I received a free subscription to Homeschool Planet and was compensated for my time. However, I was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are honest and my own and I assure you that I only recommend products and services that we use and/or believe would be valuable to you. Please see my disclosure policy as this post contains affiliate links.
Do you find your homeschool days to be as organized as you’d like? Or at times do you feel a bit scattered and unsure of what’s next?
It would be great if we could all tell each other how well our days went because we were completely organized and on the ball. And maybe you are. Or maybe you are kind of like me and have some organization in place but not as much as you’d like. Maybe, like me, you know that even though our days will never be perfect (because we are teaching and guiding little human beings after all) there is most likely a way to be more organized and the days to run more smoothly than they are right now.
My method for planning and staying organized has been using a pen and notebook and the occasional spreadsheet for these past several years of homeschooling. I’ve made it through okay with with this method but I wouldn’t say it’s kept me as organized as I’d like with now three kiddos homeschooling.
I do love the physical act of putting pen to paper because there’s something therapeutic about the physical act of writing. Yet, when I need to find something I’ve written down, I often spend too much time trying to find it as I look in various places. “Which notebook/planner did I write that down in?!” Sticky tabs help but not always as well as I need them to.
I Was Hesitant at First
When I learned about the online homeschool planner, Homeschool Planet, I wasn’t sure if it would be a good fit for me. Since I am a blogger, I already feel like I spend too much time looking at a screen. Plus, I love sitting with my pen and paper in hand sipping on a cup of coffee and planning out my homeschool and my life. It brings me great joy, comfort, and a sense of accomplishment. Would I get that from this online planner?
But Realized I Needed to Get Organized
Yet, I knew I needed to try something because I didn’t feel very organized and it was quite cumbersome looking in so many different places to keep track of my schedule and life. I had my general notebook, my homeschool/blogger notebook, my homeschool/blogger planner, my blogger binder, my paper calendar, my Google calendar and Kellan’s workbox notebook. SEVEN different ways to keep track of things. Yikes! Clearly, no ONE paper planner was perfectly fitting my needs.
I decided to give Homeschool Planet a try, went to Homeschool Buyers Co-op and signed up. I watched a couple short tutorial videos and began setting up my account.
And the result? It was very user-friendly and simple to figure out. I spent much less time than I thought I would setting everything up. Here’s a quick view of the plan for our current week.
What makes Homeschool Planet an exceptional planner?
- Easy to Use – I’m guessing this is important to you as it was to me. As moms who have a very busy schedule we don’t have time to learn a complicated homeschooling planner. Thankfully, Homeschool Planet is user-friendly and easy to use. I only experienced one situation where it took me more than two minutes to figure something out. Other than that everything has been very obvious and simple. Additionally, there are short videos you can watch that explain various features.
- Customizable – Each student has their own avatar, information and schedule. You can create and then view the schedule for each individual student, group of students or the whole family.
- Include All Your Activities – Extracurricular activities, co-ops, and other classes can be added to your calendar. Anything and everything in you and your family’s schedule can be added as you customize your calendar.
- Detailed or Brief – You can assign assignments or tasks to a certain time during the day or just generally assign it to a day without a specific time. You can include specific assignment information, resources and notes or just include the subject name. You can include as much or as little detail as you want.
- Schedule Changes are Easy to Make – This is an amazing benefit and something that absolutely cannot be replicated with a pen and paper planner! Lessons can easily be deleted or moved to a different day when your schedule changes. Just click and drag to a new day or click on the lesson and then “delete” – it’s so simple (no more erasing or drawing arrows)! And if you don’t complete a lesson on a certain day, you have the option to either keep all the following lessons intact or move everything forward.
- Tracking – Attendance, hours, and grades can easily be recorded.
- Printable – There is a print feature so your calendar and lists can be printed.
- Receive Your Schedule via Email -There is an option to receive daily and weekly emails of your schedule.
- Make Lists – You can create a “to do list” and a “shopping list” right in Homeschool Planet and these lists can be printed, emailed or texted to you or someone else.
- Share with Google Calendar – You can share your Homeschool Planner Calendar with your Google Calendar (it updates a few times a day so it isn’t immediate).
- Check the Box – Checking the complete box is so rewarding! You (or your student) can mark each item as complete when they are finished with their assignment.
Old Habits Die Hard
Since I’m still getting used to putting everything into Homeschool Planet, I still have a tendency to reach for the notebook when a thought comes to mind. Need some milk from the store? Write it down in the notebook….Wait! NO! Add it into Homeschool Planet!!
But Change Can Be Good
And when I actually put the information into Homeschool Planet, I know exactly where to find my list, rather than losing track of it!
Change can be good and this is one changed I needed and I’m glad I’ve made.
And the concern about spending more time in front of a screen? Since Homeschool Planet is so user-friendly and simple to use, after the initial time spent plugging information in, now I just spend a couple minutes here or there in the program. It really isn’t a big deal at all.
I’ll probably never completely give up all of my notebooks but even slimming down has made a big difference to me in terms of organization and time-management.
I sincerely love the completeness, flexibility and ease of use that Homeschool Planet offers. The more I use it, the more I realize how much I’d been missing out on an easily organized homeschool (and daily life) plan and schedule.
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