Why a Digital Template?

I love paper planners - but I also love the flexibility of digital planning. So, I decided to combine it! I created a lesson plan template and now just print it out before writing on it like a paper planner. In this way, I don’t have to rewrite “Math, Reading, Spelling, etc.” every week. I can have any and all details pre-printed on the page - even small details like Daily Language Practice Week _ Day _. Then, all I have to do each day is fill in the numbers. And voila!

Heads up: This post contains affiliate links. That just means, if you use one of my links to a product, I may earn a commission on that purchase, but it won’t cost you any extra money. If you choose to use my links, THANK YOU a million!! Read more.

Customizing It

BUT I can easily change this spreadsheet as our curriculum changes. For instance, one month we may be finishing up a handwriting book but the next month we are moving on to writing and won’t be doing handwriting separately. So, I adjust the sections in my planner and then print out the pages for the next month.

I usually print about a month at a time. Then, as I move toward the end of the month I note what I need to adjust for the following month. There is still enough consistency within the lesson plan format that I am not confused when I look back, but I can adapt it as I would a paper planner - without having to rewrite it every single day. Call me lazy.

Samples of the Google Sheets

Here you can see samples of the FREE Google templates.

Template 1 is shown first empty then with sample subjects filled in.

Template 2 includes two samples.

As you can see, I have made alterations to them (i.e., adding light gray to shade certain boxes in template 1).

And, finally this is what a week really looks like after I print it and write all over it. For subjects where we alternate between two texts or activity types, I type both of them at the top of the box and then circle the one that applies for that day.

The Binder

For the past four years I have used this awesome notebook-binder hybrid to keep my planner in. It functions like a binder in that you can add and remove pages with its 3-ring system. And it functions like a notebook in that you can fold it over on itself.

I really appreciate the low-profile esp. when my homeschool table is covered in teachers’ guides and multiple kids’ workbooks, etc.

In order to keep this Flex Binder from getting overloaded or unwieldy, I typically keep only the current month’s pages in at a time. Then, behind other sections I include pages for tracking attendance, etc.

When it’s time to switch months, I swap them out and place the used pages in a separate (regular) binder on my shelf to keep for reference.

Planning Your Year

If you are looking for more info on how I plan out my homeschool year, check out this article - How to Plan Your Homeschool Year. In it I cover topics such as setting goals, determining your style, creating a flexible schedule and mapping our your curriculum.

Prefer a PDF?

Does dealing with Google Sheets and personalizing a template sound like more work than you’d like to do? I also have a printable version of this that includes many more pages to help you plan your year.

For the PDF version, just print, write in your recurring details, and then copy as many pages as you’d like.

Just want the

FREE

Google Sheets Template?

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and fill out the form.

Related Articles

Check out the articles below for more homeschool planning inspiration.

Fill out the form below to grab the FREE template!

After filling it out, be sure to click “subscribe” in the first email that will be sent to you from TeacherTutorMom. That will trigger the second email to be sent - which includes the link to the Google Sheet template!

NOTE: Before printing, you may need to adjust the print margins if it is off on your computer.