Homeschool Panet Review

I was always a pen-and-paper planner girl. Just like I prefer a physical paperback fiction book in my hands as opposed to its digital counterpart read on my Kindle, I was set on using a tangible planner to organize my days, too. Then two years ago, I was introduced to Homeschool Planet through Homeschool Buyers Co-op and was won over. Much to my surprise, I've traded my paper planned for an online program ever since.

When my subscription expired a year later, I talked to my husband about renewing. He is a tech guru and uses his devices way more than the laptop. He wanted to find a planner that worked well for both of us so he could easily check our calendar from his phone. I agreed to try a few different apps and our search began. Nope, it doesn't have this feature. No, I don't like the format. Oh, that won't work at all. We eventually settled on one that was decent. But I've never loved it. So you can imagine my excitement when we received another subscription! My beloved planner was back in my life.

Homeschool Buyers Co-op is the world's largest buyers club for homeschool families. They are a family-owned and -operated business that is dedicated to supplying quality curriculum at the lowest price. By joining the co-op for free, you can purchase an individual product with thousands of other homeschools and take advantage of the lower cost of purchasing in bulk. They offer great deals, great products, free resources, and a rewards program.     

I've been part of the co-cop since I first reviewed the planner and have taken advantage of other resources they offer since then. It's also where we create our homeschool ID cards to receive discounts at various places. The co-op is easy to use and convenient. I appreciate that they won't sell my information or send me unwanted emails. Within minutes of making a purchase, I receive access to my products and can begin using them.

Here's what you can expect from Homeschool Planet:

• The calendar view lets you see anybody's or everybody's calendar on the screen.
• The planner view shows a simple list of all the tasks and when they need to be completed.
• The resource view allows you to look at any books, DVD, websites, or the like that are needed for lessons.
• Separate logins can be created so kids can view their assignments and chores and check them off as completed.
• The Daily Digest email can be sent to everyone with their personal schedule for the day. 
• Emails and text messages can be sent as reminders.
• Easy attendance tracking, grading, and transcript creation.
• Lesson plans can be created with assignments, web links, notes, and more.
• Shopping lists for individual stores can be kept and either emailed or texted for convenience.
• Multiple widgets are supplied for to-do lists, daily Bible verse, daily quote, weather, messages, and more.
• A mobile version lets you view and edit on smartphones and tablets.
• Calendar sharing allows you to link your calendar with your spouse's online calendar. 
• Lesson copying lets you copy lessons for later for another student. 

I was excited to log back into my account and get things setup, but when I opened it, I was even more pleased to discover that it saved all my information from before. All of our profiles, anniversaries, birthdays, classes, chores--everything was still there. I just needed to input current obligations and I was all set.

Homeschool Planet has a way to organize and track everything for my home and homeschool. I can color coordinate things birthdays, appointments, church activities, vacations, deadlines, and more and can assign them to specific people. I can input assignments once and tell it to add it to "every day of the week" or "every Monday" or "every first Wednesday of the month" or any other option you might need. I can type in every every assignment the kids need to complete daily, but choose to hide it from my view so the calendar isn't cluttered. I can print individual calendars for my kids so they can easily see what schoolwork and chores need to be completed each day of the week, without my having to handwrite it all daily. If something doesn't get completed, I can quickly reassign it to a different day. Or time. Or just simply delete it without having unsightly scribble marks on my page.

There are so many features included with this planner that it could feel overwhelming. They offer over a dozen tutorials to make it simpler and help you better organize. There are also widgets that you can customize including a daily quote and Bible verse, to do and shopping lists, weather, and more. You can also receive emails to be reminded of the schedule both daily and weekly.

The co-op is currently running a sale. If you sign up now for a free one-month trial to Homeschool Planet, you will also receive a free lesson plan (valued from $5-15) from the Lesson Plan Marketplace. They offer plans for well-known vendors such as Rosetta Stone, IEW, Saxon, Veritas Press, The Magic School Bus, and so much more. The professionally-designed plans can be added to your calendar with a click of a button, and all the assignments, notes, and links to online resources will be filled in.  

I am so excited to be using Homeschool Planet again. I wish they created an app for it though. They do have a mobile version, but I haven't found it very helpful, honestly. I still have to access it through the web browser, which is not convenient, and I'm not fond of the view of it either. If I need Leighton to pick up a few things on the way home, I can text him the list from the planner, but it had an app, it would be so much easier for him to be able to check the list directly there himself. Other than that though, it's still my favorite planner and one that I anticipate using for a long time.

You can connect with Homeschool Buyers Co-op on the following social media sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+

You can see what features of this planner other homeschool families utilize by reading the reviews on the Homeschool Review Crew blog.

The Ultimate Homeschool Planner Review

Lists. Planning. Details. Those words speak to me. I am known for making lists of everything--grocery, vacation packing, daily chores, projects, party planning, school assignments. It helps me to see the tasks or items concrete in written word, and it gives me enjoyment every time I cross something off my list. Now that we have 5 children and homeschool, it is vital that I keep a calendar to track our family, church, and other responsibilities. Currently, I am using The Ultimate Homeschool Planner - Yellow Cover.

Apologia Educational Ministries is well-known in the homeschool realm for their science curricula and other biblical worldview products. This Christian company believes "that every educational subject in your home school can and should be taught from a biblical worldview built on the solid foundation of God’s Word and centered on Jesus Christ." It's always best to use products that reinforce your beliefs. We have loved everything we've gotten from Apologia in the past, so I was looking forward to this product, as well.

Not only do I want a functional planner, but a pretty one as well. I know, the way it looks doesn't change its performance, but it makes me happy to use something lovely. We are visual creatures, aren't we? The first thing I noticed about this one is how feminine it is. The color scheme consists mostly of pale yellow, avocado green, and plum in floral accents. (There is also an orange option and a blue option, if you'd prefer those.)

