Homeschool planners, so many options; digital, printable, bound and shipped to your door. Finding the right homeschool planner for you makes life much easier! What makes a good planner? For me, above all else I need flexibility! I also, to be honest, want something pretty! I need a place to organize my ideas, keep track of rabbit trails and questions that come up, record what we have done, and something that helps me to feel accomplished.
Homeschool planners – we have tried a few…
I have tried 3 different digital ones. They make so much sense! Everything is online, it’s easy to access, some are easy to move things around when you want to, they can even create transcripts for you later when you need them. They really do make a lot of sense. So, why aren’t I using one? I haven’t found the one that I really love and want to spend money on yet. Also, I’ve learned that I am pen and paper kind of girl! I love putting pen to paper. I love holding a physical book in my hands. At this point I’m sticking with the physical rather than the digital. I just love the simplicity of it. I will re-evaluate when we get to middle school – maybe.
I have also tried a couple of different physical planners. I’ve tried one that I found at Walmart that was just a big, pretty planner. It worked well for me but I wanted more. I have tried a couple that were created by homeschool moms like me. Those were better. They never have everything I want though and there’s usually too much that I don’t want. Separately, I’ve use positivity journals, positive affirmation journals and other self-care tools that I’ve had to buy alongside the planner. If you’ve read my Mama Self-care posts you know that I believe in approaching stress management with intention. So, I tried to do this with my homeschool planning too. In addition to teaching my kiddos about Mindfulness and stress management, I need to make sure I’m taking care of myself and setting that example for them.
The Sage Brush Simplicity Homeschool Planner
Here’s what I’ve done! I’ve taken all of the things that I like about planners and self-care books that I’ve tried and put them into one planner. It also has easy to reprint pages. This way you get as many of each page as you want and not more than you need. It’s bright, colorful and fun to engage with! I have created this basic FREE PRINTABLE for you to try out. It will help you to keep your focus on the things that matter most!
- Your self-care and managing that in small, accessible ways
- Reading with your kiddos or engaging them in conversation about what they’re reading
- Prioritizing what feels most important to you
- FLEXIBILITY! This planner does not shame you when things don’t happen the way you planned them to! It gives your room to reprioritize and plan to do the things you didn’t get to later.
What’s the best way to use a homeschool planner?
In this homeschool mama’s opinion having a general outline of the things you want to do , when you want to do them and what you need to do them is a great place to start. THEN approach your days with self-compassion. Use your planner primarily to track what you have already done, not what you intend to do. Stay out of the self-blame and all the should statements that come up when we look at an uncompleted to do list and focus on what’s important. The most important aspects of homeschooling are all of the little moments where you helped your kid learn how to learn. Find those moments, whether they were intentional and planned out or not and write those down. There’s always time to do that worksheet, that lesson or read that book another day. So, try out this self-compassionate homeschool planner and see the difference!
Want more free printables?
I hope you enjoy the planner! Don’t forget to grab some fun pens and binder that brings you joy to go with it! Check these out!
- Pretty floral binder – I love this one! I love working with things that are bright and beautiful!
- Artsy Binder – love these colors and the painted look
- Elegant Binder – want a simpler look that is still beautiful? I enjoy this one!
- Cactus Binder – just because it’s fun!
- Sparkly pens – everyone needs some sparklet, infuse it into your day in little ways!
- Multi-colored pens! – I loved these as a kid!
- Floral pencils – because your homeschool day is still beautiful, even when it doesn’t go as planned!
- Fun Pencils – because your homeschool day, especially when it’s play based, was still fun even if it didn’t go as planned
Check out my Homeschool section for more free printables and some great play based learning ideas! We love gameschooling and I bet you and your kiddos will too! Amazing things can happen when you play to learn!
*This post contains affiliate links. This means I may earn a commission should you chose to sign up for a program or make a purchase using my links. I only post links for products that I have already bought or would be willing to buy myself.
