Boom.
If you're not convinced about the life altering power of those four words, or if you've maybe heard those words before but have no idea what I'm referring to - read on. A lot of the teachers that I follow on Pinterest & Instagram have been posting all about their Erin Condren planners and how much they love them. I was intrigued and perused the website and read a few reviews online. I'm a pretty cautious shopper and really want to make sure that I know what I'm buying and that I'll like it, so I searched the internet far and wide to find out how people felt about their experience and to see if this planner was truly worth the "investment." I finally decided to get one and let me tell you, it was the BEST decision!! The school year hasn't even started yet & I can already feel what a lifesaver this planner will be for me this year. I know that you can put your schedule on your iPhone and do lesson plans online... but I'm pretty old school so I love the fact that I can take notes, lesson plan, look at my calendar, track parent contacts, data, and so much more all in one convenient & cute place. Without any further ado, here is my review of the 2016 Erin Condren Teacher Planner!
Here is a quick breakdown of what the planner includes:
- Personalized covers (I chose to go with the standard cover)
-Tabbed months
-Graph paper (for tracking data, seating arrangements, etc)
- Absent Log (which I turned into Parent Contact Log... more on that in a bit)
- Year at a glance section
- Monthly spread calendar
- Weekly spread calendar/lesson plan section
- Notes Section
- 4 sheets of stickers (some blank & some with specific labels pertaining to school events)
- Double sided folder
- Sheet protector (I put my Daily Schedule & District Calendar in here)
- Zipper pouch
- Snap-in bookmark
Now let's hop into the planner!
As soon as I opened the beautifully packaged box, I was greeted with some exciting freebies (pictured above, along with more!) and this beautiful cover. I chose to go with the standard cover instead of personalizing it for a few reasons. One, because it was a bit cheaper. Two, I knew it would get to me faster. And three, because the planner covers can be interchangeable, I knew I could order a personalized one later if I changed my mind.
As soon as I opened up the planner itself I knew that the two of us (my planner & I) were going to get along well this year. I love how the front inside cover is lined dry erase. I can foresee myself using this in meetings, or to quickly jot something down. Also, all the tabs that you can see on the right side just make me so happy. The first few pages after the cover page include spots for me to put in personal information including an "All About Me" section and web resources.
After that, we come across the Birthday section. Looking at how blank this page is right now makes me sad, but in just three weeks from today I will get my class list and I will be able to fill this puppy in. Yay!
The next section is for the Absent Log. I don't know about you but my District takes care of absences online, so this section was pretty useless for me. I decided to personalize it by covering up the Absent Log title and turning these two pages into a Parent Contact section instead. I'm looking forward to testing this out. Last year, I had a more in depth PC log that I plan on still using this year for situations that require me to document more detail... but I think I will use this for most quick contacts.
After this is a few pages of graph paper that I plan on using for seating charts and/or tracking data. Next is a section for long-rage block plans, just a quick snapshot to plan out the whole year at a glance. I'm very visual, so I appreciate this section where I can look at my whole year spread out on two pages.
Next, we come to the monthly planning section! Between each month you can find three pages for notes and an inspirational quote. Above is the quote for August. Feeling pumped for this first month!
Here's August!! As you can see things are starting to fill in quickly! I LOVE the pages of colored stickers in the back of the book. As you can see, some of them I wrote on, and the "First Day" sticker is one of the school event stickers provided. I want my planner to look really clean & cute, so at this point I'm lightly penciling in some of the things I know that I have coming up, but I don't have all of the solid details yet. I plan on going in as soon as I do have those details solidified & making a sticker for those things. I've been writing on the stickers with my black Flair pen or my Sharpie pen. Both work great!
After the monthly spreads, comes the lesson planning section! You can also see my ruler that snaps in and out of the planner. I'm using it as a book mark right now. I love the planning section. It is the perfect size for what I need and is very clean cut, which I appreciate.
Ta-daa! The Student Checklist pages. Right now, they're looking a little naked but I have big plans for them when I get my class roster! I'm going to be using this section to keep track of things such as permission slips, turned in assignments, etc. I am not planning on using this for grades, but more for checking in and some quick formative assessments.
I LOVE this two-sided pocket folder towards the back of my planner. As you can see, I am using this side to place in my to-do list, the other side I will use to place any handouts from meetings. After this is a sheet protector that I have put my Daily Schedule in and my District Calendar.
All in all, I just adore my Erin Condren Teacher Planner. I am so excited to use it. I hope that you're geeking out over this planner as much as I have been. If you already have one of your own, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the planner, how you've tweaked it to make it your own, etc.
If you don't have one and are interested in getting one, I have a code that can get you $10 off your first Erincondren.com purchase. Click on the link below:
If you have any questions about the planner, or want to see more pictures of it (including the pages I didn't show) comment below! Happy planning!
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