The first few pages are filled with tools to help you plan. There are tips for prioritizing your time, scheduling your days, how to teach your children independence, and how to maximize the use of the planner. There are pages devoted to listing both character and academic goals for each student and their resources you are implementing. All throughout the pages are Bible verses and inspiring quotes for encouragement.

There are many options for scheduling your time. The one-year planning grid lets you see the entire year at once by using a two-page spread. There is just enough room to write one main activity for each day. The monthly planning section allows you to view each month and gives you 4 small lines to write information. The weekly planner is where you have the most room for individual tasks and personalization. In this portion, each week gets a 2-page spread. The grid is 6x6. You can customize the planner to what best fits your needs by listing days of the week across the top and students down the side or students across the top and subjects down the side or whatever you choose. After each week, there are pages that accompany where you can keep track or your personal Bible plan, Battle Plan and Fighter Verse, Prayers, and Hospitality/Outreach. These pages are set aside for Sundays, the Lord's Day (that's why the weekly grid has only 6 spaces). There are also places to record the week's memorable moments and evidences of grace.

I think this is a beautiful planner with many options to personalize it to your desires. I love the quotes throughout, and even though the Bible verses are not from the version we use, I appreciate those as well. Having the sections for the memorable moments and evidences of grace are wonderful reminders to live in the moment and not to take our blessings for granted. The only thing I don't prefer about this planner is the cover. The cover is about 1/2 inch bigger on the sides than the pages. Both the front and back covers have a pocket folder slot so you can store whatever printed pages you need. However, because of that extra 1/2 inch, the cover tends to bend and catch on things.

This planner has been working well for me. I had always preferred a physical planner that I could write in and flip the pages, but I've recently switched to an online one. Comparing the two, I now favor the digital version (trust me, that shocks my husband!) If you are in the physical planner camp though, this one would be perfect for you.

 

You can connect with Apologia Educational Ministries on the following social media sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Google+

If you'd like to see how other homeschool moms used this planner, please read the reviews on the schoolhouse Review Crew blog.

Homeschool Buyers Co-op Review

Are you wanting an easy way to keep your life organized? A way to keep track of homeschooling, housework, activities, and appointments? Or how about a central location for tracking grades, reports, and records? You can have all this and more with a subscription to Homeschool Planet through the Homeschool Buyers Co-op.

Homeschool Buyers Co-op is the world's largest buyers club for homeschool families. They are a family-owned and -operated business that is dedicated to supplying quality curriculum at the lowest price. By joining the co-op for free, you can purchase an individual product with thousands of other homeschools and take advantage of the lower cost of purchasing in bulk. They offer great deals, great products, free resources, and a rewards program.     

Homeschool Planet was my first experience using the co-op. Joining the membership was easy and took only a few minutes. I feel confident knowing that they won't sell my information or send me unwanted emails. Within minutes of making my "purchase," I had access to the product and was able to delve into setting up my planner.

Adding accounts for each family member was simple. I was even able to upload and crop pictures, so I can see those cute faces of my little ones every time I open the planner. I admit though, after the family portion was complete, I was a little overwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, there are tons of valuable tutorials to make the process smoother, but there is just so much you can do with this planner!

• The calendar view lets you see anybody's or everybody's calendar on the screen.
• The planner view shows a simple list of all the tasks and when they need to be completed.
• The resource view allows you to look at any books, DVD, websites, or the like that are needed for lessons.
• Separate logins can be created so kids can view their assignments and chores and check them off as completed.
• The Daily Digest email can be sent to everyone with their personal schedule for the day. 
• Emails and text messages can be sent as reminders.
• Lesson plans can be created with assignments, web links, notes, and more.
• Shopping lists for individual stores can be kept and either emailed or texted for convenience.
• Multiple widgets are supplied for to-do lists, daily Bible verse, daily quote, weather, messages, and more.
• A mobile version lets you view and edit on smartphones and tablets.
• Calendar sharing allows you to link your calendar with your spouse's online calendar.

So what does all that mean? Homeschool Planet has a way to organize and track everything for both your home and your homeschool. I've been using it for the past several weeks, and I'm still finding new options and ways to make my life simpler. I've always been a big I-need-a-physical-planner-that-I-can-write-in-and-hold-in-my-hands girl, but this one is making me truly appreciate the power of a digital planner. I'm keeping track of church activities, doctor appointments, birthdays, vacations, blog deadlines, and more written in specific colors, just like my physical paper planner. I can quickly flip through the months to see what's in the future, just like my physical paper. And since I have the option to print the week or month schedule, I can mark things off, just like my physical paper planner.

But the ways in which this version is different?  I can input assignments once and tell it to add it to "every day of the week" or "every Monday" or "every first Wednesday of the month" or any other option you might need. I can type in every every assignment the kids need to complete daily, but choose to hide it from my view so the calendar isn't cluttered. I can print individual calendars for my kids so they can easily see what schoolwork and chores need to be completed each day of the week, without my having to handwrite it all daily. If something doesn't get completed, I can quickly reassign it to a different day. Or time. Or just simply delete it without having unsightly scribble marks on my page.

There are too many features--and options to customize those features--than I can describe here without writing a novel. Pretty much, if you want to do it, this planner will let you. I highly suggest giving this planner a try. I'm thankful to have it.

You can get a FREE 3 month subscription to Homeschool Planet, if you sign up by Friday, July 17. This planner is a useful resource, so I suggest you take advantage of this offer.

You can connect with Homeschool Buyers Co-op on the following social media sites:
Facebook
Twitter
Google+


If you'd like to see how other homeschool moms are using this planner, you can read the reviews on the Schoolhouse Review Crew blog.