Homeschool Planner:
How To Organize Your Schedule

Looking for the best homeschool planner to help organize your days and cover all the areas you need think about? Here's a complete planner with everything you might need, tips so you can make your own homeschool planner template plus a link to a great free planner to get you started.

complete homeschool planner

Complete Homeschool Planner

Getting your homeschool days organized so you know what you're doing and where you're headed is a massive relief.

This planner has it all:

  • Grade tracker
  • Curriculum recording
  • Mission statement
  • Covers all seven days of the week (we all know homeschool is more than Monday-Friday)
  • Space for up to 4 children
  • Supplies and budgeting forms

Please note that the book links on this page are affiliate links so if you buy I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Complete Planner

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N.B. Specially designed to be inclusive of all styles of homeschooling.

Organizing Your Planner

choices sign post

So what are your choices when it comes to organizing your homeschooling planner?

Guess what, there are as many ways to make home school planners as homeschool families!

  • It's really useful to see how different people do it!  The second Courageous Homeschooling Handbook has lots of real-life examples from families about the different methods and schedules they follow.
Courageous Homeschooling Handbook How to Homeschool

The Handbook has chapters on:

  • How much structure do I need?
  • How do I make a timetable?
  • How many days a week should I homeschool?
  • How does interest-led homeschooling work?

2,000 homeschoolers come together to share how they organize their different schedules and show you what their day looks like so you can choose what might work best for your child.

Please note that the book links on this page are affiliate links so if you buy I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Part 2

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Part 2

Kindle

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amazon review just stars

"This is a must read for any home educator, or anyone considering it.
Covers the nitty gritty of home educating, tips on choosing curriculum, planning, workspace and keeping motivated as a learner and a provider.  Puts your worries to bed." ~ Amazon 5-star review

Making A Homeschool Planner

How to make a schedule

These are some of the choices you might consider:

One

You may choose to base your planner based around a traditional classroom schedule.  One family I know has a designated 'school room' with a timetable pinned to the wall.

If that suits you and your child, fine. But it's great to get reassurance like this from The Courageous Homeschooling Handbook:

"You don't need loads of time as one-to-one is far more productive than hours with 29 other children waiting for this and that. We tick off what we've done but we do roll some activities over to Saurday morning depending on how we feel."

~ Sheila, The Courageous Homeschooling Handbook

Two

You could schedule the morning for academic lessons like Math, Science and English.  Spend the afternoons on projects and activities.

"We spend 4 days and no more than 2 hours (in 30 minute blocks) scattered around for plenty of play and life learning."

~ Jessica, The Courageous Homeschooling Handbook

Three

Work in the mornings for a couple of hours and have the afternoons completely free.

This schedule would probably include having one or two days a week out on educational visits to museums, castles etc. as well as a weekly visit to a home education group.

There are lots of variations within this theme.

  • What about having a Fun Friday and taking one day off each week?
  • If you have a teenager, you might do like a friend of mine and start your day around lunch-time to suit sleep patterns which show that adolescents often work better in the evening.

TIPS for making Homeschool Planners

When it comes to filling in your own homeschool planner, the most important part is that it has to be really easy to use.

  • Don't be afraid to experiment.

"We changed our entire format three times in the first six months,"

~ The Courageous Homeschooling Handbook

  • It's a brilliant idea to add things to your planner which give you a boost and  personalize it.

A great way to do this is to add affirmations and inspirational quotes so you get a lift every time you open your planner.

There is a free list of printable affirmations here.

  • If there are too many battles - don't give up homeschooling - it's likely it's your homeschool planner schedule that's to blame.
  • What do the children enjoy doing? That is a great basis for designing a planner that works.
  • Deciding on your homeschooling goals can help when you come to make homeschool planners.
  • Where are you hoping to get to? What are you trying to achieve by the end of the year?
  • Take some time to work out your own teaching style before you get fixed on making planners or a schedule.
  • Is your mind-set oriented around a school approach to teaching? Would that work for your children? There are many ways for children to learn, and, as I explore the reasons why homeschooling can be bad, I believe homeschooling has infinitely more to offer than a classroom approach to teaching ever can.

Free Homeschool Planner

free homeschool planner

You can get a great free homeschool planner on this page.

N.B.It's not as complete or comprehensive as the planner you can get at the top of the page.

If you'd like some more tips on home school scheduling you can find some here.

I'll be answering questions like: How do you fit everything in? I'll also be showing you our our home school day so you can see what we get up to!

My highly recommended book Homeschool Secrets of Success will teach you the biggest secret to making a planner that works.

You will learn how to get your children enthused about learning and learn the key to motivating your children.

Homeschool Secrets of Success

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Kindle

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Please note that the book link on this page is an affiliate links so if you buy I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Good luck making a homeschool planner that works for both you and your family!

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