So Much More than a Planner

Product: 2009 Planner
Publisher: The Old Schoolhouse
Price: $39 US
Notes: Purchase 2009 Planner between now and July 12th and get the 2008 monthly modules for FREE (read on to learn more about this and other deals)

If you ever visited my house while I was living in suburban Montreal, or if you only know me through the carefully selected photography of my blog, you would be led to believe that I am a very organized person. I have to let you in on a little secret. I am NOT organized. I'm not even slightly organized. I go to all lengths to give off that appearance but it's not my natural state of being. If you opened my closets or looked in my drawers, you'd be surprised by the piles of filing, the little notes drawn on scraps of paper, the STUFF. I frequently find myself in tears because I can't find a phone number or I've misplaced an important document. Having moved to Nova Scotia where we can be asked to provide documentation about our school year and having new obligations on The Old Schoolhouse Homeschool Crew, I realized that I would need something to help me get a handle on the chaos. Thankfully, The Old Schoolhouse gave its Review Crew members the opportunity to try out their 2009 Planner. What a wonderful tool to help the new reviewers get their voyage off to a good start.

I was initially skeptical about the E-book format of this planner as I am very much a pen and paper type of girl, but when when the PDF file arrived in my e-mail account I was relieved. This Planner is MASSIVE and if it had arrived on my front door step in it's 374 page grandeur it likely would have ended up in the back on my closet (yes, as part of the chaos). As is, it is just too big for me, personally, to want to carry around. However, in PDF format I can print off just what I want/need. What's more, I can type all my information into the planner BEFORE I print it, eliminating all those quickly sprawled, untidy notes I write and then hide away because they just don't look good.


This Planner really has it all. With over 100 pages to help plan your school year, it is an organizer's dream come true. If you live in one of the provinces or states where detailed documentation of your school year is mandatory then this planner is a must have. It covers everything from setting short term goals to writing out a plan for the years to come. There are daily schedules and weekly schedules, forms for planning field trips and co-ops, as well as progress sheets, attendance sheets, and sheets for keeping track of all those crafts and activities that can be forgotten over the year, not to mention many more forms to make homeschooling (at least the planning) as hassle free as possible.

In addition to helping you organize your school year, the Old Schoolhouse 2009 Planner is a valuable tool to help you organize your home as well. Being a homeschooling family with a more of a go with the flow approach to homeschooling, I personally will not be using the homeschooling forms so much this year. I will, however, be giving a lot of thought to how our household is arranged in terms of chores, plans for renovations (we are flipping a house while living in it), and our finances. If the household isn't running smoothly than it is hard to have a homeschool that is. I'm thankful for all the charts and forms provided in the 2009 Planner that will help me meet my goals and help us stay on track.

Not only a great planning tool, the planner is also full of wonderful, and USEFUL, information. Each month includes a module containing information about a topic (be it weather, US government/history or mathematics among many others), links to futher information available at The Old Schoolhouse Store and recipes. While my initial thought was that this stuff doesn't belong in a planner, I've come to think of them as little extras that I can look to when I need some ideas. They aren't things that I need to print off and carry around with me. With the Planner in PDF form I only need to print off what I need in the moment and the rest can wait. If you are someone that likes unit studies you would likely appreciate these little tidbits. The Old Shoolhouse has a deal running until July 12th and if you buy the 2009 Planner for $39.00 between now and then you will get the 2008 monthly modules for FREE. If you really like unit studies, then the monthly modules for 2009 can be purchased along with the 2009 Planner for $99.99. While I did not get the opportunity to see the monthly modules for this year they sound wonderful with additional recipes, more in depth studies, and activities and games for the kids. What a nice treat to receive in your e-mail each month!

The 2009 Planner is something that we will definitely be used in our little homeschool this year. I'll no longer be looking for address/phone numbers thanks to the address book included. We will have an idea of what our goals are for the year and how to accomplish them (and within budget). I appreciate the PDF format that allows me to print just what I need. I have visions of a really organize year. We will see how it goes but with The Old Schoolhouse 2009 Planner I think we'll be off to a good start.