My Latest Godsend

As you all probably know, we are a homeschooling family. This year, I found out about a contest of sorts that had a honey of a prize: free homeschooling curriculum to try in our home! All I had to do was write a review for a few e-books (which I loved reading and learning from), and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine would decide if I had what they were looking for in a "Crew." Well, I made it onto the Crew, and I couldn't be more excited!! Publishers will send us pieces of their curriculum (according to our home school) and we will use them; then I will write my review - and keep the materials! For a homeschooling family of 3, that is as good as money in the bank since we have to buy all of our supplies out of pocket each year.

My first review assignment is fitting: The Schoolhouse Planner. I debated buying this E-Book for no less than a month, and I just couldn't justify it. I kept telling myself that I would be wasting money purchasing 'something i could put together myself' (yeah, what a laugh that turned out to be!) Now, I get to have one for free!! The only stipulation is that I write a review about it... no biggie.

So if you homeschool (or know someone who does), or if you are a full-time homemaker/homekeeper (or know someone who is) or even if you have a preschooler at home (or know someone who does) -- then pay attention! This Planner's for you!

The Schoolhouse Planner is chock full of useful [and printable] stuff: calendar pages, checklists, book report forms, journal pages, housekeeping schedules, Christmas card lists, preschool ideas, car maintenance schedule, bible memory sheets, attendance forms, emergency contact sheets, report card forms, and so much more! I could no more delineate all this Planner contains than I could count the stars! But, trust me, these 375 pages do not disappoint!

In addition to the hundreds of printable pages for your use, there are informational and educational resources included in the Planner. For example, there is a whole unit study on weather, which includes the information necessary to teach your children about clouds, as well as links that will take you to sources of further information. There are also pages with things like kitchen measurement conversions, the Periodic Table with Elements, the U.S. Presidents, and the countries of the world and their capitals. That only covers a handful of the extras!

I truly cannot wait to start using it, and I have already printed quite a few pages, penciled in some plans, and put them into my homeschool notebook. Look out, printer: here we come!!

For a measly $39, I cannot believe I thought I could get by without it! Frankly, this planner is so well-priced, it would be worth buying for every household, not merely homeschooling families! Just print the pages you can use (which will be a lot!), and ignore the homeschool-specific pages. In fact, I think I hear Christmas calling....

[To see what other Crew members are saying about the Schoolhouse Planner, click here.]