Product Review

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Review: The 2011-12 Schoolhouse Planner

I was introduced to The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC  last year, and I honestly can say that I was really missing out on a wealth of information before then!  I cannot believe how much information I have gleaned from just the magazine alone.  Then, after I found them on Facebook, I started hearing about The 2011-12 Schoolhouse Planners.  I will admit that the $39.00 price tag really made me pause and think before I purchased it.  My thoughts were:

  • Is this planner really worth the $39.00 they are asking?
  • Is all the information going to pertain to me?
  • What about the calendar?  Is it something that will really work for us?
  • What about the forms?  Are they really as good as everyone says they are?
  • Is the planner really worth the $39.00 (PDF) or $44.00 (CD)?

The answer to all these questions is a resounding “YES!”  Yes, I am one of the honored bloggers that gets to review this product, but I can say, without a doubt, that I would definitely purchase this planner! 

There is so much information contained in this planner, and it is so easy to personalize to your family’s needs.  They offer several different styles of calendars for you to choose from, all customizable to fit your needs.  Here are a couple of examples:

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Then there are all the different homeschool forms to choose from:

  • 36 weekly planning forms (each individually numbered)
  • A customizable weekly planning form

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  • Another customizable weekly planning form with a place at the bottom for daily chores and a place for Prayers & Praises!
  • A “Daily Plans For School Year” geared from 1 child to multiple children

Again, there are several different options to choose from!

They also have forms for a Summer Schedule.

Another one of my favorites is the Assignments & Due Dates form:

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This will really come in handy for me this year since we have a high schooler and a middle schooler.  This will be a great way for them (& me) to be able to keep up with all of there different assignments in our co-op group. 

There also forms to help with high school planning, high school transcripts, college planning, & calculating GPAs, as well as for recording test scores, attendance, for grading periods, & even progress reports & grade cards.  This planner makes record keeping easy even for the organizationally challenged person, like myself.  And, if you’re an Unschool Family, well, they didn’t leave you out either!  They’ve got forms to help you keep up with all your daily occurrences & records, too!

There are so many different planners, that I could go on and on about each one, but I won’t.  I’ll leave those for you to check out once you purchase The 2011-12 Schoolhouse Planner for yourself.

A couple of my favorite forms included is for keeping up with the “Books Read This Year”.  (See above pic.)

As an avid reader myself, I have always encouraged my children to always be reading something and, thankfully, they all love reading.  This will help give me a great way to keep up with all the different books that they read throughout the year, as well as what they thought about a particular book.  This will help me to be able to customize the learning experience even more. 

Another favorite of my is the “Bible Memorization Record” and the Bible reading schedule (365 days or 90 days).  As a Follower of Christ, this is very important myself & to my husband.  This is a great way for your children to be able to read through the Bible & do it in a way that they can form to fit their individual needs. 

I honestly could go on & on, but I want to give you a few more highlights before you decide to rush off & purchase this for yourself!

A few others are:

  • Field Trip Planning
  • Co-Op Information
  • Curriculum Recording Sheets
  • Curriculum Planning/Wish Lists
  • Conventions
  • Homeschool Inventory
  • Preschool Forms
    • ABCs
    • Numbers
    • Colors
    • Etc.
  • Daily Schedules (several to choose from & customizable)
  • Musical Instrument Practice
  • Scouts
  • Sports
  • Dates To Remember
  • Important Phone Numbers & Contacts
  • AND MORE!

Not only do they have forms for homeschooling, but they also have:

  • Recipes
  • Meal planning forms (weekly & monthly)
  • Grocery Lists (several to choose from & customize)
  • Forms for important family information (i.e. emergency information, insurance, contacts, etc)
  • Food Inventory Log
  • Chore charts geared for all ages from preschool to high school
  • Personal Finance & Budget Forms
  • Fundraising Forms
  • Kids Financial Forms
  • Exercise Log
  • Home Improvement
  • Gardening
  • Car Care
  • Gift forms for budgeting, giving, wish list, etc.
  • Vacation planning forms of all kinds
  • Prayer Journal
  • Address book
  • Blog forms
  • AND MANY MORE!

And don’t forget all the helpful articles on:

  • Homeschooling
  • “The Prepared Pantry”
  • “Making Discipleship A Priority”
  • Budgeting
  • ETC.

And all the chart included.  A few of these  worth mentioning are:

  • Kitchen Conversion Cheat Sheet
  • Roman Numerals
  • Prime Numbers
  • The Planets
  • Periodic Table
  • Animal Classification
  • Types of Poetry
  • US Presidents
  • History Timeline
  • United States & Capitals
  • Important U.S. Documents

Like I said, I could go on and on.  There is so much in here to help you with not only your homeschooling, but in keeping your daily life & family life in check.  This is a great package that, to me, shows just how intertwined homeschooling is with our every day lives & activities.  Everything is a learning experience & should be treated as such. What better way to help you keep track of it all that with The 2011-12 Schoolhouse Planner.

