Erin Condren Teacher Planner 2018 – Video & Walk Through
Setting up the Erin Condren Teacher Planner is always a joy for me! I love seeing the pages in front of me and imagining how I can use them and how they will serve us in the coming year. A planner is simply a tool. Some planners are better tools than others, but they all function as a lever to help move a day forward. No planner is going to be THE perfect fit, unless you make it yourself – which I’ve done before. However, there are some planning tools that just get it right – the function, form, and flexibility are all there. All that is needed from me is to imagine my day – our year – and move them onto those pages. The Erin Condren Teacher Planner is that planner for me when it comes to home education and lesson planning! And this year, the reformatted design and layout make it more functional than ever.
This post contains affiliate links.
I reviewed the Erin Condren Teacher Planner extensively in this post, and if you haven’t read through that post yet, you’ll want to! In the review post, I show the planner exactly as you will receive it – out of the box. I’ll also show you the new accessories released this year, many of which are featured in my video since I used them to set up my Teacher Planner.
I know this planner is large and for some that might be intimidating. You want to make good use of this planner tool but where do you start?
I spent a few weeks with my planner, taking my time, imagining our days and needs, and I set this planner up. And then I sat down and filmed a walkthrough of the entire Planner and my set up. I talk you through everything and walk you through my process – cover to cover. This planner is large and, well, I’m not known for my brevity. 🙂 Fair warning: the video I’m about to share with you is an hour and ten minutes long. But I share it with the hope that you might find some ideas that you can translate into your own planner – whether you use an Erin Condren Teacher Planner for homeschooling, use a different planner, lesson plan as a teacher in the school system, are a support person, or want to use this planner in an altogether different way because of its versatility.
Resources mentioned in this video:
- If you’re looking for the tutorial for how I modified the two tabs in my teacher planner, you can find that tutorial here.
- Tombow rolling adhesive that I use to affix my sticky notes permanently in my planner.
- Printable attendance sheet – print this on sticker paper and add to your planner
- Silhouette printable sticker paper
- Erin Condren accessories – includes the pens, coil clip connectors, snap in dashboards and other accessories which I mention in the video.
- Buttercup font – a free font that is very close to the Erin Condren font in her planner
I’d love to know if you have any questions!! I do read every comment on youtube, and here on my blog – just ask!
Also, if you’d like to continue to follow along with me and my year and my planning, you might want to follow me on Instagram. (You can see my Instagram feed on the right sidebar of my blog.) I share daily on Instagram: planning ideas and tweaks, home organizing, my Erin Condren teacher planner as I continue to set up as well as how it functions through the year, and home education related posts. I’d love to have you along!
How is your summer planning going? I’m just getting started! Happy planning!
Hi. Thanks for your blog, love it!
As always, Jen, I really appreciate your very thorough and thoughtful reviews! The pictures and video were SO helpful! Thanks! 🙂
Hi Jen,
I watched the entire video. I am like you very tactile and visual. It was the inspriation I needed. You came through as usual. I bought last years teacher planner and I felt a bit silly since I only have one child still in kindergarten. He is on the autism spectrum so academic progress is slow. But after watching your video today, I found the inspiration to use the teacher planner. I love what uses you have found for the pages and I like the concept of “living in the planner”. It’s a tool to serve our needs. It was affirming to me to enjoy and use the planner for whatever I need it to be.
That makes my day! I’m so thrilled you found ideas and inspiration you can translate to fit your needs!!
Jen, this video was fantastic. Yes! I watched the whole thing ! 🙂 {while doing my daily biking on the stationary bike. Usually I read.} Thank you so much for putting in the time and effort to share. EC isn’t in my budget — I can dream while using my simple notebooks and your tips and planner savvy are nevertheless invaluable!
I use the student checklist pages for a monthly habit tracker for myself, listing the habits down the left side. It could be tailored for daily, weekly, or monthly habits, including ways to build mother culture. Your planning posts last year (and graduating our second oldest) helped me to move into one planner for life and homeschooling. I love it! Erin Condren has beautiful products but I needed a lower price point. The Big Happy Planner is a great fit for me and the teacher pack included similar checklist pages. One difference is the week at a glance going left to right (like the month). I fill in the subjects top to bottom, in the order I do the lessons each day. Because the week at a glance includes the full week I use the Saturday and Sunday spaces for morning basket notes, unit study details, things to buy, copies to make, etc. much like you use the support column. I love that the disc system allows me to punch and add customized pages as needs arise. Thank you for sharing such lovely inspiration!
I’m so glad you found a system that works for you!
Which stickers did you use to write on for labeling the liturgical year dates at a glance?
