Do any of you make your own daily planner?

[talk2ham.1]

I need a kick in the rear. I would like to develop my own daily planner since the ones on the market are for, you know, "normal" people. Somehow that doesn't include fanatical SAHM's who home school and need a weekday calendar for regular motherhood, a section to support a hobby and recipe ideas/fetish, teacher's planning sections for two or more separate grade levels, and a section for recording what actually happened on a given school day with each child instead of just what you planned to have happen on that day. Plus, our school year is certainly NOT from September to June since we are farmers and we need to block out different months of the year than normal for planting and harvesting.

 

I need inspiration as to how on earth to put something together that will suit my family's needs. Do any of you know of planners that you can download or review for ideas? I would like it to be half planner, half homeschooling portfolio when it's done.

[ereks mom]

There are all kinds of planners there.

[elegantlion]

I :heart: donnayoung.org. I've made homeschool planners from there for the last several years. Personal planners a few times.

[Beyondthe3rs]

I made my own using Microsoft Publisher. I used their premade monthly calendars and for the daily pages I put separate text boxes for each item I wanted. I added little graphics to pretty it up :) Then I used my pro click binder to put it together. The cover was laminated card stock with pics of our family on it.

 

This year I am using the Well Planned Day, but honestly, I miss my homemade one because it was perfectly suited to me!

[Dawn in OH]

I make my own in a spreadsheet program similar to Excel.

[mcconnellboys]

As others have said, Donna Young offers lots of free pages, such as these:

 

http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/daily.htm

 

I just buy the simplest planner I can find at my local parent/teacher store and utilize it. I don't see the one I'm using now offered at RRC this year, but they do also carry lots of styles.

[jenL]

Yes, dh made it for me. It includes each subject, and the looping of them so we can be sure to hit all subjects each week.

[mom2mags]

I made my own planner for 2011 by using the Organizing Life as MOM Planner templates available here. http://lifeasmom.com/organizing-life-as-mom-the-ebook

 

I LOVE it! It has calendar sections, my *ahem* cleaning schedule, meal planning sheets, addresses, goals, budgets etc. I loved that many of the planner sheets were customizable, so I could print out my own info. I've never made anything like this, so the ebook was very helpful. I added some other forms I found from Donna Young that I wanted to add, and other personal things like book lists, gift lists etc.

 

It was a bit of work upfront, but I LOVE that I finally have a planner that has everything that I need and want.

 

ETA: The ebook is $9.

[Tarreymere]

I never could find one I liked. I made my own with MS Word and it fits our family perfectly. I just three hole punched the forms I made and put it in my binder. I spent hours and hours looking around on the internet.....but nothing quite did it for me.

[5LittleMonkeys]

Did anyone mention donnayoung.org? :tongue_smilie:

[talk2ham.1]

I :heart: donnayoung.org. I've made homeschool planners from there for the last several years. Personal planners a few times.

 

As others have said, Donna Young offers lots of free pages, such as these:

 

http://donnayoung.org/forms/planners/daily.htm

 

I just buy the simplest planner I can find at my local parent/teacher store and utilize it. I don't see the one I'm using now offered at RRC this year, but they do also carry lots of styles.

 

Did anyone mention donnayoung.org? :tongue_smilie:

 

Hey, guys! I got this great idea that I should check donnayoung.org! Just came to me in an epiphany. :tongue_smilie: :lol:

 

Really, though, thank you SO MUCH for the links to this site! After a brief look, I think I might be visiting this site for more than just a planner! Awesome! You guys are the best!

 

I'll check out the other sites mentioned too. I'm the kind that likes to cherry pick for this and that till I convince myself that I have the most perfect design ever . . . which will likely change again and again before the end of the year . . . every year till my kids are in high school. Ahem.

