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5 Reasons a Paper Planner Is Better Than a Homeschool Online Planner

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Hands down I choose a paper planner over a homeschool online planner for my homeschool planner each year. Even with the explosions of apps and online lesson planning, they still don’t beat a beautiful homeschool paper planner.

In addition, supplies of beautiful and colorful stationery, pens, and planner accessories has increased. There is no shortage.

Now that the digital age has been here a while, there is more data on the benefits of a paper planner over an online planner.

Using an online planner may appear to have several advantages.

However, there is one significant advantage that comes instantly to mind when I think about using my 7 Step Curriculum Planner. That is, I’m not constantly going from one thing to the next thing haphazardly.

The bottom line is that my paper planner helps me to not overschedule.

5 Reasons a Paper Planner Is Better Than a Homeschool Online Planner

It’s so easy with a digital planner to quickly drag and drop and fill in the online calendar. It looks pretty, but will it work?

And it may appear that you’re achieving your goals, or it could be that you’ve created unrealistic goals.

That is exactly what happened to my writing habits when I tried using an online planner.

Instead of slowing down and really thinking if my lesson plans or schedules would work, I just plugged-in arbitrary plans.

Why Is It Important to Use a Homeschool Planner

So, when making comparisons between any type of homeschool planners, you need to be clear how you best organized.

And don’t assume because we have a plethora of fun apps that you can’t use some of them.

However, what you choose as your main organizing tool should be given consideration.

Before you can do that, clearly focusing on why it’s important to use a homeschool planner will give you a bigger picture.

Look at these 5 questions.

  1. Do you need to see a big picture, or do you need room to write details?
  2. Will your method of planning help you to slow down and ponder what you’re planning?
  3. Is your homeschool planner creating stress or oozing relaxing vibes?
  4. Does your organizing tool encourage consistency or constant change? In other words, will you constantly be changing the form, adding pages, taking pages out, adding apps or sections. This is not being organized.
  5. Finally, most important does your organizing tool bend to our homeschool life? Or, does your homeschool planner lack flexibility by being dated and make you feel that is should be filled in?

5 Printable Homeschool Lesson Planner Advantages

Furthermore, look at some of the reasons why I love a paper homeschool planner.

Besides, loving the fact that my 7 Step Curriculum Planner encourages me to plan more realistically, it’s visual.

1. As a visual homeschool educator, my printable homeschool planner is a visual organizing tool.

I’m a visual teacher and love all the items which help me to stay organized.

An excel spread sheet is way too analytical and doesn’t excite me.

5 Reasons a Paper Planner Is Better Than a Homeschool Online Planner

Whether you love bookmarks as a way to find your place in a planner or larger rubber bands, make your printed planner suit you. For instance, I’ve always loved the Semikolon Sticky Tab Markers.

2.Your creative record keeping stays well past online homeschool planners.

Next, another favorite part about a printed homeschool planner is that it is UNIQUELY yours as a family.

I journal, add pictures, chart my children’ progress, and otherwise jotted down my fears as well as hopes. Nothing compares to my handwritten thoughts.

3. I can see the big picture glance at a glance instead of scrolling and scrolling.

Next, no scrolling is needed to see what you want to at an instant glance.

It’s a great brain break to step away from devices and use the planner I built specifically for my homeschool.

And then did I mention the numerous options, page designs and sections you can create with a printed homeschool planner?

4. Nothing compares to a creative planner with sections you specifically choose for your unique homeschool journey.

I say it all the time, why purchase something put together when you can create a one of a kind homeschool planner using my beautiful and free printables?

Finally, it boosts my creative energy.

5. It reduces the stress of several windows open at one time which can be very distracting to planning.

Instead of having several windows open with distractions, I am focused singularly on my family’s needs.

In the digital age we live in, don’t think we can’t use online tools. I love having our Google family calendar so we can all see what is coming up. But my use of them is balanced.

5 Reasons a Paper Planner Is Better Than a Homeschool Online Planner

Look at these other homeschool planner products that I know you’ll love!

My printed homeschool planner has proven to reduce my stress level, heighten my working time, and otherwise give me a creative record of my children’s work which I have kept for years.

What about you? How do you feel about your printed homeschool planner?

Look at these other helps.

The Ultimate and Beautiful DIY Homeschool Unit Study Planner

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

An ultimate and beautiful diy homeschool unit study planner should stand alone as your homeschool planner.

One huge mistake is trying to fit a few planning pages for a unit study into your homeschool planner.

A unit study is a completely different approach than traditional curriculum. The pages should reflect your way of teaching.

What that means is that besides planning a unit study page, your planner should have an objective page, a way to track your unit studies and lesson planning templates.

These are just a few of the unique pages you should have in your unit study planner. But what is a unit study? Here is my definition which I have used before.

