Last summer I was busy spending my hard-earned cash at Target on back to school supplies. I've heard other teachers say, and I'll have to agree, that there is nothing quite like browsing through the back to school supply section picking out new supplies for the upcoming year. I loved it growing up whenever my mom would pile us four kids in the van to go get some new supplies. My mom is extremely practical when it comes to school supplies, so we always got the cheapest and most functional supplies. I still loved every minute of looking at my supply list and trying to find the supplies on the shelves. Ah what bliss!
Anyways, last year I was almost ready to leave the store when I wandered near my favorite section...the planner section. I was reading another blog last night that mentioned she purchased 3 planners this summer! I don't quite love planners that much, but I do love being organized. Anyways, I found THE PERFECT planner for the busy teacher. I'm pretty picky when it comes to planners, and I had never found one that really fit my needs as a teacher. I was using a combination of lined sticky notes and a free blank calendar I printed off the Internet. This was extremely disorganized but it accomplished what I needed: a place to plan ahead for the month (calendar), and a lined space for to-do lists to increase my productivity during prep periods (lined sticky notes). So when I thumbed through this gem of a planner, I knew I HAD to have it.
This is what it looks like on the outside (with a regular paperback for sizing reference):
This is what the calendar block page looks like (I LOVE the lines!):
This page is opposite the calendar page. I rarely use it, but it could be helpful:
This next shot is of the to-do list section. Each page starts on Monday and goes through the following Sunday. I like this because it emphasizes the work week:
This shot shows the to-do list up close. This is probably my favorite feature of the entire planner. I have this weird fetish where I sometimes flip back through the planner to see all of my tasks crossed off in different colored pens. :)
This last picture is of the notes section at the back of the book. Somehow I missed this till the end of the year. It would be perfect for Teacher's In-Service...although I pretty much have that memorized by now because it barely changes from year to year. :)
So there you have it. The PERFECT teacher planner. My only complaint is that it's a bit annoying flipping back from the to-do list to the block calendar. I mostly fixed this by simply putting a paper clip on the week I'm on and then clipping up the subsequent weeks as I go through the month. There is something very satisfying about moving the paperclip on a Monday morning.
I was worried I wouldn't be able to find another one just like this for the 2013-2014 school year. I searched online before the end of the school year to find it but couldn't. Then when I was searching for some Command Strips at Wal-Mart for another project this summer, I found this planner again! I almost did a happy dance in the aisle...but refrained. I'm totally okay with have the exact same planner two years in a row as long as it is perfect in every way. This one fits the bill. In case you can't find one in your local Wal-Mart or Target planner section, here is a picture of the label on the back page:
Happy back to school shopping!
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