Homeschool Planning with the BEST Homeschool Digital Planner
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I am pretty techie, but I've got a confession to make…
It took me a while to give up my paper planner.
I used a variety of paper planners over the years for my homeschool lesson plans. And resisted a homeschool digital planner.
But, as my kids go older and began a) gaining more independence in our homeschooling, and b) utilizing more online classes and resources, I needed a homeschool lesson planner that could handle our evolving homeschool and help me (and my kids!) better stay on top of lesson plans, schedule changes and to-do lists.
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Now, a year and a half into using Homeschool Planet online planner for our weekly lesson plans, I can't imagine going back.
The Need for Organization in Homeschooling
Homeschooling comes with such a unique set of challenges for every homeschool parent — curriculum planning and keeping track of lesson plans, coordinating field trips, homeschool co-op schedules, and managing extracurricular activities.
And let's not forget meal planning, your daily to-do list, and keeping important homeschool records.
Homeschool Planet digital homeschool planner addresses these challenges head-on.
All of these different tasks can be really hard to keep track of if you are using multiple tools, planners, or apps to do so. And I don't know about you, but our homeschool schedule changes and needs rearranging so much that a paper planner just won't cut it anymore.
Depending on your state laws and regulations it might be even more important that you keep track of things like attendance, homeschool hours, and monthly calendars. And you need something that will take some stress OFF your plate, and make your homeschool day run as smooth as possible.
How Homeschool Planet Helps
This homeschool digital planner is my secret weapon for keeping our lesson plans so organized, and for keeping our homeschool running smoothly each day.
At the end of every week, I'll log in and update our weekly plans for next week. I'll reschedule anything that needs rescheduling, add in assignment details, and use it as a guideline as I check completed assignments.
Let's face it: when you go INTO a new week with a solid plan, it can provide SUCH a peace of mind and help you stay much more focused!
Here are the reasons I love Homeschool Planet (and I'm sure you will too).
Flexibility and Customization
One of the standout features of Homeschool Planet is its flexibility. Unlike traditional paper planners, Homeschool Planet allows for easy customization of our school year, schedules, subjects, and resources. With a few clicks, I can tailor our homeschool lessons and schedule to fit each child's unique needs and learning pace.
At the beginning of the year, I easily set our school dates. I set our first and last day of the school year, which days of the week we want to have school, and then add or remove days from the calendar from there.
You can see a video of how I plan out my year with Homeschool Planet here.
I really like being able to denote important dates we will need time off (holidays, vacation dates I already know), and it will show me immediately how many days of school I have planned.
The flexibility of this planner in regards to being able to rearrange our schedule saves me so much time and energy.
Another great feature is Homeschool Planet's customization options. I love being able to color code everything! Each of my kids is labeled with a different color, and each class or task has its own color, too. This allows for easy navigation and organization.
With your Homeschool Planet subscription, you are able to add any number of students (which is so helpful for large families!). My kids love the different ways they can customize their weekly planner dashboard by changing backgrounds and adding widgets.
Accessibility and Convenience
Another reason I love Homeschool Planet is its accessibility. Whether I'm planning lessons on my laptop, checking assignments or updating our schedule on my mobile device, Homeschool Planet syncs seamlessly across all my devices. This means I can stay organized no matter where I am.
They do not have an app, and I will say that it is much easier to use on a desktop computer, but I do use the checklists on my phone to easily check in and see what my kids have completed during the day. My techie-tip is to save the webpage as an icon to your phone screen (so it *looks* and acts like an app) for easy access.
Time-saving Features
As a busy homeschool mom juggling homeschooling, working from home, and various extracurricular activities, time is of the essence. Homeschool Planet's time-saving features have been a game-changer for me and frees up valuable time.
One of the big time-savers and ways this online planner helps me streamline lesson planning is with their Lesson Plan Marketplace. They offer so many different options for curriculum plans you can purchase (for a reasonably low price), and it will automatically fill the lesson plans into your planner with a few clicks of a button. This means I don't have to fill in plans for our entire year!
I also love all of the widgets you can add to your dashboard. Some of the widgets are simply nice to have (like the weather and Bible verse of the day widget), and others are invaluable because they help you keep track of important lists all within your homeschool planner. I especially like the reading list option (you and your kids can keep track of all the books you read each year!), shopping lists or grocery list widget, and to-do list.
I actually like using the to-do list for my weekly meal plans, but you can truly use these in many ways to help you organize your homeschool and your home.
Collaborative Features for Homeschooling Families
A big issue many homeschool moms face is, once they have their homeschool calendar planned out, they still need an easy way to communicate the plans and expectations to their kids.
Since every child can have their own log-in with Homeschool Planet, this is a breeze.
Using this digital planner also helps facilitate more independent work in your homeschool as your students are able to move through their lists each day with all of their resources at their fingertips. The first thing my kids do to start their day is to log into Homeschool Planet and simply begin working down their checklist.
If they are working on an assignment that includes any online resources, I can link directly to it from their planner.
Another feature is the ability to sync Homeschool Planet with other calendars like Google Calendar, Apple iCal, or other internet calendars. For example, we can share our homeschool schedule with my husband, or, I can share my personal Google calendar with Homeschool Planet and see my personal and school schedules all in one place.
Tracking Progress and Assessments
Keeping track of grades, attendance, and homeschool hours is crucial for assessing homeschool progress and satisfying some state requirements. Homeschool Planet makes this easy, too, with its built-in tracking and reporting features.
Parents can easily generate custom report cards and transcripts, and specify how they want each course grade to be calculated. Since my kids are still young, we don't use the grading features quite yet, but it's so comforting to know that I won't have to search around for something new to help me do this when we get to this stage!
Cost-effectiveness and Value
While some digital planners come with hefty price tags, Homeschool Planet offers excellent value for your money.
You can start with a 30-day free trial (no credit card required!), and you also get a FREE lesson plan from their marketplace with your trial! After that, you can choose from a monthly subscription, or a yearly plan (which is the best value).
FREE Homeschool ID Cards
Finally, I've also got to share one more feature you might want to take advantage of.
Have you ever been somewhere that might offer a discount (a bookstore, museum, theme park, etc.) but you need a teacher or student ID card?
Good news! You can create, print, or order one from Homeschool Planet…even if you're not a member.
Go ahead and print out a homeschool ID for each of your kids (and one for yourself!) today.
Your New Favorite Online Homeschool Planner
Making the switch to Homeschool Planet Digital Planner has been such a big help for our homeschool. It has simplified homeschool planning and given me peace of mind knowing that everything is organized and in one place.
If you're a homeschooling mom or dad looking for an easy way to manage your homeschool year, I highly recommend giving Homeschool Planet a try. It might just be the last planner you ever need to purchase for your homeschool!
Why wait? Sign up for your free trial of Homeschool Planet today and take the first step towards a more organized and stress-free homeschooling experience!
Related Posts
- Best Homeschool Planner Apps for Your Most Organized Year
- Homeschool Planet: Is This the Online Homeschool Planner for You?
- A Customizable Homeschool Student Planner for Independent Learners
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