Have you been searching homeschool planners to find just the right one for the coming year? I have! It’s super important for me this year more than ever to be diligent about keeping my homeschool records up to date. Why? We moved to Missouri.
Missouri laws are quite different from the laws in Ohio. I’d almost say they are completely opposite from the laws in Ohio.
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In Ohio, basically, you have to notify the local superintendent of schools of your intent to homeschool, include a list of planned curriculum and an academic assessment from the previous year. A homeschooler asserts that specific subjects will be taught unless those subject violate a strictly held religious belief, and that they will provide a minimum of 900 educational hours. Homeschoolers are not required to keep records of any kind. Of course, it is a good idea to maintain copies of all documents sent to and received from the school district.
For even more detailed explanation of the Ohio homeschooling laws, get a copy of my book, Ohio Homeschooling Guide and Directory, now available in both print and Kindle editions.
In Missouri, a homeschooler is not required to make any formal notification. However, a homeschooler is required to keep detailed records regarding lesson plans, hours spent schooling (a minimum of 1000 hours, 600 of which are for specifically required subjects, and 400 hours of those 600 must be located within the student’s normal homeschooling location), copies of tests and/or assessments showing the child’s work.
Additionally, Young Man is heading into the high school years and has already accomplished some high school credits that I am transcripting.
So I’ve been searching for homeschool planners to see if I can find one that is easy to use, helps me to track all of the specific requirements and perhaps even provide an option for transcripts.
Whatever state you live in, and no matter what level of homeschooling you are engaging in having a working planner is a good way to stay organized all year long.
I’ve finally made my decision as to which planner I will be using, but I wanted to offer you a peek into some awesome planners that you can consider for your 2016-2017 academic year. I’ll let you know what I’ll be using in an upcoming post.
Online Homeschool Planners
- AppleCore Systems – Offers 3 pricing options, Free, Silver and Gold each offering different options to meet your needs. With my code GPA you can get 20% off any order. Just apply the code at checkout. You can click here to see my review of Applecore Systems.
- Homeschool Planet – Free 30-Day Trial at Homeschool Buyer’s Co-op.
Be sure to read my review of Homeschool Planet for more information about what this dynamic app has to offer.
- Homeschool Tracker – The online tracker offers 3 levels of pricing. Choose the one that’s right for you. Plans start at just $5 but if you look at the footer of the website you can give it a try by downloading the basic app for free.
Printed & Bound Homeschool Planners
- A Simple Plan available at Mardel
- A Plan in Place: Offers both student planners and homeschool teacher planners.
- The Ultimate Homeschool Planner by Debra Bell at Apologia.com, a good all around planner, I’ve used this planner for several years. They offer both teacher and student planners.
Free Printable Homeschool Planners
- Planner Printables from Cornerstone Confessions
- Elementary Charlotte Mason Weekly Planner – Our Journey Westward
- Free 7 Step Homeschool Planner from Tina’s Dynamic Homeschool Plus
- Strawberry Friends Student Planner Pages from Look We’re Learning
Deciding which planner is the right planner for you can seem like an insurmountable task. I think it’s important to consider how you organize other areas of your life. Are you a mama who uses Google Calendar, a Cozi app, or Remember the Milk app? Then you probably would do better with an online digitial planner.
If however, you are the kind of mama who prefers putting pencil or pen to paper and having your schedule right in front of you, then you are more likely going to be better off with a printed planner that’s right at your fingertips whenever you need to check out the daily lesson plan.
Whichever method you choose, know that it is A. O.K. to give one a go for a while and if it doesn’t work, to nix it for something more compatible. Personally, I like a combination of both online digital record keeping coupled with a day to day printed (and bound) planner.
There are several more homeschool planners on the market, I’ve shared ones I’ve used and have been impressed with.
Let me know what works best for you.
Don’t Miss These Posts for Homeschool Moms:
Homeschool Solutions for Worried Moms
31 Music Unit Studies and More Resources to Teach in Homeschool
10 Online Coding Resources for Kids to Learn Computer Code
Acknowledgement:
This post is part of iHN Top Ten Tuesday
