Homeschool Planning with the use of Technology

Homeschool planning looks different for every single homeschooler.  It might be pencil and paper for one, a paper planner for another, a digital calendar for yet another.

It’s no different than anything else in life: what works for me may not work for you, and that’s totally OK.

That’s why today’s link up over at iHomeschool Network rocks: it contains a plethora of posts designed to help you find the best way to do homeschool planning for your family!

Technology

I am a huge fan of technology.  Totally love it.  Touchscreens and keyboards and laptops and everything else.

I do like paper planners, but I’ve found that they just don’t work for me like they used to.  I have so much going on that I need to be able to access everything, everywhere, without having to lug around a 20 pound notebook.

This is why I decided to try to fine-tune my digital homeschool planning.

I’m always on the computer anyway, so it just seemed natural.

I didn’t find the right way at first though.  It took quite a bit of trial and error to find something that actually worked for me.

Below you will find a list of things that I’ve tried, some that I haven’t, and things others use.  It’s by no means exhaustive.

They all have their merits.  Some might work for you.  Some might not.

Either way it’s fun to look at!

Edu-Track – I’ve never personally used this, but I know of homeschoolers that love it.

Donna Young – Quite a bit of her stuff is printable, but you can work around that and make this work for you on your computer.

LessonMinder – A web-based tool for organizing your homeschool.

Homeschool Technology on Pinterest – A great set of resources for technology and homeschool planning

More Homeschool Technology on Pinterest – My homeschool tech board

My Well Planned Day – Family management, calendar management, homeschool planning and record keeping, all in one; what I use

Microsoft Excel

Dropbox

Google Drive

iCloud

What I Use Today & How I Use It

It’s taken me four years, but I’ve finally found what works for me: the My Well Planned Day Software.

It was developed for homeschoolers, by homeschoolers.  Those of us who were early-adopters had the chance to give feedback and help them build the product around what homeschoolers actually wanted.

It’s phenomenal.  It does lesson plans, calendar planning, meal planning, every aspect of your life that you need to plan, it does it.

There’s an app.  There are separate log-ins for children.  Heart. It.

But how do I use it?

Well, first I do what’s outlined in the links in this post in regard to planning our year.

Once I know what I need to plug into the planner, I set about plugging it all in.

I enter the subject, the program auto-selects the curriculum {that I’ve already entered}, then I select the date.

This program allows me to drag and drop if {when} I need to rearrange something, and it lets me grade the assignment as well.

It allows Babydoll to check off the assignment when she is done.

That’s how I do it.  It’s pretty darn simple with the use of this program.

But, I’ve also done something similar with Excel and Dropbox.  Check out those two links to see how that worked.

The Bottom Line

Make it work for you.  If you’re an iCal fiend, figure out a way to make iCal work for you.

If you’re an avid Google Calendar user, make it work.

Plus, there’s nothing saying you can only use one thing to plan.  Maybe you do the bulk of the dirty work in Excel or iCal, and then you plug it into something like My Well Planned Day.

Don’t reinvent the wheel folks.  Evaluate what you already know and love, and figure out a way to use it for your homeschool planning!