How to Use the TeacherTutorMom
Printable Planner 25-26
Pre-Planning
The first three pages in the planner (Whatโs Your Why, What Are Your Goals, and Whatโs Your Philosophy) allow you to step back and take a broader look at your homeschool. If you are just starting out (or are feeling worn-down) you might want to spend a little time on these pages. If you donโt need them, feel free to skip to the next section!
Iโve written previously in this article, How to Plan Your Homeschool Year, in detail about each of these topics. Below Iโll link to each section so you donโt have to search for the specific info youโre looking for.
Whatโs Your Why? - p. 5
Why โdetermine your whyโ? Knowing why you are doing what youโre doing can help you on hard days when youโre ready to โthrow in the towelโ or when a prying neighbor asks whatโs wrong with the public schools near you. You have an answer ready for whatever the occasion.
Follow this link, โDetermining Your Whyโ which corresponds with this section in your printable planner.
What Are Your Goals? - pp. 6-7
Use this space to jot down the goals you have for each member of your family (including yourself perhaps?). You can use it for long-term or short-term goals.
Read this, Set Your Goals, to get a more in-depth explanation of it.
Whatโs Your Philosophy? - p. 8
Some of you probably know what โtype of homeschoolerโ you are. Others may ask what in the world I mean by this. In short, it is a method or philosophy for homeschooling. Some of the common ones are listed below. I also explain this more in the other article under, โDiscover Your Style.โ
Planning
The next few pages include the Subject Planner Overview and the Monthly Overview Spread. My weekly detailed โplannerโ is included in a different section (Record Keeping) because I use it more as a record-keeper of tasks and pages accomplished rather than a true โplanner.โ
Subject Planner Overview - p. 9
If it is helpful to you - I know everyoneโs brains like to organize in different ways - check out these pages for a subject by subject overview.
You can print a copy of this page for each of your kids or use one page for the whole family and put the details for every kid under each subject. That might work better if you do some subjects together as a family (like history).
Monthly Overview โ25-โ26 - pp. 10-11
This view works really well if you particularly like to plan in units. Or, if you want to make any kind of notes that pertain to each month and you want to see the whole year at once.
Suggested Uses:
Units covered each month
Other focus areas each month
Major travel plans or camps, etc.
How many school days you anticipate fitting in each month
Vacations and holidays
Note: I have included the โWeekly Spreadโ (detailed plan) under Keeping Records below because I actually use my โplannerโ pages more as a record keeper than a plan of upcoming lessons.
Scheduling
In this section youโll find the Yearly Calendar at a Glance, three schedule/routine options, and 12 months worth of calendar pages (with to-do list spots).
Yearly Calendar at a Glance - p. 12
I like to use this calendar view to plan out the days we will do school for the year. If you have not purchased the entire planner, you can still grab this yearly calendar page for free here. Because that is never โset in stoneโ I like to make a second copy that I use as my โactual" school days record. I explain further how I utilize this page on this blog post.
Weekly Routine - p. 13
I tend to follow a general โroutineโ to our days, like complete math and reading with the kids before lunch, etc. So, I have included this Weekly Routine page for people who like to be more โflexible.โ
Weekly Schedule - p. 14
Sometimes I like to imagine what an ideal week would be and so I will actually schedule out tentative times that I think each subject will take in a day. This page is intended for that - or for those who are more time-oriented and prefer a true โschedule.โ
Daily Schedule - p. 15
The Daily Schedule allows you to make a true โscheduleโ for yourself or your kids. You may wish to just refer to it or even hang it on your wall. You can use the checklist portion of it if you like by putting it in a plastic sleeve protector or laminating it. Then you can check off each item as you go.
Monthly Calendars (July โ25 - June โ26) - p. 16-27
I started using this a year or two into my homeschooling because I found I needed an โold-fashionedโ wall-calendar style calendar to refer to as I was planning our curriculum. I typically keep it in the front of my planner, and as we complete a month I put it at the back of the โyear.โ Then, as we go through the year Iโll write anticipated completion dates for various curriculum or deadlines or outside classes.
It could be used as a โworking documentโ like I described or as a sort of record keeper if you prefer. Iโve included to-do lists, etc. to make it as helpful as possible.
Note that these are vertical pages, so each dayโs space is pretty small. If you prefer a horizontal layout and donโt want the spot for lists you could buy a wall calendar or get my Undated Monthly Calendar here.
Keeping Records
The next three sections include my primary record-keeping resources that I like to save for future reference (thus โrecordsโ). As I said above, Iโve included the Weekly Lesson Planner Spread here because I use it as a record keeper rather than a lesson planner.
This section also includes the Attendance Record, Expense Record, and Reading Log.
Weekly Spread - pp. 28-29
This document is what I write on every single school day. Iโve used various versions of it throughout the years (and Iโll link to other options below that you might want to check out). But what I have consistently done is insert the subjects and kids names on the sheet before making copies for the month. I will even include details like the book titles, etc. so I donโt have to rewrite as much each day.
Iโve described how I use a similar spread on another post here.
Other Options:
My preference is to fill out all the details in a digital document before printing it for the month ahead. Then if we switch to a new book or curriculum I can adjust that the next month before printing more copies. Here are two options for you if youโd like to try a digital version instead of the printed one.
Free Google Sheets Lesson Planner Template - this links to a blog post where I share my free Google Sheets lesson planner in two versions.
Editable Canva Lesson Planner Template (link coming soon - mid-June 2025)
10 Digital Lesson Planner Templates in Google Sheets (link coming soon - mid-June 2025)
Attendance - p. 30
This is not necessary if you are using the Yearly Calendar At a Glance mentioned above (on p. 12). However, this page is just a checklist style and may be easier for you if you just need to count the number of school days completed and arenโt as concerned with whether it was a Monday, Tuesday, etc. I do both because IโmโฆI really donโt know. It makes me happy.
Expenses โ25 - โ26 - p. 31
I know every family has their own financial blessings and/or challenges. You may wish to use this as an expense tracker to stay on budget or out of curiosity to know how much your spent that year.
I have found it helpful to keep track of our school spending. However, I tend to use a digital expense sheet for this. If youโre interested in a digital one that automatically calculates for you, you can check that out here (link coming soon - mid-June 2025).
Reading Log - p. 32
Every year I start to keep a reading log and fail. BUT - I know a lot of moms keep them, so I included one in the planner. This coming school year I will TRY AGAIN. Hereโs to persistence!!
Notes and Lists
These are some extra pages for those who like to keep notes in their planners and want some themed pages to go with it. I just feel better when I see pretty paper. I hope these make your homeschooling days a little brighter.
List It - p. 33
You guessed it - use this page (or multiple copies of it) to keep up with any homeschool lists you need to make!
Take Note - p. 34
As the name implies, this is a notebook page - with pretty flowers.
Donโt have a copy?
The printable planner is available on my Etsy Shop here.
OR, scroll down and select it from the store below.