[silliness7]

I so very much wanted to use and love the Well-Planned Day planner but the boxes were too small, there were too many pages to flip through to see what I wanted and there was only room for 4 children and I needed 5 this year. :glare:

 

I do customize and it changes based on our schedule and current set-up. When I find I need to change the planner I write my plan out long-hand on notebook paper, use it for a week to see if it's actually going to work, then I type something up on the computer and print it out for about 6-weeks at a time as I never know when I'm going to want to tweak something else. In this age of PC's and home printers it really seems to make the most sense to customize. And I'm not particularly savvy when it comes to spreadsheets and tables. But I'm more happy with what I come up with than if I try to cram information into someone else's pre-made boxes.

[abbeyej]

Yes, I make my own (school planners). It's not really that hard once you know what you want (and what you don't)...

 

Here's what a week from one of my kids' planners looks like:

 

It's just made in Word (largely using tables). Obviously your needs might be wildly different than mine, so yours would need to be whatever works for you. :)

[Mommee & Baba]

I :heart: donnayoung.org. I've made homeschool planners from there for the last several years. Personal planners a few times.

 

Ditto!

[KristyND]

Thank you for asking this.. I was just about to start searching for info, I need more of a planner than I have been using.

[kolamum]

I saw one here.. she made it so that it has planning pages, recipe pages, note pages, journal pages for what you actually did, and so on.. We use the journal section. It's cool. :D

 

Ps, she also posted lots of pictures of it

[stephanier.1765]

Yes, I make my own (school planners). It's not really that hard once you know what you want (and what you don't)...

 

Here's what a week from one of my kids' planners looks like:

 

It's just made in Word (largely using tables). Obviously your needs might be wildly different than mine, so yours would need to be whatever works for you. :)

 

I really liked what you did here. I'm always fudging around creating planning pages but what you dis covers all the bases in a simple to read clean format. I've saved this image so I can reference it the next time I need to make a planner. Truly a lovely job!

[Luckymama]

I took pages from donnayoung to create my own planner. Unlike most homeschoolers, I needed to plan schooling for only one child but most hs planners were set up for multiple children. I also need slots on the planner for my highschoolers' schedules/activities.

 

Dh has a binding machine at his office :D

[talk2ham.1]

Yes, I make my own (school planners). It's not really that hard once you know what you want (and what you don't)...

 

Here's what a week from one of my kids' planners looks like:

 

It's just made in Word (largely using tables). Obviously your needs might be wildly different than mine, so yours would need to be whatever works for you. :)

 

Wow! That's so simple and so practical! I might actually be able to keep up with something like this. Is that bottom open spot your weekly goal section for all of the subjects? That gives lots of room for flexibility. I already have ideas for how to use this in our schedule! Awesome, thanks!

[AngelBee]

Yes, I make my own (school planners). It's not really that hard once you know what you want (and what you don't)...

 

Here's what a week from one of my kids' planners looks like:

 

It's just made in Word (largely using tables). Obviously your needs might be wildly different than mine, so yours would need to be whatever works for you. :)

I really wish I could figure out how to do this right. I tried....but your is so darn pretty! :tongue_smilie:

[ReneTL]

Yes, I make my own (school planners). It's not really that hard once you know what you want (and what you don't)...

 

Here's what a week from one of my kids' planners looks like:

 

It's just made in Word (largely using tables). Obviously your needs might be wildly different than mine, so yours would need to be whatever works for you. :)

 

I agree - I love this! Would you mind posting a Word file (one page will do!), pretty please! :drool5:

[Serendipity]

Yes. I make my own sheets in Excel. That way I can make the spaces the way I want them. I print out the first side of the sheet, then the second side so I can see a week at a glance. I three hole punch the pages. Then, I three hole punch two pieces of cardstock. I add blank notebook paper at the end of my planner pages and a few other note type pages and I put a piece of cardstock on the front of the first page and at the back of the last page. Then, I use paper fasteners (brads) through the three holes. I use packing tape across the front of the paper fasteners and across the backside. I cut another piece of cardstock in a triangle shape and tape it in the front cover. I make another for the back cover. They are my pockets. I tape them in with clear packing tape.

