The 2009 Schoolhouse Planner Review

Wow! This was my first response on opening up this extremely comprehensive Planner. In my first few minutes of flipping through the pages I was amazed by the amount of detail and the excellent practical information provided throughout the pages.

When the time came to reading it through thoroughly I paid greater attention to the individual subjects outlined in the “Table of Contents.” I realized this could take me a while to read and perhaps this could not have arrived at a better time for our family. Our family has been in a chaotic state with a combination of hospital visits, doctors appointments, and the birth of a baby during these last two years, followed by the death of our five year old son in October 2008. We definitely require some restructuring and planning once again.

On reading slowly through the Planner there were many subjects covered that I have not begun to teach my son yet. One example is by Steve Demme of http://www.mathusee.com/ who wrote “Ten Keys to Success Learning Math in the Decimal System.” This article and the links to products and other math websites are all listed together.

Another favorite subject to read up on was from Molly Green at http://www.econobusters.com/. Molly shared on Fire Safety and what to do before this situation may happen to make the aftermath slightly easier. Having had personal experience after losing a home and belongings to a tornado some years ago this was a gentle reminder of documenting our home’s inventory and important papers once again and keeping the lists and video/photo records in another safe place. This information will especially help those out who live in areas prone to flooding and/or tornado areas.

Other items of interest to me were “American Government Basics” by Amanda Bennett where she outlines the details of how Federal, State and Local Governments are set up. Here is a link to her website where you can find the American Government Unit Study ( http://www.unitstudy.com/ ). “Learning to Spot the Planets” by Jay Ryan; Bible reference tables for the Miracles and Parables of Jesus; “Lap Books: A Creative Road to Retention” (we use Lap books in just about every subject). My son picks up his completed Lap Books weeks later and re-reads them over and over again, thus cementing the information once again.

After the calendar and article pages are all the homeschool forms that a Homeschool family could wish for. There are definitely some that I would never even think of, or that I would need perhaps. They cover everything from curriculum planning, courses of study, unit study, book reports for both elementary and higher education, to grading, report cards, progress reports, chore schedules for parents and children. I can honestly say there was nothing in this Planner that I do not like or need now or in the future years.

This Planner is a ‘bible’ or ‘dictionary’ in my opinion of homeschooling information. I suggest you visit The Old Schoolhouse Magazine website at http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/ and take a look at some sample pages of the Planner. There are additional modules that can be added for a cost of $7.95 per month for additional unit studies. The 2009 Homeschool Planner is selling for $39.00 at the following link http://www.theoldschoolhousestore.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=191_193&products_id=10450.

If you are not totally sure after reading this review there are many other reviews for this product on the website or at http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/HomeschoolCrew/
I truly think that for the amount of information that is obtained in this e-book it is well worth the price. The Forms included can be reused during another year with a different calendar perhaps. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through this Planner and endeavor to make the best use of as much information from it as possible. Enjoy it too.