Unit study curriculum takes one topic and includes as many subjects as possible. It builds an entire curriculum around the topic covering subjects like language arts, math, reading, art, history, science, and geography with hands-on application.

Next, look at these 5 features of this beautiful planner.

  1. This a DIY planner. You print pages in your download.
  2. It is a colorful planner.
  3. Detailed lesson planning pages are divided for multiple ages.
  4. Learning objective and assessment pages are included.
  5. More than 1 planner cover is included for variety and the BEST
  6. thing is that my forms are VERY DETAILED. I’m not creating USELESS BLANK pages. I create pages which guide you in planning.
The Ultimate and Beautiful DIY Homeschool Unit Study Planner

Unit Study Homeschool Planner

Moreover, the planner has pages which help you track your unit studies. Planning unit studies is quite different than planning using traditional curriculum.

For example, you may choose topics ahead of time. You need a form to jot down your ideas or topics your children choose.

However, waiting some time to plan the day to day or week to week planning can be smart. Interests may change and your goals for what you want your children to cover may change.

Unlike traditional curriculum, planning for unit studies take place ahead of the school year and should take place during the school year.

Finally, look at the detailed pages included as you put together your planner:

  • 4 unit study planner covers
  • Checklists and Unit Tracker
  • Planning unit studies packet
  • Lesson Planning pages with subjects filled in
  • Lesson Planning pages with editable spaces for your subjects
  • Learning Objectives forms
  • Assessment Form
  • Variety of Journal Pages
  • 83 pages.

Grab this gorgeous planner to help you plan!

TOS

Important: READ THIS FIRST.
Before you email me asking where your download link is or tell me that it is not working, read this to ensure that you get your pretties timely and that you don’t pay for something and not get it.

• All my products are digital. You will not receive a physical product for anything in my store. A digital physical year calendar does not mean a physical product or calendar

.• Downloads are INSTANT. When you pay, you will receive an email with a download link INSTANTLY. Depending on your internet connection, the email could be just 30 seconds or so, or a bit longer. The point is it will be soon, not a week later, etc.

• The email with the download link will go to the email you used for paypal. If you used your husband’s paypal, your downloads will go to that email. Please check that email and your spam before emailing me telling me you can’t find it.
• Please put my email tina @ tinasdynamichomeschoolplus dot com (of course substitute the right symbol for dot) in your address/contact list so that your product does not go to spam.

MY GUARANTEE: To treat you like I want to be treated which means I know at times technical problems may cause glitches, so I will do everything possible to make your experience here pleasant. If you have problems getting your download OR have a question email me my web based email: tinahomeschools at gmail dot com.

Look at these other posts you’ll love :

Gorgeous 7 Step Free Homeschool Planner You Build

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Build your gorgeous 7 step free homeschool planner for your homeschool planner. With 7 easy steps you’ll not only be organized, but have a unique hard working tool.

When you create a planner for your homeschool, you’re making it unique to your needs. Planners which are prepared for classroom use are not set up to use for a family.

Plus, when you purchase one giant put together planner, you’re not hand picking the forms you need this year.

For example, your needs change each year. You may have elementary aged students and high school students.

Your needs are different for each student.

So, having an unnecessary form in your planner hinders your organizational efforts. Worst are forms which have tons of useless blanks with no guidance.

My homeschool planner it built by you with my guidance.

Gorgeous 7 Step Free Homeschool Planner You Build Yourself

I’ve been creating and sharing how I put together my planner for 10 years. I can help get you on the road to organization. With my 7 Step DIY Homeschool Planner, I have OVER 600 free pages for you to go through.

However, I do not make it stressful for you. Instead, I guide you STEP BY STEP for each step. You decide what you need and don’t need this year.

After you set up your planner a few times, you can go through this process quickly.

7 Step DIY Free Homeschool Planner

First, look at the 7 steps. Then, I’ll share how to best to grab the homeschool forms you need at each step.

 Step 1. Choose a Pretty Front/Back Cover

Step. 2. Choose Calendars/Appointment Keepers

Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives

Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You!

Step 5a. Choose Unique forms JUST for You! 

Step 5b. Choose MORE Unique Forms JUST for You!

Step 5c. Choose MORE MORE Unique Forms Just for You!

Step 6. Personalize It

Step 7. Bind it! Love it!

Next, I have over 30+ free front or back covers. The beauty of choosing the forms is that each year you create what you like.

I don’t encourage matchy-matchy pages. There is nothing striking about a planner where ALL the pages match. Nothing.

Our homeschool journey is a wild one and your finished project should reflect YOUR personality.

Another important section is the calendar section. I create 3 different types of calendars each year. Look at each type of calendar.

