There have been several that have come and gone throughout the years, but I am thrilled to be sharing my newest favorite and all of the reasons why it has climbed to the top of the list!
If you follow me on Instagram or YouTube, you have seen this pop up quite a bit this past month.
In a Teacher Planner, I always look for several systems that I know will work for me, including:
- Dated lesson planning pages
- Lined and segmented lesson planning pages
- Notes pages-- both lined and grid/dot grid
- Durable tabs
- Top quality paper
- Teacher-specific organizing sections
I was looking for a new Teacher Planner over the summer and you all sent wonderful suggestions! I could see how many of the companies had several of these, but was blown away by the detail and quality that was available with Simplified.
One of the main things that stuck out to me was its simple, clean, and functional design. On the lesson planning pages, where I spend most of my time, there was no additional decoration that took up precious space.
The sections were lined, they had distinct spaces for each day and subject, and the color coding was consistent throughout. The added lined space on the right allowed for my weekly running checklists that I love.
On the top, where the subjects will go, I found that Avery Label #18294 was a perfect fit! The template is a free download on the Avery website (for Word, Pages or Adobe) and I used my favorite free Rae-Dunn inspired font, "The Skinny" to make each page look uniform and beautiful.
The Simplified Teacher Planner also has a very clean look in its monthly spreads as well. There are nice, open boxes, both the previous and next month on the top, and a notes section along the left.
One thing I loved about the Simplicity Teacher Planner are the "Simplicity Tips" on the top of each month. They are teacher and student-focused and offer helpful and timely suggestions for keeping your classroom organized and streamlined.
The paper is thick, 80-lb. Mohawk white and can withstand highlighters, Flair pens, and my favorite Staedtler Fineliner pens.
The beginning of this planner is probably what sets it apart the most and what really solidified my choice, especially this year in all of its uncertainty.
Before the class lists, lesson plans, or notes pages, there is an entire section to get you, as a teacher, mentally organized and prepared for this year.
There is a section that looks back at what worked last year and what you would like to try differently this year. There is a page for a vision board or to collect ideas you want to try.
There are even pages that have you plan out your weekly and daily routine-- when to make copies, grade, plan for the week ahead, set the room up, etc. It encourages you to create habits early to make your school year as successful as possible for you, personally.
I greatly appreciated this attention to detail for our teacher lives. We (or at least I) often get swept up in the never-ending needs of students, parents, and school as a whole. Taking the time to create these habits also helps to create healthy boundaries, something I really struggled with my first five years of teaching.
There is so much more to love about this planner, I encourage you to watch my entire walkthrough on YouTube here:
I also recently released a video of how I use my Etsy Icon Stickers to plan the week. It's a general plan, but will hopefully give you some ideas of how these stickers can help you stay even more organized.
This Plan With Me uses everything I would typically use in a week at school-- subject labels from Avery, Icon Stickers from Etsy, and my routines and procedures.
What questions do you have about this planner that I can help answer?
To see even more from the Simplified site, click HERE.
If you're new to Simplified, click HERE for $10 off your first order.
And last, but certainly not least, if you're feeling lucky this weekend, come to find me on Instagram @3rdgrthoughts where I will be giving away a brand new Simplified Teacher Planner to one lucky winner! The giveaway will go live on Friday, July 31st and end Sunday, August 2nd. Good luck!
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