my experiences each year.
What do I accomplish this way?
1. It is more sturdier than a clear front and hard back.
2. My front calendar page is protected because it is laminated and not loose.
3. The tabs to my pages are “inside” and protected and not getting bent and caught on everything as I “transport” it or cutting me.
4. I can place my planner down on liquids such as water (I have done it before by accident) and it’s okay because the back protected any pages. Just wipe and go.
5. Did I mention your planner just can look SMOKIN’ HOT? It can even match your purse for the year. ROFL
If you need to Go Back:
Click Here for Step 1 Choose a Pretty Front & Back Cover.
Click Here for Step 2 Choose Calendars & Appointment Keepers
Click Here for Step 3 Choose Goals & Objectives
Click Here for Step 4 Choose Lesson Planning Pages
Click Here for Step 5A Just Unique Forms Just for You
Click Here for Step 5B Just More Unique Forms Just for You
Click Here for Step 5C Just More More Unique Forms Just for You
Click Here for Step 6 Personalize It
I am new, very new! to homeschooling. For various reasons, I had to take my 6th grader out of his charter school in March, leaving me very unprepared for finishing out his school year at home. Luckily, I’m not totaling in this by myself. I am homeschooling through the charter school and have a very good Educational Specialist to help us a bit as we go along. I will be homeschooling him and my 5year old next year. I am very excited, and overwhelmed with the amount of information, methods of teaching, curriculum, just everything for homeschooling. I was led to your site by my ES. I know I needed to find a gradebook and lesson planner, but unsure where to find one to purchase that fit our family’s style and needs. You have created an incredibly helpful (and educational for a newbie!) way to create a planner. I didn’t realize all the different things I need to keep track of until I was looking through all your beautiful custom forms. Thank you so very much for all your hard work. Your site will definitely be at the top of my bookmark list!!
Did I say THANK YOU! yet? lol… I’m just so grateful, that I can’t say it enough!
Well you are just VERY VERY welcome. I love hearing your journey so far and hear my heart “You got this” and it will be okay.
Anything you don’t do “right” this year, you can make up quickly and don’t have to wait until next year to do it. I’m so glad you’ll get use out of it and welcome to homeschooling!
Great to have you here and to have you following!
Thank you so much! I am currently teaching in a small Christian school with low resources. I am praying about homeschooling my girls next year, and this gives me a jump on planning should that be the path we take. Your generosity is a great witness!
I use a flexible plastic pee-chee/pocket for my front and back page. They have cute ones every year. They protect the paper pages inside, and the pockets being big enough even after the binding, and they are also very slick, which is nice for sliding into my bag between other books and binders. This gives a flexible “paperback” feel to the planner, instead of a “hardback” style.