Do You Need a Planner?
Unless you must keep certain records (see right for description of records), you do not have to make a homeschool planner. Although I recommend being prepared in some way for the day, it isn't my purpose to tell homeschoolers that they must use a homeschool planner, my purpose is to provide resources for those who prefer to use a planner book.
Homeschool Records
The records that you have to keep vary from state to state and the requirement sometimes depends on which *option you are taking. You should check with your state homeschool group or umbrella school to see what sort of records that you need to keep.
*option: Some states have more than one legal path or option to take. The requirements vary between the options. It is the homeschoolers responcibilty to research the laws in their state.
Records in Common
Depending on which option you are homeschooling within, these are some of the common records to keep:
No Records: Around 15 states
Attendance: Around 13 states
Portfolio: Six states
Immunization Records: Five states
Grades: Unknown
Course of Study with book lists: Unknown
Test and Evaluation results: Unknown
Outside Activities: Unknown
Child's Birth Certificate: At least one state.
A Homeschool Planner is a Tool
A planner is supposed to be a helpful tool for the homeschool teacher. It is supposed to be the place where keep track of admistering your daily school routine. Based on what you have added to your homeschool planner, it is supposed to help you stay prepared. I've spoken with homeschoolers and while many find their choice of homeschool planner useful, it is not true across the board. This makes sense because everyone is different and not one type of planner is right for everyone. Personally, I made planner adjustments and I think that is normal to do so.
My Homeschool Planners
Having a homeschool planner was incredibly useful to me. Homeschool planners are not static, they have to change during certain phases that are related to your children's ages. If I tracked my homeschool planner book style over the years, it was like this:
Early to Middle Years - Weekly Homeschool Planner
Middle Years - A combined subject and weekly planner
Middle Years to beginning High School Years - Subject Planner
Remaining High School Years - Subject planner forms given to teens, little to no planner use for mom
Read a little more at Over the Years, Donna Young's Homeschool Planner
