Monday

A 5 Day Peek Into My Homeschool Journal Planner

Last fall I started looking for a specific type of homeschool planner, and I wasn’t having much luck finding it. So, like other homeschoolers who can’t find exactly what they are looking for {why do you think we make all of those printables and curriculums!}, I made my own. What exactly was so impossible to find among the multitude of homeschool planners on the market and all over the internet? I wanted a homeschool planner that doubled as a journal. I wanted a place to record my thoughts and memories. I wanted a planner that contained a place for detailed plans for the year along with the freedom to only write what we actually completed that day. And, of course, I wanted the usual goals sheet, reading lists, and calendars found in every homeschool planner. I will be using every day this week to let everyone have a peek inside my homeschool journal planner. If you like what you see, subscribe to my blog, and you’ll get access to it as a free download. For those who already subscribe to The Planted Trees, you will find a link to the Homeschool Journal Planner in the next email you receive from the blog.

My Homeschool Journal Planner

Today I want to focus on what makes my homeschool planner unique: the journal pages.

I started out journaling our homeschool this past fall by accident. My normal homeschool planner got destroyed by an overenthusiastic boy and a glass of sweet tea. I grabbed a cheap spiral notebook and started recording what we did because we were coming to the close of our school year {we school January through November}, and I didn’t want to bother with finding a new one for just a few more weeks. What I discovered was I loved having lines to not only record the facts of what we did, but also the experience itself. I found myself jotting little notes about attitudes {good and bad}, accomplishments, something funny the kids said, or something amazing they achieved that day.

I loved turning my planner into a journal as well. I’ve already gone back and through some of those entries I made in that spiral notebook back in November and it was so much fun to read again. At that point I realized that I wanted to keep this good thing going. It’s so encouraging to go back and read through the ups and downs of homeschooling, to read about those major milestones, to laugh again at the silly things they say, and to remember those small moments. I definitely could have kept using my spiral notebook, but I wanted pretty. I wanted to have a planner that was me, that was beautiful and customized. I was so pleased with the final result that I knew I couldn’t keep this one to myself.

Journal Pages

There are five sections on the two page spread, bible study, math, language arts, content subjects and extras, and a special moment. I fill in the what we did that day type stuff while we are schooling, but I save the the extra comments for the end of the day. I have also started drawing little grid boxes at the bottom of each section {enclosing some of the lines} to fill in what we did more easily, and I save the top lines in each section for the comments. I didn’t want to put grids in each box because one of the things I love about it is the versatility. You can put one day for each two page spread, or maybe do three days of school in one spread, or two days, or an entire week. It’s totally up to you and how much you can squeeze into those boxes.

Journal Pages 2

I can absolutely see my journal planner becoming a keepsake to reminisce with the kids and to remember important dates like exactly when they read their first word, or in the photo above, when Levi wrote his first number 2. And now I have space to do so! One of my biggest problems with most planners is the small boxes they give you in which to write. I have lots to say apparently because I need more room than a 2 inch square! If you like what you see, then please subscribe to the blog to receive a link to your free download. I’ll be spending the rest of the week letting you see more glimpses of my homeschool journal planner so come back for more teasers!

Goal Page

Subject Planning Pages

Content Subject Planning Pages

Don’t forget to click on the image below and see what my fellow iHomeschool Network blogger friends are sharing over the next five days as well:

hopscotchjan2015

Planning just got a lot wordier in the tree house,

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2 comments:

  1. Hey! If I'm already subscribed to your blog, can I still get link to free download for planner? Or is it just for newbies?

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    Replies
    1. Absolutely, Mandy! There will be a link in the blog email coming out later today that way all of my current subscribers get rewarded too!

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