Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Teacher Tuesday - Planner Edition

After being in a few planning meetings this past month and finding out I'm going to be adding Honors Algebra 1 back to my teaching schedule next year (YAY!!!!) I decided to go ahead and pull the trigger on a school planner.  




I keep my lesson plans and grades all on our school's online system but my paper planner is what I use to schedule and what I refer back to multiple times a day.  It's where I keep my to-do-list, where I keep track of absences and where I jot down notes throughout the day. 

For about 3 years I used  this lesson planner that I originally found at Target.  Since I teach Middle School I didn't need a "15-minute block" planner... I needed something where I could keep track of multiple class periods/preps.

I essentially blocked off sections for my Math 7 and PreAlgebra classes and then had sections for my to-to-list and "kids" section.  I like being able to see the week at a glance and having room to add in notes and such as needed


I also like to have a monthly layout for when I'm planning.  And yes... I like to doodle in the margins.


This planner worked perfectly for me and I loved that it's simple and easy to use.  It came back and forth with me to and from school and wasn't any larger than a regular spiral notebook.

Last year, I received an Emily Ley teacher planner to review and while I really loved the paper quality, layout, etc. it was MUCH larger than my previous planner and I felt like the bulkiness was harder for me to manage. 


I set it up similarly to my other planner with the classes I was teaching going across the top left page and then a to-do-list on the right side.


This year I purchased  this teacher planner and I feel like it's the best of my original and the Emily Ley and it is SO CUTE!!!


The cover and tabs are thick and sturdy...


... and every monthly spread has a different color scheme.  SO CUTE!


There are also great quotes at the bottom of each monthly spread.


At the beginning of each month there's a cute quote and a focus/goals section.  I'll probably use this page to log phone calls and/or take notes during staff meetings.



At the end of every month there's a "month in review" and I'll probably use that for notes/to-dos, etc.


The weekly layout is similar to my previous two planners but "rotated" if that makes sense.  Instead of classes on the top and days down the side it will be days on the top and classes down the side.

Since I'll be teaching Math 7, Pre-Algebra, Honors Pre-Algebra and Honors Algebra I'll probably use the first four rows for those classes and then the last three will be for daily notes/to-do-list/etc.


Other sections of the planner are this section for student info (since all of our info is online I'll probably end up using this as an extra notes section)...


... and these which I feel like are more geared toward elementary teachers.




Overall I'm REALLY excited to try  this planner this year.  It feels a little more substantial (similar to an Erin Condren), I LOVE the look and for $30 I felt like it was a great price.



And since I'm sharing planners -  this is the one that I bought to use as our family calendar.  I like to keep the layout as simple as possible and this one fit the bill.  It's clean, has lots of room to write and is basically "frill-less".  I know lots of people love sections for goal writing, meal planning, budgeting, etc. but I just want space to write.   The best part is that it's $11.  ELEVEN DOLLARS.


Simple, simple, simple...


... and the perfect weekly view.


Last, but not least - I ordered  these stickers because they were SO CUTE and who doesn't love a sticker.


I hope that I haven't completely overwhelmed any of y'all talking about planners this early in the summer BUT if you're anything like me your wheels are already turning for next year and sometimes getting things down on paper helps :) 

HAPPY Tuesday, friends!!!

PS - this post contained affiliate links... thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!

12 comments :

  1. Thank you for sharing this! I'm also a middle school teacher and while I've always wanted a cute lesson planner, I've always wondered how to utilize one since my lesson plans are online along with my gradebook. This would be great to replace my desk calendar and I can tote it around to faculty meetings. Ordering it now!!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gosh, a planner makes me happy. But pretty much nothing makes me happier than crossing something off of my TO DO list. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love me a teacher planner! With so much still up in the air on how school is going to begin in the Fall, I haven't even thought of buying one yet. I guess I need to get on it. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for sharing with us! I'm down to my last few pages of my current eighteen month planner, so I went ahead and ordered that one from Amazon that is like the one I'm about to finish. I am not a teacher, but I homeschool my 17 year old twins who will graduate next year and I keep track of our busy lives, so I am always looking for another great planner. I'm like you and have tried them, from the very expensive to the inexpensive. My favorite so far that works well for us is the Blue Sky brand. Have a great day!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks for sharing! Can you also share what your online plans look like? I feel like having a paper planner - for me, personally - makes double the work because I do most of my planning on an electronic calendar I create in Google Docs. Then I can copy/paste/move things a lot easier. What makes you like the paper planner better? Just curious! I love all the fun colors and markers that come with a fun planner; it's just not super practical for me...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love planner talk no matter what time of year it is!;)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I could look at your planner all day. All. Day. xo

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love a paper planner. I just can't get with the calendar on my phone.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Love paper planners!! What will your school look like in the Fall? Continued online learning? In class with masks? Combo of both?

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oooh... thank you for sharing! I'm a 2nd grade teacher and I love planners that "go down" like this one with the days of the week at the top instead of to the left. They are hard to find! I also like the extra space before each month for notes instead of having separate notebook for meetings and such. Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I have that planner and I LOVE it! It's my second one. I loved the inspirational quote pages from my first one so much that I framed them and made a gallery wall. It's just such a happy planner :)

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have that planner and I LOVE it! It's my second one. I loved the inspirational quote pages from my first one so much that I framed them and made a gallery wall. It's just such a happy planner :)

    ReplyDelete

Blog design by Get Polished | Copyright 2016