  1. One is a colorful reference calendar to place throughout your planner in several places
  2. The second calendar I prepare is a Scheduling or Planning calendar. Read my post How a Homeschool Planning Calendar is Superior to a Regular Calendar to use it.
  3. And the third one is a beautiful 2 page per month calendar which has ample room for writing your appointments.

Custom Homeschool Planner

The next step is 3 and you’ll want a variety of goal setting pages in your homeschool planner. Goals are the very foundation of your homeschool.

Whether you have general goals or specific goals, you’ll find a form on Step 3. Choose Goals/Objectives.

Also, when you can get to Step 4. Choose Lesson Planning Pages Right For You take your time. The lesson planning pages or templates are the largest part of your planner.

Be sure you’re printing both sides of your paper. I use regular all purpose bright white paper.

Do not print using cardstock. There is no way you can bind it because it will be too thick and big.

And I do not use any special printer. I’ve been using my favorite which is a mobile printer for years.

In addition, another section where you’ll spend most of your time is Step 5. You’ll notice I have 3 pages for Step 5.

There are numerous unique forms like attendance, student schedules, reading logs, field trips trackers, high school planning, and readiness checklist to name a very few of the forms.

DIY Homeschool Planner

Lastly, for Steps 6 and 7, I go over the best ways to add extra storage to your planner and how to bind it.

However, there are others solid reasons to build a diy homeschool planner.

  1. It is an undated planner. Dated planners can make you feel behind when you need to skip a day to take care of life. Using an undated planner you simply pick up where you left off and adjust to life. Make the school schedule fit your life.
  2. Another huge advantage is that it can be used for multiple ages. Instead of planners which contain numerous columns, it suits family with multiple kids.
  3. And I mentioned it before, but I’m mentioning it again. It is to be printed on both sides. Do not waste paper.
  4. Finally, one of the most important is to coil bind it. I do not encourage notebooks because the rings get in the way of writing. Too, something else I’ve learned along the way. Some homeschoolers want perfection in their planner.

An unorganized person is one who constantly wants to keep adding to a system instead of utilizing one that is close to what she needs.

Organization is about sticking to a system not constantly adding more work for yourself.

Look at these other homeschool planner products that I know you’ll love!

Gorgeous 7 Step Free Homeschool Planner You Build Yourself

6 Ways a Homeschool Daily Planner Beats a Weekly Planner

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

Hands-down my preference is a homeschool daily planner when I create my homeschool planner. Although a weekly or even monthly planner have a place, it doesn’t even compare to a daily planner.

In addition, many planners can be overly classroom focused. Some planners make the mistake of having columns for too many students while others seem too minimalist.

Besides flexibility to add forms you like in a daily homeschool planner, it doesn’t need to be complicated.

Today, I’m sharing 6 reasons why I use and create daily planning forms here on my site Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus.

6 Ways a Homeschool Daily Planner Beats a Weekly Planner

First, look at my original l80 daily lesson planning page.

6 Ways a Homeschool Daily Planner Beats a Weekly Planner

As you can see, the top part has room for skill subjects and the bottom part is for content subjects.

The skill subjects are math and language arts. And the content subjects which you can teach your children together are Geography, Science, History, Foreign Language, Bible and Art share

That box at the bottom of the form for content subjects has enough room to write or lesson plan. There is enough room because you do not do content subjects every day.

From this form, came by passion to stick to this kind of planning.

Benefits of a Daily Planner

Look at my 6 other reasons for using such a solid planner.

  1. The best reason is you have ample room for thoughtful legible plans.
  2. When the planner is undated, it can be used for an academic year or to school year-round.
  3. Also, if you prefer to print as you go instead of binding the planner, daily plans can be checklist.
  4. Adding the sections you need for each year matter. For example, you may be in a state which requires attendance. Simply download the attendance record of your choice. If you need high school planning, grab forms for high school planning.
  5. Stress levels can be managed daily. Weekly planning can get out of control, but with a daily planner, you have a pulse on what is going on day to day. I prefer to head things off before they get to a stressful point.
  6. And the last big point for me is that we homeschool to adjust at the moment when our children change. Whether my children need to move ahead or stay a few more days on a subject, I have that luxury with this type of planner.

How to Combine Types of Planners

However, I feel that a section should include glancing at your week.

Although a day to day planner is my preference for my homeschool, there is an advantage to glancing at your week.

Moreover, a glance for the week is a big picture while a daily planner is a smaller one.

Using both in your homeschool can fill both of those needs. My weekly planning form below you can find at Step 5a. Choose Unique Forms JUST for You. I have several color choices.

Even a month at a glance works. Placing those forms either at the beginning of your month or week can give you direction for meeting your goals.

You determine how you choose to plan.

However, planning perfection can be time consuming. It’s best to choose a method and stick to it.

Every now and then I will place weekly glancing pages in my planner, but for the most I prefer a larger daily planner.

