Review In A Nutshell:
Title: The Ultimate Homeschool Planner: The Last Planner You Will Ever Need
Author: Champion Press Ltd.
Price: $29.95
Overall Rating (1-10): 9
Value (1-10): 9
Flexibility (1-10): 10
Ages/Grades: Primarily grades 1-8

Review:
Maybe you are one of those naturally organized homeschoolers. If so, count yourself blessed! I am not, nor are the vast majority of parents – homeschooling or otherwise – that I’ve met. Frankly, I don’t have the time to devote to getting organized to begin with.

Let me tell you, the Ultimate Homeschool Planner is the most helpful resource to have at hand! I was skeptical, at first. I didn’t know what to expect but I assumed it wouldn’t be enough to help me! Boy was I wrong!

The planner is bound in a three-ring binder which makes it sturdy and user-friendly. I can add to it and take out what my family doesn’t need. It is divided into sections: Getting Started, Curriculum Planning, Logging Your Learning, Templates and Units and Home Management.

The first section, Getting Started, provides a great jumping off point for those new to homeschooling and those experienced as well. You will start by taking an inventory of your children’s individual skills in grades 1-8. I found this rating system and the core milestones to be a great resource. There are more worksheets and resources following the child’s skill inventory that will help the parent and child determine which areas need work and extra time. Then you will be guided through planning and goal creation. I found that the tips for planning, particularly with multiple children, were very helpful. At the end of this section are tons of reproducible worksheets for scheduling your days, weeks, months and year in every format imaginable. There is a workable schedule template here for EVERY family type. There are also other reproducibles for managing reading lists, wish lists, etc.

The second section helps the parent plan out the financial and logistical aspects of homeschooling. This section will guide you toward breaking down your needed supplies and expenses with several handy reproducible worksheets and lists that can be used to track expenses and finances.

The third section is a bit of a hodge-podge of resources. This section touches on the importance and suggested methods for keeping a daily or weekly learning log, attendance, monthly time log and review and provides more reproducibles of the aforementioned skills inventory by grade. The second half of this section contains an extensive list of homeschool support groups listed by state. At least some of this info will likely be outdated already but it is a nice resource for those brand new to homeschooling.