Sanity Saving Solution:the student planner

I just started my 19th year of homeschooling (with, dare I say, “only” 13 more to go). Take it from me when I say I am always on the lookout for ideas to make my life easier. I call them “sanity saving solutions.” Helping my kids to become more independent definitely falls into that category. In this post I have a super simple tool to share that will help with that goal. My homeschool sanity saving solution: the student planner.

Why would a student planner be a sanity saving solution?

As I mentioned, helping your kids become more independent is definitely a sanity saver. You won’t be pulled in so many different ways at the same time. If your kids finish one assignment, they’ll know what to do next. I mean, who wants to hear, “Mom! I’m done! What do I do next?” Not this mom!

Is the student planner for the student, or for the parent?

The answer is both. As I’ve looked online for student planners, I’ve noticed that they tend to be for one or the other. Some student planners are designed for kids who attend school. They use the planners to write down the assignments their teachers give them. This helps them keep track of homework.

Other planners are “student planners” in that moms use them to schedule out the work their kids will be completing. These planners tend to be more for the moms and the kids may not even see them.

The super simple planner I use is both for me to keep track of what my kids will do, and for my kids to know what assignments they have. In addition, the way I use it, it serves as a record of what the kids have done for the year.

The student planner is just one page, how would I use it?

Since I made the planner fillable, you can fill one out each week for each of your kids. You can put the sheet in a binder, or folder, or post it on a bulletin board.

The way that I use the planner is I type in the subjects for the year, print out two copies of the planner page, and head to Office Depot. Once there (making sure I use my HSLDA discount), I make enough back-to-back copies to last the year. I bring my copies home and comb bind them for each of my kids with my comb binding machine.

I made this video showing how to fill the planner in, as well as how I use it. (Disclaimer: I am not a professional You Tuber and I don’t have a “real” channel. It’s just a place I’ll store any videos for the blog. I slightly cringe at the sound of my own voice, but if it helps, I’ll include a video from time to time.)

What information do you fill into the planner?

For each kid, I put the assignment for each subject for each day that he/she needs to complete. There are some subjects the kids always have to do with me, others they can do independently. If I need to explain something to them for a subject they usually complete independently, I’ll put an asterisk by the assignment. They then know they need to see me before working on it.

Can I include anything else in the planner?

Sure! A yearly calendar would be helpful. Calendarpedia is a great resource for free printable calendars. They have a huge variety of calendars from which to choose. I use their calendars for planning our homeschool year.

You can even add some blank paper for doodling or notes. I will say that one year I got fancy and added an activity page for the beginning of the month. The kids never used them. I also had designed a cover for each kid, but they always kept the planner open, making the cover unnecessary.

It might be fun to add these “All About Me” pages I made to the beginning of the planner. The kids can see if their answers change by the end of the year. These, along with the planner pages, are all available in the free resource library.

For our use, we keep the planner super simple. At this point I just use the assignment pages and they work perfectly for me. The simpler the better for me! If you read my “Make a super simple lesson planner” post, you know that already.

How about you? How do you keep your kids’ assignments organized? I’d love to hear your ideas!

UPDATE: I made a new planner sheet for this year. It can also be found in the resource library.