Monday, September 28, 2015

Organize Your Homeschool With The Well Planned Day ~ Review

Lesson plans are a huge part of my life, and the reason I am Coupons and Lesson Plans! I am sort of a planning freak! Still I have been trying to juggle keeping our lessons organized and my home running smoothly. Really it comes down to the simple fact that life in a homeschooling family isn't just lessons; we have field trips, groups/ meetings, lessons outside the home, sports, and much more going on too. The standard lesson plan format, that educators use in private or public school settings, just doesn't work for us. Looking for a better way to organize our homeschool and our family life was my goal this year, and this Back To School season, I have found the planner that will do just that! 

*I received product in order to facilitate this review and giveaway. All opinions are my own see. disclosure.

The Well Planned Day designed by the Well Planned Gal and published by HEDUA is just what we needed to keep my sanity, and organize our home too. This family homeschool planner is so much more than just a spot to jot down lesson plans; it's a planner to organize your home too with all the included home management forms. The Well Planned Day is set up to be able to record information, lessons, and much more for up to 4 students. That is plenty for our family of two school aged children, but if you have more little blessings in your family, you will need to adjust the format to fit your family's size. 

The Well Planned Day is organized by the month, but before you get to those there are quite a few great features in the front of the planner. Since there is so many different places to record information and schedules, I am just going to break The Well Planned Day homeschool planner down section by section. 

To start you off on the right foot this year's 2015-2016 planner begins with an article titled 10 Tips for Success written by Well Planned Gal, Rebecca Keliher which gives encouragement, and ideas on how to plan for daily success. Her article is followed by sections for notes, an example lesson plan, a family memories page, household finances & budget section, cleaning & projects page, and a contacts spot for important numbers and websites. I love that there is also a My Responsibilities page for daily chores with a My Education page to list daily subjects on the reverse side. This has perforated edges with cards for up to 4 children. I plan to laminate soon these so we can use them weekly through out the rest of the year. 



The next section has sheets to record your daily schedule. Then has a teacher schedule, which is recommended that you make a copy of because what works on week one may not be the best plan for the entire year. Next are pages for each student where you can jot down a class plan and their individual schedule. Finally you come to the year at a glance and a place to lay out your semester goals. 

Each month is organized with a calendar that also features a one year Bible reading plan. Then there is an article from the Home Educating Family Magazine for encouragement each month, and 6 tear out shopping lists. By the way, I am loving this feature right here! For me the best way to use the shopping lists has been to go ahead and tear one out, and put in on the refrigerator. When ever I need to add an item, I just run over and add it to the list. Then I just grab it before I head out the door on shopping day. Keeping it there instead of in the planner allows my husband to add items too. The next page after the shopping lists gives you a space to record Books To Enjoy for each student that month, a place to list field trips or activities, a small monthly budget section, and notes. 


Now you come to the lesson planning section for your students. Each week is laid out in a horizontal Monday-Friday format on two pages. Five subjects are already listed with space for at least one more. Each week has a quote, a Bible verse, a spot to list priorities, you dinner menu ( perfect!!!) an organizational tip, and then weekend activities for Saturday and Sunday. This pattern continues through November. In between November and December they have included 6 Holiday Planning sheets with places to keep track of your Christmas card list, events, gifts, shopping around town and online. 

I was pleasantly surprised and love that at the end of December you come to Semester One organizational pages. These are meant to be used through out the entire first semester, and since it is in the middle without a direct way to mark the section, I have stuck a page marker there to make it easier to turn directly to that location daily. There is a spot to record accomplishments, attendance, and your children's weekly grades/ progress. Then a spot for the new semester goals beginning in January, and the monthly pages begin again through June for the second semester just like the first. The second semester record pages start after June same as the first semester. 

The end of The Well Planned Day 2015-2016 includes the months of July and August without the lesson plans section, a 2016-2017 year at a glance, a spot for future plans, 5 pages for notes, and even a sturdy tear out report card for each student.

I have been using this planner for a couple weeks, and it took me a little bit to start using each section completely. While Indiana doesn't require much when it comes to record keeping, they do require attendance to be recorded, and I love that this is in the end of semester section. I also find my self rereading the quotes, and we have started following the organizational tips each week too. For instance this week's tip is to store "oft-forgotten items in your vehicle" like reusable bags for the store and sports equipment. I decided if I try one tip a week like they are laid out in The Well Planned Day, my home and life in general just might stay pulled together during the school year. That may be a dream, but at least I am on the right track thanks to the tips and all the "just what I needed" home management forms that are included!  The Well Planned Day is helping me keep our homeschool lessons planned in a simple format, and now my home is staying better organized too. If you are looking for a more well rounded homeschooling planner, I highly recommend The Well Planned Day by the Well Planned Gal. 

Make sure to connect with HEDUA on Social Media
As part of my 2015 Back To School Guide, HEDUA has graciously given a 2015-2016 The Well Planned Day for one lucky reader! 


Make sure to enter the giveaway that begins on October 5th!
Ends October 19, 2015

5 comments:

  1. This would be nice to give to my daughter. It would help her with her 2 children in keeping everything organized with lessons, grades, their sports, and appointments.

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  2. This would be wonderful for my home schooling kids, thanks for the chance to win! :)

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  3. Ashley Chassereau ParksOctober 6, 2015 at 10:24 PM

    I love that you can record up to 4 students' info in it!! I only have 1 homeschooler at this point, but she has so many activities and events that its hard to keep it organized in different places. Plus, it won't be too long before little sister is big enough to "do school" too!

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  4. My son has the 4 year high school planner which we love for keeping all of his records in one place. This family planner seems to do the same thing for the adults. I love having one place for everything going on in my life. My one wish for these planner is they would do one that had a January start date for those who don't have a traditional school year.

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  5. Such a wonderful planner love it to keep all my kids Dr appointments and my work scheduled in it.

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