My Own Personalized Planner Pages

I have had this little graphic on my desktop since January. Shows you how "ahead of the game" I am with blogging 'to-do-list', eh? I was sooo proud of myself when I created these little dandies. I figured that with my new black ink cartridges only costing me 9$, printing my own personalized calendar inserts would save me money. Not only that, but making them myself finally give me the ability to customize my planner to fit my needs as a homeschool mom.

My favorite planners have the "week at a glance" when open on your desk. I like room to keep notes about my day so that I can create my endlessly long Christmas letter that all my friends and family members dread every year. What spam does to email boxes, my Christmas letter does to IRL (in real life) mailboxes each holiday! Merry Christmas!

So... my new and improved planner pages include Mon-Wed on one page with a bonus "notes" section, and Thurs-Sun on page 2. Each day includes a menu box for breakfast, lunch, and dinner... because that's what being a mom is all about - nourishing your kids, right? It also has a TO-DO-LIST section, a Journal Section (where I keep aforementioned notes about our day), and appointment times in case I get really organized one day and use them. I also included a "Teacher Reminder" section specifically for homeschooling - where I might put our most important list item on the school assignment sheet, a note to remind myself to buy supplies, a co-op friend's phone number, a field trip idea for our group, a reminder about the library, etc.

My favorite part of the page (besides the handy menu) is my BIRTHDAY and TO GO area. It's in yellow (highlighted) so I will remember to get my cards in the mail (I love snail mail and am a greeting card junkie). The TO GO spot is for the day's main events (because without the reminder I would certainly NOT show up). That's where I list our field trips, dentist appointments, lunch dates, or other out-of-the-house appointments that can't be missed. Before, I was keeping them inside the list of to-do items for the day and sometimes overlooked them. I tried using little stars and highlighters, but couldn't keep up with the mess. Now I have a spot to put them on the paper where I will be sure to look - and it is bright and colorful so I won't miss it!

This project wasn't really that hard if you have basic 'Office' skills. I think this file is created in Excel. If you have a lot of time on your hands you could even type the pages in as you go and print them fully loaded with your info so you wouldn't have to write it in by hand. I'm not there yet. Maybe one day!

I used to do custom forms for people on the side for money now and then for homeschooling, but haven't in a long while. I enjoy stuff like this. I make home made worksheets for the kids all the time... spelling and vocabulary lists, handwriting sheets, geography quizzes, etc. The computer is an awesome tool if you learn how to use it. I think it is essential to teach computer skills to today's kids.

Now if only I could remember to get my items on the list checked off so I wouldn't have to carry them over to the next week all the time?! Sometimes it is necessary to spend less time making lists and more time doing what needs to be done!


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