Review: A Plan in Place Teacher Planner

Diclosure: A Plan a Place offered me a free planner for posting an honest review of their planner.  All opinions are mine.

As a person who thrives on planning and organizing, I have a natural attraction to planners.  The lists, the boxes, the calendars – all waiting to be filled – draw me in to the pages begging to be filled with well-thought-out plans.  However, I find that after the newness wears off, most of my planners fall by the wayside.  Perhaps because they require time.  Perhaps because I think I can remember everything.  Perhaps because using a planner isn’t a habit.  Whatever the reason, despite my attraction to them, planners never worked for me until I discovered planners from A Plan in Place.  I first read about them online and became intrigued.  After perusing their custom options on their website, I decided to give their planner a try.  That was 3 planners ago.

If you are new to A Plan in Place, it is a company started by 2 homeschool moms that specializes in creating custom planners.  I ordered my first customized planner 2 years ago for the 2018-2019 school year.  It was a delight designing a planner just for my homeschool needs.  In this post, I’m going to review my Teacher Planner from A Plan a Place.  I’m going to explain what my planner looks like, how I use my planner, and why I order year after year.

What My Planner Looks Like

The planner I use from A Plan in Place is their Teacher Edition.  It is a slim, spiral bound book that is a mainstay in our homeschool classroom.  The planner comes with 3 sections and an optional 4th block calendar section.  Two of the sections are standard – “Goals & Planning” and “Record Keeping & Notes.”  The third section is the “Weekly Schedule,” which is the heart of the planner and the customizable part. 

The “Goals & Planning” pages are in the front and provide space to plan for the upcoming year with a mission statement, brainstorming boards (pictured below and one of my favorite pages), curriculum lists, long and short-range planning, and more! ​

The “Record Keeping & Notes” is in the back of the planner.  It has pages for important dates, spending records, resource lists, and lined note-taking pages (super handy for homeschool conferences to jot down notes!).

The middle section is the “weekly schedule,” and here’s where you can customize.  You can choose a one or two page spread for your weekly schedule.  I started with one-page my first year and have been ordering the two-page since for more room for my growing number of homeschool children.  You can see all their options for a weekly schedule here and see mine below.  (You will not see my option on the website as they fulfilled a special request from me when designing mine.  That's how stellar their customer service is!)

How I Use My Planner
My planner gets daily use during the school year.  In addition to being close at hand while I'm teaching, it accompanies me to all homeschool conferences, the library, and vacations.  It is the hub of my homeschooling planning.  When I sit down to plan for the upcoming week, I lay out my planner and all my teacher’s manuals.  As I look at each subject, I jot notes for each day in my planner what we will do for that subject.  Many manuals have detailed plans and maybe even a weekly grid like the planner, but the planner brings everything in one place.  Sometimes, it may just be writing down the lesson number or page for the day.  In addition to writing down plans for each subject, I have boxes for each child everyday.  I write down lesson numbers and any special instructions or plans I have for them for that day.  As I’m looking at the upcoming week, the “notes” box on my weekly schedule gives me a place to record any supplies I’ll need or things I need to remember.  I keep track of library books I need to check out or reserve in the back section of the planner.
 
On a typical school day, I begin with my planner in hand flipped open to the weekly schedule.  At a glance, I can see what the day will hold.  Each time we transition to a new subject, all I have to do is check the planner to see what we are doing that day.  My children each have independent work and I use my block for them as a checklist to make sure they completed their work.  (I'm thinking that perhaps some Student planners from A Plan in Place might be in our future, too!)
 
Why I Order Year after Year
I’m on my third planner from A Plan in Place, and I plan (hehe) to keep ordering a yearly planner because I use it and it aids without creating extra work.  It brings together all my yearly, weekly, and daily planning.  Because it can be customized to fit your weekly schedule, it becomes a useful tool rather than predetermined general format.  As an added bonus, the company offers exceptional customer support and tips as you create the planner for your needs.  They also offer some handy add-ons like pocket (or 2) in the back and a pen-loop.

If you are looking for a planner to fit your needs, check out A Plan in Place today!