by Annie Lam

Calendar and Attendance-Am I doing enough?

Undated calendars allow you to begin at any time of the year and track the days that you are intentionally homeschooling, life schooling, or unschooling, for that matter. Mark down any days you are intentional with your child(ren)’s learning, even if it is a day of reading aloud or going on a field trip!

Year at a Glance and Field Trip Ideas-What adventures will we go on? 

One of the perks of homeschooling is getting to take lots of field trips during the off- seasons or times outside of peak hours. So, use this template to plan away! You can write the months in the tabs and the field trip ideas below, or write the unit of studies in the tabs and the field trip ideas that correlate with it.

For example: February (based on months)-Children’s Science Museum, library, botanical gardens OR Honeybee Study (based on unit studies)-Honey Factory, Beeswax Gift Shop, Library, Beekeeping Class at Texas Honey Bee Farm

Curriculum Overview-What learning materials are best suited for my homeschooling style and individual learners? 

Reading, writing, and mathematics are the foundations of learning how to learn and navigating the world. But what about speaking a foreign language? Playing an instrument? Learning a trade skill? Building strong character and faith? Decide what areas of study is important for your family and jot down the learning materials that you may need that correlates with the unit of study. It does not always have to be a specific curriculum!

Book List

We homeschoolers are obsessed with books! Sometimes, it’s easy to forget the title of a good book that you’ve read or a book you would like to read. Use the Book Lists and customize it to your liking.

For example, make your own Book Wish List, Read-Aloud list, Unit Study list, Book Club list, your child(ren)’s favorites, and more.

Supply List-What is my budget? What are ways to be resourceful? 

Sometimes it’s easy to get overwhelmed or overzealous by the amount of amazing resources out there! Use this list to help you be intentional with your supplies and stay within your budget.

Learner Profiles-How well do I know my learners? What are the academic, social, emotional , physical, and/or spiritual goals for each individual? 

The beauty of homeschooling is that it allows you to create a unique, individualized learning experience for your child. Before diving in, reflect on ways your child learns best and what his/her interests are. This will help guide the learning and make the experiences meaningful and engaging.

My Why- What is my why? What is my role in my child(ren)’s education? 

While you may have to think about these questions for awhile, do them FIRST. Do it before you select your curriculum materials or decide what kind of homeschooler you are. The clearer your vision is, the more likely you’d be able to turn it into reality. It’s those foundational values that are so important to you that will drive your daily actions. Don’t worry about making it perfect- those visions will change as you and your family grow and evolve.

Monthly Overview and Undated Calendar- What is my family’s rhythm on a day-to-day basis? What areas of my life need attention? How will my daily habits shape the person I want to be?

FOCUS-Identify what your priority for the month, whether it’d be personal, financial, spiritual, family-oriented, homeschool related, or anything else. It can be in the form of an inspirational quote or simply bullet points.

HABIT TRACKER-Decide the habits you and your family want to focus on this month. It is best that the habits correlate with your monthly focus. Write the habits in the columns (may have to turn the page sideways) and track all of your efforts throughout the month!

ROUTINE-Your schedule or daily rhythm may vary from month to month. Sometimes you may need to have a strict schedule for the busy seasons. Other times, your family may find more joy in slowing down or being spontaneous. For less structure, jot down your family’s general routine without the time element, or you can create a block schedule. If this section is not needed, use the space to jot down notes or brainstorm ideas.

Progress Tracker-How do I assess the progress of my learners? How do I document their progress?

Documentation provides important data to show how everyone is doing. Write the name of each learner on the left of the boxes. Depending on your philosophy on assessments, this tracker can be used to record graded assignments, rate the level of understanding for a specific learning objective on a scale (ex: 1=not yet, 2=needs guidance, 3=proficient), or be used as a checklist once individual goals (including non-academic ones) are met in the course of the week.

Weekly Overview 

The Weekly Overview allows you to set your intentions for the week, including goals, tasks checklist, and meal plan. At the end of the week, there is an area for a brief reflection to celebrate your successes, appreciate the good in your life, and identify areas that need improvement.

Weekly Template

When I was creating this planner, it was important for me to have all days of the week. After all, homeschool is also my home life and life doesn’t stop just because it’s the weekend! In fact, we’re often busier on weekends. The template is meant to make it easy for you (and me) to visualize it as a checklist (although life is not about checklists). There are endless ways you can organize the side tabs, and the best thing is, you can change it throughout the year depending on what season you are in with your family life and homeschooling.

Here are some examples of side tabs: different subjects, your child(ren)’s name(s), blocks of times throughout the day, tasks, appointments, work-outs, gratitude, group learning, travel itinerary, and more.

Extra Dot Grids (2 for each month) and Grid Pages

At the end of each month, there are two blank pages of dot grids . Customize this to your liking-use it as a doodle page, scrapbook page, journal entry, favorite moments, inspirational quotes, reflection, brainstorm list, etc. At the end of the book, there are nine extra grid pages as well.

My hope is that this homeschool planner helps document all of the wonder-filled moments in your life and helps organize all of the different hats you wear! Happy Planning! ❤️