Checking Out The Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner {A Review)

The one constant in my families’ homeschool journey has been change. Not change for the sake of change, but change to keep us doing the best we can each and every day. And if I’ve learned anything, it’s that I should never say I won’t do something. A few years ago I instituted a big change when I gave up planning our homeschool year. It was a good change for us, but several months ago I started toying with the idea of bringing back the traditional homeschool planner. And for the last few weeks, I’ve enjoyed skimming through the Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year from The Old Schoolhouse®, written by Gena Suarez.

A Constant Back and Forth with Homeschool Planning

I’ll admit that I have an interesting relationship with homeschool planners. I love them for the space they offer to hold all of my ideas and aspirations for a new school year. The opportunity to fill in the pages with dreams of perfectly structured days and weeks of learning and growth.

I love having one dedicated item to write down goals, achievements, memories, and even notes. The chance to log what I hoped would happen and what actually did occur.

Yet, I also have a tendency to fill them in too well. To become too preoccupied with writing in what looks like a well-rounded day and try too hard to make that planned out day a reality. You see, I’m really good at planning a hypothetical day out and utilizing each and every moment. I can fill in boxes, following recommended daily schedules, and even leave time for lunch and recess.

What I’m not good at doing… well that would be leaving enough time for the reality that is homeschooling four kids with busy schedules. Leaving wiggle room in our days. Planning for the unplannable.

Yet as our homeschool years roll on, as we become more comfortable with our routine and style, and as my older two children embark on high school, I find myself thinking a planner might not be a bad idea. A place to both plan and record, a meeting ground for ideas and reality. An opportunity to once again dedicate a space to jot down notes, dreams, and what happens day in and day out.

A Familiar Place, A New Approach

This time, though, I go into this adventure armed with a few good things. First, the experience of years of overplanning and feeling like a slave to the schedule, even if it was written in pencil. Call it hindsight, if you will, I can vividly recall the pressure we were all under during those overly-scheduled days.

And second, the experience of the freedom of homeschooling without a planner. The freedom to simply turn the page in the curriculum or tackle the next lesson in the program. Armed with the knowledge that we can do this without a planner.

Third though, and I think this is the most important one here, the knowledge that homeschooling without a planner has left us without a map or a record. Sure I know what pages we completed… but I don’t remember that fun question that was asked because of it. And yes, I do know we finished a specific number of pages in a workbook, but I don’t recall all that we learned. I may even know we read a literal plethora of novels, stories, and books, but I don’t have a log of them when it comes to reporting.

Armed with history, experience, and a desire to always improve my homeschool, I set out to see how to both use and utilize the Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year.

Peek Inside The Hey Mama! Homeschool Planner

So the Hey, Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year is dated for the 2019-2020 homeschool year. It starts in July and runs through June. Also included are annual overview calendars for 2019 – 2021. The planner itself is 188 pages long and spiral bound.

In the beginning, you will find a place for recording four years worth of high school transcripts, a checklist for skills learned, and a note from the author. Pages 12 – 59 are filled with month-at-a-glance pages, space for recording notes, and monthly devotionals.

*Full disclosure here – there is a typo in the November monthly calendar.

Starting on page 60, and going through page 149, you will find pages filled with columns and rows. Each page allows you to quickly and easily list out courses, programs, and activities for up to 5 children. Here is where you decide if you want to pencil in everything before it happens or track what occurred during the week.

Technically not how a planner is meant to be used I know, but as a one who knows how easy it is to plan yourself into a corner, a great alternative.

Also included in these pages are additional devotionals (every 5 weeks) and space for taking notes. The note pages really catch my eye as a great way to record small victories such as the time a child mastered a particularly challenging skill, a moment where a budding character trait showed itself, or even to record the frustrations of a particularly challenging day. It’s also an excellent space to record ideas you may have, memories you want to hold on to, and things that don’t fit neatly inside the reporting requirements for your location.

Following this largest section, you will find space to plan for each individual child you are homeschooling. Starting on page 150 there is space to jot notes for each child, goals you may have, ideas your child may have, and more. Additionally, you will find a curriculum planning page for each child where you can log each company you are using, the grade level of the program, and even the price. Attendance pages are located here as well as a book log. Finally, wrap up this section of planning with yearly goals, and individual semester goals.

Oh, and there is enough here to plan for up to five children.

Overall Impressions of the Hey Mama! Homeschool Planner

Here is where my former over-planning self and my current unplanning self meet, over the pages of the Hey Mama! Homeschool Planner. Here I will spend the summer utilizing its pages to meet my specific needs. With space to think and plan out an entire year. Yet also space to breathe and allow for the natural learning my family has come to love and appreciate. I think this may have just what we need.

Heading into the 2019/2020 school year I will have two kids in high school. Two kids who are closer to their adult lives than their childhood. Having a place to map out their educational path, combine it with my own ideas of what a high school education should look like, and pages to record all of the in-between.

Additionally, ample space to record the wanderings of my younger students. Still in the early stages of their education and led mostly by their own curiosity, the Hey Mama! Homeschool Planner for 2019/20 Year from The Old Schoolhouse® will allow me to record the small moments of wonder and large moments of achievement.

Ready to try out the Hey Mama! Planner??

Be sure to grab your copy soon! Print copies are already 98% gone – with no plans to print additional copies.