Hi Heather! The stickers I used to write “liturgical year” on for my monthly pre-planning pages are little flags that are in the Erin Condren A+ Style Sticker Pad.
Your son is called John Paul after the Pope? In my country (mostly Catholics) many children are named after John Paul II.
Anyway, I really enjoyed your video. I’m in my second EC teacher planner, and even though school year ends in December, I am already excited for the lesson planner next year (I am overseas, however not in Europe). Everything you said was very useful and I loved many of your ideas, I will definitely consider many of them.
All the best for the coming year!
I’m so glad you found the video helpful! Our John Paul is named for St. John (the beloved) and St. Paul (the evangelist). I love the way the two names sound together. Happy planning to you!
Hi Jen!!! I just recently discovered you and I’m so glad that I did! I have had a heavy heart for a couple of years now regarding my sons education. I am no genius and I myself struggled in school so thinking outside public school never occurred to me. I’ve poked around at homeschooling since my oldest son started kindergarten, he is in 2nd grade now, but I’ve just been too scared to dive in. I myself didn’t even learn how to read until my third grade teacher noticed! They ended up sending me back to Kindergarten, which was soooo embarrassing to me. 🙁 I also had ADD, not to be confused with ADHD. 🙂 Anyways, my son is in 2nd grade and they did their testing at the beginning of the year just to see where the kids are at, compared to the end of the previous year. My son is currently reading at a beginning Kindergartener, and is showing the same in math. :O I’m so lost! I don’t want him to struggle the way I did in school. Starting this year I’m sneaking in some additional enrichment into his day after school. However, if he hasn’t progressed enough by the end of the year then I am planning on cutting the Public School Cord. We all know what the definition of insanity is! My problem is……I have NO idea where to begin to start homeschooling! 🙁 I have been losing sleep for a couple of months now trying to figure out how I am going to do this. If there is any insight you could give me, point me in the right direction, what can I do to help him read, what grade level I should start him out on at home…..what do you even teach in each grade <<<<seriously…don’t even know where to begin……please help me. The only thing that I have set in stone in regards to homeschooling is that I’ll be using the EC Teacher Planner. I already use her planners and LOVE them, and your video above just sealed the deal for me! …….Sorry for the long note….but I truly am lost in the homeschooling sea.
-a heavy hearted momma
Dear heavy hearted momma,
I’m so grateful for your comment! You are such a good momma! First, deep breath! You have everything – EVERYTHING – you need to do this! And it is completely doable!
On reading, and in particular, on late readers: it’s not uncommon! Of my 5 children they run the spectrum from early to late readers, but there is one common denominator, barring any other learning disability, they all even out with their reading level around late 4th grade. Reading is much like riding a bike – they get there when they get there. You can put them on that bike before they’re ready, but until that child is developmentally ready, nothing will happen….and then one day….off they go. Start where he is, don’t call it a grade, let him be where he is and help him move forward from there. The same applies to math, which (as a language) builds on each concept. You can’t just jump into 3rd or 4th grade math if the developmental foundation isn’t set first. Start where he is – forward from there.
There are so many wonderful, amazing resources out there for homeschooling! It’s a blessing…and a bit of a burden when it comes to wading through it all! Where to start? How about this – start where your son is. Not where the school system thinks he should be. Not even where you think he should be. Start where he is and gently stretch forward. If you do this one thing and follow it through – your year (and his) will be peaceful and full of growth. And that is the beauty of home education – we educate the child, not the scope and sequence, or the parameters set by some arbitrary board – the child.
There are plenty of readers and reading curriculum out there that are geared in different ways besides a “grade level” ranking, and I would look for one of these programs so that he doesn’t feel embarrassed in any way. As far as reading curriculum, there are so many! You’re welcome to check out my booklists for what I use, but if you just want me to point you in one direction – go with Memoria Press’ First Start Reading series.
As far as what to teach – please don’t stress about that. Now is the time to do a little research and look around online, and do some reading. Generally, your homeschool philosophy (how you choose to teach – for example: school in a box, Classical, Charlotte Mason, Unschooling) will help guide some of these decisions. We are a Classical/Charlotte Mason family and so our days are grounded in literature, ancient and time-proven methods of assessment, and building a liberal (wide) curriculum. Take a look at my booklists and schedules up there under the printables tab – every single year from K-12 is up there for you to see.
I hope this gives you some help and encouragement so that you see a way forward! There are tools and resources out there, give yourself time to look into them and find the tools your son needs! Sending hugs and prayers your way! You can do this!!! 🙂
Oh I love the look of this. We have been homeschooling since June and am always looking at new ways to plan. I will definitely be checking this out 🙂
Wonderful! Thank you!
where can I find your average day chart?
The picture is posted on Instagram. I will try to add it to this post when I have time.