Hot off the presses (who doesn’t like to say that) and just in time to start planning for next year, the new Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 from The Old Schoolhouse is available.
I love planners. Especially printed, in-my-hands, carry-around-with-me planners and this fits the bill. I have tried many planners over our 6 years of homeschooling and I can say this is, by far, my favorite, which seems only fitting because I just LOVE LOVE SchoolhouseTeachers.com and The Old Schoolhouse website. Additionally, they are owners of Molly Green Magazine, another favorite of mine, and the publishers of this phenomenal planner – Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner which I have had the pleasure to review for you.
What is The Old Schoolhouse
The Old Schoolhouse is a national homeschooling magazine that is also a leader in providing online homeschool education through their SchoolhouseTeachers.com online. Additionally, they are the founders of Molly Green magazine, another one of my favorites, and the fantastic Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner, which is what we are going to talk about today.
Check out my previous review of SchoolhouseTeachers.com and see some of the great things that SchoolhouseTeachers.com from The Old Schoolhouse has to offer (and this is an old review so they have even MORE classes and resources then ever before.) And, if you are a SchoolhouseTeachers.com member you get included access to Schoolhouse Planners in digital format (that’s what I have been using up until I received this printed edition of the Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner. Schoolhouseteachers.com is an all-inclusive, online curriculum for preschool through high school that you can use for your whole family for one low membership price of $12.95/mo (give it a try for $1 the first month). You and your family get access to over 250 classes and lots of resources for students and parents. If you haven’t check it out, be sure to take a look. We have been members for years and use many of their classes each year. Check our SchoolhouseTeachers.com here.
The Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017
Are you new to homeschooling? A veteran homeschooler? One kid? Multiple students? Have students preschool through high school? Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner has everything you need, no matter where you are in your homeschool journey.
We just completed our year and are on vacation. I plan to start my planning for next year in July and August so I’m looking forward to getting started on this planner this summer to plan for next year for my 6th grader, 2nd grader, and preschooler. There are so many great things in this planner that will make my planning easier with everything in one place with the Hey Mama! planner.
Here is what is included in your planner:
- Yearly reference calendars for 2016, 2017, and 2018
- Monthly calendars with room for planning activities and appointments
- Weekly planners with 7 rows and 5 columns to organize your daily lessons
- Goal-setting worksheets for monthly, semester, or yearly goals
- 4 Attendance charts
- Book log to record books read
- Curriculum Planning Sheets
- Homeschooling Contact List
- 36 general writing prompts
- Story Starters
- Historical reference guides (like the thirteen colonies by date, timeline of inventions, U.S. Presidents and their wives, branches of federal, state, and local governments, and states and capitals)
- Academic transcripts for high school including template
- Checklist of skills learned by weeks/quarters
- Other Courses (which I REALLY like because we take a few extra courses each year that don’t fit into our normal schedule
This planner is jam packed with great stuff. And the best part is…it’s really not that bulky. The sturdy, spiral binding makes it easy to use, and the covers are study enough to be carried around, which is REALLY important to me. I am NOT easy on planners!
Here is a sample of the planner if you want to look through a little bit of it.
My Favorite Parts of the Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner
Now, let me tell you some of my favorite parts of the Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner. First, it is WELL ORGANIZED. The flow of the planner makes sense and is intuitive to use. I liked that the boxes are large to write in for things like the WEEKLY PLANNER.
Another favorite is that each month starts with a letter of encouragement to the homeschool mom along with monthly notes. This is a great place to write special stuff that is going on that month, things you need to accomplishment, field trips to plan, play dates you are considering, or just general notes (“give quiz this month on x,” or “call about swim lessons,” whatever planning notes you need.
In Indiana we have very minimal homeschooling laws. We need to keep track of attendance and provide an “equivalent” education (or better in most of our cases, right?) So.. I LOVE that the attendance sheets are at the back. There are 4 and easy to use. I love the “stick in the sand” attendance keeping and the Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner has what I like. And since there are 4 I can keep track for each child individually. I have been keeping track together until now but as we move into junior high school with my daughter she tends to do more days that my son so we will likely keep track separately this year.
Another thing that I really think sets this Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner are the extras that come with it in the back. Need a writing prompt to get your writers going? This planner comes with 36 of them. Need some story starters for conversation or writing for your little ones? This planner has 36 of those too. Need to review your Presidents of the United States? They are listed right there in the planner and, as a bonus, so are the First Ladies. Studying the government system? There is a great reference in the back on Federal, State, and Local government structure.
Some other great extras in this planner includes extras on how to create a transcript for your high school student and a template to help you. There is a place to keep your homeschool contact list and even a place to record extra courses you are taking, which we love because we usually have some 1-3 day extra classes throughout the year at the library or museum that I like to keep a record of.
Another great feature is that there are several pages to record books that you have read. There is a place to write the students name and then they (or you) can record the books, author, and when the book was completed (I will also be recording when they begin the book, but the box is big enough to record both). We have started using this part of the planner to record what my oldest is reading this summer. I think we are going to fill out the list of books planned for the summer on here and then she can fill in when she completes it.
PIC OF SUMMER BOOK LIST
Well, there is just so much in this planner, it’s hard to imagine that you can get it in a nice, neat, not-too-big format to touch and carry and fill out and use for your whole school year. If you was your own Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner, you can order it RIGHT AWAY for a discount. If you buy the Hey Mama! Schoolhouse Planner by July 15, 2016, you will receive $10 off (and free US shipping) with the code CREWCODE. But you will want to do it quickly as they are going fast! That means you get this great planner for $19.99 with free US shipping (you still get $10 off the planner if you live outside the US). So, be sure to check it out and use the code to save.
See what the rest of the TOS Review Crew said about this great planner by clicking the banner below. And check out The Old Schoolhouse and their great products, including the Hey Mama! Print Schoolhouse Planner 2016-2017 on their website and social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Google+.
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