If you’re not a huge planner or you don’t like having to use ink and print out pages you might not use I have the perfect solution for you. Use a bullet journal for homeschool planning.
Why use a bullet journal?
- It’s inexpensive
- You set up the pages as you like
- You can change your set up anytime
- Jazz it up and decorate as you please or keep it basic
- It’s easy to customize
When I first heard of bullet journalling, I admit I was very intimated by the idea of it. I’d see extravagant planning pages with gorgeous lettering and amazing diagrams. I may be a graphic designer but I’m not an artist. It just looked like so much effort had to be put into it to make it work, and the truth is, it does not.
You can go crazy and draw and color galore with your fancy brush markets or you can keep it simple with plain old pens.
It’s up to you how you’d like to use it.
My bullet journal supplies
- Bullet journal
– I like the ones with the dots, they also come in graph paper or you can be used with lined paper - Fine Point Markers – I found my pack of markers on clearance for $3, woot woot.
- Washi tape
- Ruler
– I like the ones with the dots, they also come in graph paper or you can be used with lined paper
– I found my pack of markers on clearance for $3, woot woot.I had been looking at the Staedtler and Sharpie Fine Point markers but found mine on clearance so just decided to grab them to test them out and they work just fine for me.
The good markers won’t bleed through to the other side.
I used my bullet journal to organized my kids curriculum to see that we had each child covered for each subject. I also do our monthly and weekly plan in the bullet journal. If things don’t get done it’s easy to move it to the next week. I plan by week and don’t do months ahead because I don’t want to have to change things up and get all out of sorts if my week’s plan doesn’t line up with my monthly/yearly plan.
My weekly plan has all of my appointments and extra-curricular activities that we have for the week. Those usually fall on the weekends but I don’t have a ton going on then which is why they only need the smaller boxes.
I like to keep myself motivated and to complete my healthy habits like drinking water, and getting exercise I do track those in this planner. It helps remind me during the week and keep me focused.
Under notes, I may have a meal plan or add calls that I need to make or add my grocery list in there for items I absolutely need for my next shopping trip.
The wonderful thing I like about bullet journals is that you can change things up. If I don’t like how I set up this weeks layout, I can change it the next week and add or remove things as I please.
If I want to add a reading list or a unit study, I can easily add whatever pages I need without having to add in extra pages or have to plan in a different notebook.
Today’s giveaway is sponsored by BookShark
Through BookShark’s 4-day Reading with History program, students learn from multiple perspectives and engage in thought-provoking discussion. Each package includes 35 to 50 real books—fiction, nonfiction, biographies, and illustrated books—that your students will either read or have read aloud to them throughout the year. Your History Instructor’s Guide includes discussion questions, vocabulary, mapping topics, and timeline suggestions to help you and your child interact with the reading and make lasting connections among the people, places, and events you study. The BookShark approach is the truly enjoyable and mentally stimulating way to homeschool!
Through BookShark’s 4-day Reading with History program, students learn from multiple perspectives and engage in thought-provoking discussion. Each package includes 35 to 50 real books—fiction, nonfiction, biographies, and illustrated books—that your students will either read or have read aloud to them throughout the year. Your History Instructor’s Guide includes discussion questions, vocabulary, mapping topics, and timeline suggestions to help you and your child interact with the reading and make lasting connections among the people, places, and events you study. The BookShark approach is the truly enjoyable and mentally stimulating way to homeschool!
Reading with History includes History, Read-Alouds, Readers, and Required Resources, all fully outlined in your Instructor’s Guide (also included). Each day, you simply open your guide to find your daily lesson plan. Work down the day’s column, reading the assigned pages or chapters with your children, discussing what you read, and doing any map or timeline work. There is no need for advance preparation, research, or even lesson planning. It’s open and go!
What Parents Say About BookShark“My son is 3 books away from finishing his BookShark curriculum, and he has enjoyed EVERY SINGLE BOOK! Amazing for a reluctant teenage reader!!”
-Icela Castillo
“We’re not religious, and we have found it hard to find a good secular homeschool curriculum that fits our lifestyle. Discovering BookShark was amazing. Other curriculums required us to skip entire sections due to the religious nature.”
-Dan Dossey
BookShark Reading with History
Winner’s choice of any one Reading with History program:
- Intro to the World: Cultures (Level K) ages 5-7
- Intro to World History, Year 1 of 2 (Level 1) ages 6-8
- Intro to World History, Year 2 of 2 (Level 2) ages 7-9
- Intro to American History, Year 1 of 2 (Level 3) ages 8-11
- Intro to American History, Year 2 of 2 (Level 4) ages 9-12
- Eastern Hemisphere (Level 5) ages 10-13
- World History, Year 1 of 2 (Level 6) ages 11-13
- World History, Year 2 of 2 (Level 7) ages 12-14
- History of Science (Level 8) ages 13-15
- American History and Literature (Level 100) ages 14-16
Value $367-496
This giveaway is only open to residents of the United States. All entrants will be added the Living Life and Learning AND BookShark email list to get further updates.
Read the rest of the posts in the 5-day series – Homeschool Planning Tips for the Unorganized Mom and go and enter the other awesome giveaways in each post.
Free Printable Homeschool Planner
Thanks for your sharing! I have only been using a bullet journal for a few months but it is SO helpful! It seriously calms my crazy thoughts. I have struggled with the idea that my planners don’t look perfect and I don’t want to mess anything up, hence I have 50 random journals and planners that are mostly unused. Bullet journalling is the only thing I have been able to stick with this long.