If you want a daily planner, you’ll love this one. You can read more too at The Best Colorful Undated Dynamic Daily Homeschool Planner.

What type of planner do you find useful?

6 Ways a Homeschool Daily Planner Beats a Weekly Planner

Look below for more tips:

How to Make Your Own Student Planner Simple and Beautiful

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This post may contain affiliate links. For more information, please see my full disclosure policy.

There are many benefits in knowing how to make your own student planner. And creating your student’s own homeschool planner gives your student control. Besides, keeping your student organized, it allows children to plan out their day, week, and year.

Too, a student planner has many parts, but not all of them are useful. Creating your own planner allows you to craft it to your child’s unique needs.

In addition, trying to adjust to a planner created for public school students does not equal a homeschooled student’s needs.

Look at some of the parts to include in your child’s homeschool planner:

  • Front cover page.
  • Calendar pages to help them track
  • And lesson planning pages are the biggest part of printing.
  • Finally, all the fun and random pages that make your student’s planner unique.

Free Homeschool Student Planner

How to Make Your Own Student Planner Simple and Beautiful

Besides being a hard-working planner, there are many benefits to training your children to use one.

Getting past the idea that a planner is controlling is just not a mindset kids can have. I hear it all the time – I just want to be spontaneous.

How ever did a planner give the impression that every minute of your life must be planned? Oh sure, I’ve seen some plan like, but that is not how I plan or use a planner.

5 Benefits of Balanced Planning

So, look at 5 benefits.

  1. Teens have a lot they want to do, and a planner can help them to manage their time better
  2. Key to getting a lot stuffed into a day is to prioritize. Do you know how many adults are crippled by not being able to isolate what is and what isn’t important mow? Learn how to prioritize early so it’s less painful to learn as an adult.
  3. Children avoid self-imposed stress. Imagining that your day is busier than it really is way more stressing than actually doing what is on the list. It’s easier to see their schedule laid out in front of them.
  4. Even if you don’t have deadlines for your children’s project, they will eventually have them. Teach your students to have self-imposed deadlines. When children set up their own standards, they normally rise to the occasion. This is a healthy habit for adult hood and self-regulating.
  5. Your student needs to know how to say NO. When he glances at his planner and sees he has a full day planned, he is taking charge of setting limits. This promotes a healthy mental state by not accepting more than he can do.

Also, what I find is that if students can pick and choose not just the planner, but accessories it individualizes their personal planners.

What I’m saying is a student’s planner should be expressive as the student is.

In this way it becomes more than just a scheduling tool, but a way for the student to express what is important to him. Look a few cool things I rounded up below which can make it fun for your children.

Here is a fun Journal Supplies Storage Case because all kids need to journal and doodle. And these paper clips are so cute. It’s the little things that make a planner rock.

Free Printable Homeschool Student Planner

After adding a few fun pages to your child’s planner, look below at how to create your student’s homeschool planner.

Step 1. Choose a Student Planner Cover.

On my DIY Best Student Planner page, I have 12 free planner cover options and I add more as I can.

How to Make Your Own Student Planner Simple and Beautiful

Then, move on to different calendars to help your student.

Remember, I create 3 different types of calendars. Your student may need all 3 just like you. Why? Because each one serves a different purpose.

Step 2. Choose a Type of Calendar.

Depending on the age of your child, you may plan the school year or your child may be old enough to do it. Keep in mind, the first attempts will not come close to what you’re thinking.

However, the purpose of a planner is to train your child to organized habits. That begins here, but it never looks like we think it’s going to look like.

Read at my post How a Homeschool Planning Calendar is Superior to a Regular Calendar if you add a homeschool planning calendar to the planner.

In addition, look at the 3 different types of calendars your child may want to include:

The third part is the largest of any planner and that is the lesson planning pages for your child to note how he wants to lesson plan.

Step 3. Choose a Lesson Planning Template.

And I have 4 free beautiful lesson planning templates at DIY Best Student Planner page which you can choose for your child.

Step 4. Choose Fun Pages.
Like Random Thoughts & Teen Driving Record

Next, is one of the most fun for your student. Selecting random pages like end of year or first of year about me pages are fun. Adding note pages or pictures makes the planner individualized.

Finally, the last step is deciding a way to bind the planner.

Step 5. Bind it.

This last step may not seem important, but it is. I never encouraged my teens to use a notebook because the 3 rings got in the way of comfortable writing.

Encouraging writing in the planner is key, but it needs to be comfortable. Even using disc rings is better and coil binding is my number one preferred way of binding my kids’ planners.

Too, some parents who have a leftie can choose to have it top bound. Flipping from bottom to top is a great idea.

What do you think? Want to start building your child’s planner with my free printables?

How to Make Your Own Student Planner Simple and Beautiful