 

Here's what my planner looks like:

 

On the front piece of cardstock, at the bottom:

Serendipity Family Planner

November 2010 - May 2011

(Next year, I will make quarterly planners)

 

Inside front cover:

pocket with those blank circle stickers in two sizes and various colors

 

First page:

Serendipity Academy

2010 - 2011

School Year Calendar

(all twelve months with vacations and co-op days highlighted)

On the right edge of this page I have one of those colored circle stickers folded over and taped over so when my planner is closed, I can find the calendar easily...it's like a tab)

 

Next 6 pages:

Monthly calendars. One month per side of page. Every day has its own spaces. This is where I keep track of my cycle and appointments and exercising and such.

 

My planner pages are next:

The first planner page has a red colored circle sticker folded over the edge a bit lower than the green circle on the yearly calendar page. This is so I can tell where to find the planner pages when my planner is closed. The week at a glance starts here.

 

I write: Planning for the week of: AND FILL THIS IN BEFORE I PRINT

Then are my school subjects.

Spaces underneath

Then: Things I would like to get done today...

Then: The day of the week with the day of the month after it. For example: Monday 22

Spaces underneath

Then: Our appointments, engagements, classes, field trips, and practices...

Then: hourly slots beginning at 6AM, with 12 shaded for lunch, and ending at 8PM.

 

This first page goes from Monday to Thursday.

 

Friday through Sunday are on the next page.

 

At the top of this page I write: My goal for the week is... THEN I HANDWRITE A GOAL.

Next, the school subject spaces are blank because we do co-op and field trips on Fridays. I use these spaces as needed.

 

Again, I have: Things I would like to get done today...

The day and date.

Spaces underneath.

Appointments and spaces underneath.

On the far right side of this page where Thursday is on the previous page I have:

My notes

spaces underneath

One Step at a time (little things I do for myself)

Spaces underneath

Our menu

spaces underneath

My extras

spaces underneath

My shopping list

spaces underneath

 

I cut the top corner off the page that is being used so I can quickly find the calendar or week we are on...

 

Then I have blank, lined paper in the planner.

 

Then I have green accounting ledger sheets in my planner for my budgeting.

 

Then I have several Excel sheets in a row, the first one with a blue sticker on the edge so I can easily find this section.

 

The first several sheets are:

a running remember/reminder to-do list

 

Then:

a praises/prayer sheet

 

Then:

a reading list for myself

 

Lastly comes my back piece of cardstock with a pocket taped in for receipts and such.

 

***I use Excel because I can make use the columns and rows to make my boxes and spaces. My husband finds much humor in the way I use Excel.

 

I know it sounds complicated, but once the template is made, it's just a matter of changing dates and printing.

 

Hth?

 

:blushing:

[FishMama]

I made my own planner for 2011 by using the Organizing Life as MOM Planner templates available here. http://lifeasmom.com/organizing-life-as-mom-the-ebook

 

I LOVE it! It has calendar sections, my *ahem* cleaning schedule, meal planning sheets, addresses, goals, budgets etc. I loved that many of the planner sheets were customizable, so I could print out my own info. I've never made anything like this, so the ebook was very helpful. I added some other forms I found from Donna Young that I wanted to add, and other personal things like book lists, gift lists etc.

 

It was a bit of work upfront, but I LOVE that I finally have a planner that has everything that I need and want.

 

ETA: The ebook is $9.

 

Thanks for sharing about my book! I also shared specifically how I plan for homeschooling here: http://lifeasmom.com/2010/08/homeschool-planning-putting-paperwork-and-plans-together.html and included some free printables for homeschoolers.

[Lady Florida.]

I probably should finish reading the thread, but has anyone mentioned Organized Home? I've used their household notebook ideas to create my own. The one thing I don't have in it is our homeschool records. As is evident by my comments below, I'm still trying to find something I like for that (even though we've been homeschooling 8 years!).

 

I really liked what you did here. I'm always fudging around creating planning pages but what you dis covers all the bases in a simple to read clean format. I've saved this image so I can reference it the next time I need to make a planner. Truly a lovely job!

 

I did the same thing (saved the image for reference). So, is that what your dc use or what you use? If it's your dc, do you have them check off what they've done? How do you use the notes section at the bottom? I really like your idea. I tried to do my own Sonlight type schedule a few years ago but it didn't work. Yours seems a bit less confusing.