I know some of you are thinking, but I only have an elementary-aged child, or a middle school-aged child, or a high school-aged child, or even a child with special needs.  I don’t need all of this information.  Well, they have planners geared for each one of you!  I’ll even provide the links for you (prices vary on these):

The 2011-12 Primary Schoolhouse Planner

The 2011-12 Intermediate Schoolhouse Planner

The 2011-12 High School Schoolhouse Planner

The 2011-12 Special Needs Schoolhouse Planner

They realize that homeschoolers are not a one-size-fits-all group and have tried to think of everyone, & they have tried to cater to each group as best they can. 

I hope that you will consider this planner when looking for your homeschool planner for the upcoming school year.  Believe me when I say that I have looked everyone for a planner to fit my family’s needs, and none of them did like this one. 

And, if you’re looking for a great homeschool magazine full of information and stories from people like yourself, you need not look any further:

You won’t be disappointed.

Thank you, The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC, for the great privilege of reviewing this wonderful product! 

God Bless!

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Sara McLachlan: Laws Of Illusion

I have the happy privilege of being one of the first be preview Sara McLachlan’s new CD. The Grammy® award winning, multi-platinum singer/songwriter is set to release her long awaited new album, LAWS OF ILLUSION on June 15th.  This is her first studio album of brand new material in 7 years, and I do think that she’s done a wonderful job!  The good news is that her new CD is being released to the public tomorrow, June 15th! 

I have to say that I have really enjoyed listening to her newest CD and I will definitely be adding to my iPod to listen to on a regular basis.  All of the songs are easy to listen to (for me, that means that I can understand all that’s being said and easily sing along if I want to), and Loving You is Easy, the first single off of her new album, is catchy and a joy to listen to.

Sara McLachlan has a career that spans more than two decades.  She has over 20 million career sales to date and, every one of Sarah McLachlan’s studio and live albums has been certified gold, platinum, or multi-platinum by the RIAA.  She has also performed on Jay Leno and Dancing With The Stars.   She is also performing in the return of the historic all-female Lilith Fair festival this summer!  From 1997 through 1999, Lilith Fair was one of the highest grossing touring festivals in the world, with over 2 million fans in attendance and raising over $10 million dollars for national and local women’s charities.  

So, head on over the Amazon and order Sara McLachlan’s newest album Laws of Illusion.

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~Mom’s Messenger – Another Great Way To Keep In Touch With Your Family!~

I was recently asked to try out a new product that was recently launched on the web. It is a product with all moms in mind. It’s designed to help busy moms communicate with our families faster and easier. And the best part about it is it’s free! Free is a term that I believe all moms love to hear! By now, I am sure that you are wondering just want I’m talking about. Well, it is my pleasure to introduce you to Mom’s Messenger! Mom’s Messenger is a great site that allows you to text anyone from any cell phone company for free! Yes, anyone on any plan for free! We have texting on our phones, but this is nice to be able to just continue working on my computer and just take a few seconds to flip over and send a quick text to a family member. Mom’s Messenger even has the option of setting your own personal text library so that you can enter the phrases that you use the most and tailor it to your own needs! Nice for when you need to remind your child to call you.
One cool feature that Mom’s Messenger offers is the ability to set personal reminders to come to your own phone at a specific time (they can be set to repeat daily, weekly, or monthly). The best feature by far is the Events Reminder! Mom’s Messenger allows you to set individual and/or group reminders for your family and friends of upcoming events that they need to know about, and to set them to text your family/friends on a specific day and time! How many of us moms have forgotten to reminder a family member or friend about something very important until the last minute? Or not at all? I know that with three kids I’ve forgotten a few things myself. Now, I’m able to set the reminders as soon as the event is brought to my attention. No more forgetting!
I know that Mom’s Messenger is really going to come in handy for those that may not have texting on their cell phones (or do not have a cell phone) keep in touch with their friends and family that do. I’m really looking forward to integrating this site into our busy lives, especially using the personal and event reminders. I hope that you will go on over and check out Mom’s Messenger for yourself! I think you’ll be very glad you did!
Stephanie Martin is a work-at-home-mom of 2 daughters and 1 son, and the owner and publisher of Busy Moms Online, a site with information for busy moms, and My Country Haven, a blog documenting her family’s life living on a farm and their frugal journey of remaining debt free while becoming more self-sufficient.