curriculum planner

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Getting started earlier this year with my curriculum planner pages, I am tickled to be able to offer the first option for the 2015 Physical Year Calendar – 2 Pages Per Month at a Glance Appointment Keepers.  I know this is one wonky long name, but it really helps to describe how best to use it.

It’s a calendar, right? How else do you use it?  Well something like that except with it being a 2 page spread, it gives you a ton more room to write.  Too, the month of January {whether it’s my academic calendars or physical year calendars} has a special box on that page only so that you note when you begin to school and when you end your school year.

You know me and my name calling.  I called this set of calendar pages Dreaming.

I also have a bigger picture below so you can see what one 2 page spread looks like.  I need to see big pictures because I am such a visual person.

{Dreaming}

Each month has a different color for the month name and on the note section, I kept the background white and bright this time.  I did add another section to this year and that is the top right section, which is a task list.

Separating that from the bottom section which is more of a to do list for the month, it helps to divide priorities.  I tend to keep a running lists for tasks whether they are due that month or not.  And my to do for the month at the bottom is just that, things that need to get done by that particular month.  I think the reason I put that list at the bottom is that I am hoping it will go away too. {ha ha}

Whether you want to add an academic school year that runs from July to June {find them here on STEP 2. Option 2} or this physical year calendar for 2015 or you’re obsessed going to use both like me, you decide what works for your unique planner.

This past year I started using two calendars and I think I liked it.  I used one for things I wanted to fill in about our school day {academic school calendar} or my thoughts about what we did for the day and the other one I used more for family appointments.  You certainly don’t have to do this, but it was nice having two different sets.  I used the academic school year calendar more like a journal and keeping up with what we did, penned in some funny moments, brainstorming and things like that.

I didn’t put appointments on both sets.  I just them on the one I used for our family calendar so I would have one place to look at for appointments.  This may or may not work for you.  Again the planner is your baby to decide what works best for you.  I just like options and trying different combinations each year.

I change too each year depending on my mood, but I really like the way that worked out last year.

Guess what? You can get it now!

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For my email readers, in case the store button doesn’t work right, here is the link to my store where you can get it.

Hope you like it.

Hugs and love ya,

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Another choice for the 2 page per month at a glance academic calendar for the 2014-2015 school year is ready!  You ask for this color scheme called New Beginnings and I heard ya.  It has five color shades in the notes section before it repeats.  I just wanted to be sure you had a second color choice for this coming school year.  I love this one too.  It is oh so soothing.  I am having a hard time deciding between this one and the Rainbow Notions Calendar. I think I may put them both in my planner.

2 Page Month At A Glance Academic Calendar

Like the Rainbow Notion Calendar, I added a few more boxes to help track points in our homeschool day and an extra place for notes too.  It too is very colorful.  I’m super excited to share it with you.

Guess what? You can get it for only $.99 cents.  Instant Download.

Or, if you like the Rainbow Notions Calendar or both.You decide.

Because I am not sure if my email readers will get the fancy store button, I am also linking this post to my blog.  If you do not get the button on the email feed, come to this blog post by clicking here and you can get it in my store too.

Hope you luv it!

Hugs and love ya,

Linking up @ these fabulous places

Thoughtful Spot Weekly Blog Hop | Hip Homeschool Hop | One Project At A Time |The Mommy Club |

Whether you choose to call it a curriculum planner or homeschool planner, it is a necessary organizing tool when you homeschool.  Oh sure, I have tried spread sheets, online trackers and all kinds of techie things, but I always come back to plain paper and pencil.

Every since I created my first curriculum planner and stopped trying to be something I am not by using the latest technology or gadget that is out because I thought it would be more “convenient”,  my must-haves for a curriculum planner became very clear.

I have always claimed that there is something about the physical act of writing out our day that helps me to remember where I am going and what we are doing.  I don’t have to wait for something to charge or boot up before I use it and for me my curriculum planner feels real personal when I add pictures of our past field trips and other activities we have been involved in.  It becomes a journal of our journey.

Basics, but Essentials of a Curriculum Planner

So I thought I would share a few of my must-haves because as you can see from the picture below, I kind of poke fun at myself for things that I missed each year.  And too you will notice that I don’t have every year here because it took me a few years to figure some stuff out.

As far as the basics or essentials, here is my list:

• I need the school year someplace on it.  You will see in picture number 1, I was so impressed that I could do a calendar over a picture that I forget the school year.
• Talking about calendar, I know that I want multiple calendar years in my curriculum planner AND I also want a place to plan my year.  Those are two very different calendars.  One is for noting dates and the other one gives you room to plan.
• I need undated pages.  It took me several years to figure that one out.  Did I tell you one year I wrote out EVERY lesson plan for the whole year? It took me months to do and guess what? In the first week of school, the boys got sick and I was behind already. I created stress by dating each page before I got to it.  Talk about tears.  Now, all my planner pages are numbered for organization, but not dated.  In homeschool, we have the flexibility to skip a day or two and then pick back up with our curriculum planner.  I hope you learn from my mistakes.
• My last basic essential is that I need multiple sections to add to my planner depending on the season of homeschooling that I am in.  I need one that has objectives and one that has more tracking if I want to hold myself more accountable one year and I needed forms for both preschool and high school depending on where I was in my journey.

But I know too that is not all I want in my curriculum planner.  The other set of must-haves has to do with design.

Once I figured that I wanted the function to stay flexible and for it to not just be a generic blank planner, I focused on the beauty of it.

Look at what I have now in my must-haves for design.

• I want something unique each year that is NOT one huge download where all the pages are the same.  Where is the fun and creativity in that?   I must have it with a twist each year or eclectic looking so that each year it retains a unique quality.   That is why I create new curriculum planner covers each year.
• This next one is a biggie for me and that is it has to have color.  If I spend a couple of hundred dollars on curriculum for my kids, I think I can splurge pay a few extra cents and have my curriculum planner in a color that I like looking at each day.
• Then of course coil binding is the way to go so that it lays completely flat so I can write on it and adding a sturdy front and back cover keeps it durable during the whole year.

Then of course I always keep a bag of pretties handy when I need them.

Figuring out my list of must-haves didn’t take one year or even just a couple.  It has taken years to fine tune a tool so that it becomes something I cannot possible school without.

You would think some of these things would be just a given that I  would have it in my planner, but it’s easier said than done once you start designing.

I love my pictures of my old planners so I can laugh at myself, but it also reminds me of why I love my planner and more special to me is the fact that I can share what I love with you too.

Hugs and love ya,