Homeschool Curriculum Review: Best Homeschool Planners for Success!
Who doesn’t love a good planner, especially a good homeschool planner. The Good new is that there are tons to choose from. The bad news is that there are tons to choose from. LOL! If you have been around for any length of time you know I say the same thing about choosing homeschool curriculum. Fortunately, homeschool planners are not as big of an investment as curriculum, and we can just deal with a bad one or replace it if needed.
My Homeschool Planner (wink)
Before I jump in and tell you about the planners I used and what I recommend, I want to share with you something I created for homeschool moms who are craving a little more peace and simplicity in their days.It’s called the Brave and Balanced Homeschool Planner, and I designed it from my own 22 years of homeschooling experience—especially those seasons when I was juggling multiple children at different grade levels. You can get it right now on Amazon.
This planner is simple, intentional, and not overwhelming. It includes space for up to six students, so you can keep track of lessons, attendance, and grades all in one place—without feeling scattered.
There are monthly and weekly planning pages, room for notes, and even mid-year check-ins to help you pause, reflect, and adjust as needed. And throughout the planner, you’ll find scripture and encouragement to keep your heart grounded as you homeschool.
Until the end of June, I’m offering it at a special launch price of $17.99, and then it will go up to at least $24.99 or more.
If you’ve been looking for a simple planner without all the overwhelm and way to stay organized without overcomplicating things, you can click the links or image above and check it out. I’m sure you will like it!
Get it before the price goes up to $24.99. It is 221 pages total and the weekly 2-page spreads are what really makes it unique. You get to choose how you want to use them. There is freedom there. Now, I note that it is for up to 6 students, because it depends on how you utilize the weekly pages. They definitely are good for 5 students. If you need it for 6, you will not have as much flexibility in the way you use the weekly pages. There will only be one option.
If you like paper planners then go check it out. It’s simple but beautiful. There are also accompanying student assignments books that you can purchase separately if you are interested. They are 6X 9 notebooks where your children can keep track of their daily assignments on their own.
Online Homeschool Planners
I have used everything from online apps to PDF downloads to physical books. To be honest with you, most of the time, I didn’t have the extra money to spend on a fancy planner. I remember paying a monthly fee for an online homeschool planner or scheduler at one point. Even though I am more of a paper and pen person, I liked this planner. This was because I could enter in all the info and then print it out. So, I was still using physical paper, but all the leg work was done on the computer.
This particular planner was the Homeschool Planet online planner. I liked this a lot as it gave lots of flexibility to change schedules. If one of my children didn’t get to their science assignment for the day for whatever reason, I could simply go and move all science assignments forward a day and it just reassigned everything that was already scheduled. It was very convenient that way. Of course, now they have an app for your phone. They offer a 30-day free trial. If an online app sounds like your cup of tea, then go get a 30-day free trial and see how you like it. I am not affiliated with this company at all.
Their pricing is pretty fair as well with a monthly plan costing $9.95 per month and a yearly plan costing $84.95.
You can also purchase a variety of pre-scheduled lesson plans that can be uploaded automatically to your account and schedule for you if you are using one of the homeschool curricula that they offer. A quick search showed Life Of Fred math, BJU press, and Horizons among others. These all come with an extra charge, of course.
I personally, would not have purchased a ready-made schedule as I just love planning, and in some subjects my children skipped a certain amount of lessons in the beginning of each year. If this sounds like something that is a good fit for you, go here to check it out and get a free 30-day trial. https://homeschoolplanet.com/
Free Homeschool Planners
Ah, yes, the free planners are numerous, but you get what you pay for, right? Well, not necessarily. As I mentioned above, I didn’t always have the budget to buy a new homeschool planner, so I would search online for free ones.
Again, there are many free options today, and most downloadable homeschool planners, come with a gazillion pages. You will need to pick and choose which pages you need and which you can skip which can definitely be a good thing, right? I mean you can basically print the pages you need and make your own planner in a 3 ring binder.
Obviously this requires a printer unless you are going to go to a store like Staples and have it printed there. Or, many times you can download planners to use on an app on your phone or tablet such as goodnotes or something similar if you prefer to use it electronically. I just wanted to mention that it is possible to upload a pdf to one of those apps if you like that.
So, I have a free printable planner right here on my website. It’s part of my FREE HOMESCHOOL RESOURCE LIBRARY. Just go HERE and sign up with your email. You will get a password and a link sent to your email to access all the resources. There are planning pages, worksheets, and booklets on homeschooling.
Links to Free Homeschool Planners
Now, why would I tell you about other homeschool planners when I am selling my own homeschool planner? Because I want you to have the best planner available for your family and your specific situation. If a free one is all you can afford, that’s what you should have. I have been right where you are and know that sometimes that is the only option.
I am not affiliated with any of these websites. As of the time of this writing they are all current and available for free.
Here is a free unit study planner on teacherspayteachers.com
Paper Homeschool Planners
So we’ve talked about online planners, free printable planner and now it’s time to talk about physical paper planners. These are the ones that are already printed and put together. These are paperback (like mine for sale on amazon), or spiral bound. Which I am trying to get mine printed with a spiral binding and have for sale on my website soon. I personally do like to have a spiral binding, because It is easier to write on the inside of the pages if needed. It also lays flat. However, there are some good reasons for not have a spiral binding. One of them is that the pages tend to come out easier. Since there are holes holding the pages they can come apart just through regular wear and tear. Not a significant issue, but one of the reasons you may not want a spiral binding.
Now, I do not see many homeschool planners with a hard cover at all, so I am not even going to touch on that. If you prefer a hard cover printed planner, please let me know. Please leave a comment on this post and let me know your thoughts.
Also, please go to Amazon and check out my planner there. Even if you have no intentions on buying it, I would love to know your thoughts. Again you can do that by leaving a comment on this post or email me at mary@whatabouthomeschooling.com.
My Favorite
Okay, so my favorite printed planners. To be honest, I only ever purchased one, and it was A Well Planned Gal planner. I do not remember ever purchasing a different planner for myself. You can see their planners HERE.
I did use a printable planner that was from the OldSchoolHouse website when I was a member of their homeschool site called Schoolhouse Teachers. There were planners you could print for free if you were a member. It had hundreds of pages to choose from.
I also purchased student planners. They were spiral bound planners used by the students. One was from Christian Light Education and can be found at ChristianLight.org
So, why did I only buy one planner for myself the whole time we homeschooled? Usually, I was printing free planners online, because I just didn’t have the finances to purchase ready made one. Also, when my children were younger there were not as many options as there are today. Have many more options makes planners less expensive due to competition.
As I stated, earlier, I also used a regular spiral notebook at times to write assignments in. This was not a great plan, because not everything is neat and tidy in one place. It’s just an assignment notebook. I really preferred my children to have their own assignment books when they reached high school. When they could do most of their schoolwork on their own it was time for them to have their own assignment notebook or schedule.
I could go on and on about this subject, but I think I’ve given enough options and links for you to check out. I hope it helps. You really don’t need anything fancy, but you do want something that will help keep you on track and keep important info in one place.
I would love to hear from you! Find me on instagram or facebook.
Or email me directly: Mary@whatabouthomeschooling.com
Please ask me all your homeschool questions.
Wishing you all the best in your homeschool journey!
~Mary
“…And the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.” ~Prov. 16:31
FAQ
When it comes to having a record of your homeschool, nothing beats paper. Electronics are great and can be very handy and convenient, but they also break, systems get hacked, and sometimes weird things just happen. I always recommend paper even if you are using an electronic planner, print out the pages for safe keeping.
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