Now that it’s almost time to go back to school (we start Sept. 3rd), I thought it was time to get my teacher planner ready! It has taken me several years to find “planner peace.” I started with an Erin Condren teacher planner and it was beautiful, it just didn’t work for me.
Last year, I used Jackie from POP’s teacher planner, but I didn’t have the Happy Planner punch. I used book rings and it worked great! I did need to put hole reinforce stickers on my most used pages in the front, but that’s easy!
This year, I bought the Happy Planner Big pink punch! It has been AMAZING! I love how easy it is to add/remove pages! When first setting up, it was a little tricky but as soon as I had a couple pages on, it was fast. It is so nice to be able to make changes based on my needs, what working/isn’t.
The sections in my planner this year include: Classroom Info., Calendars, AM attendance, AM assessments, AM ind. assessments, PM attendance, PM assessments, PM ind. assessments, Resources, and Lesson Plans.
My planner starts with to-do lists that I can pull out when I’m done or add more if I run out. These pages are all in the Teacher Planner pack I linked above.
The first tab in my planner is Classroom Info. This tab includes my class list, transportation information, contact information, boy/girl list (I usually get asked at parties), beginning of the year checklist (I made this in Word), portfolio picture page checklist, birthdays, Student services, my master spreadsheet.
I made this in Word. This page will be completed before school begins. This is the second page of my checklist. Half will be complete before school starts, the other half is pictures I need to print after the first day to finish our room! This is my portfolio checklist to make sure every student has all of their pictures in their portfolio at the end of the year. This is my master spreadsheet. It contains everything I’ve done the last two years and my plans for this year! It shows my door and “bulletin board” (wall) decorations, cubby tags, sensory table contents, themes, Christmas & graduation concert decorations, Christmas gifts & Mother’s day gifts, and ideas for the future!
Next up is calendars! I have the year-long calendar that I give to all of my preschool families in list form, a year at a glance, and monthly calendars.
Our year-long calendar in list view. Year-at-a-glance. Each month will have important dates, themes, birthdays, and other important info.
Next up is AM attendance, AM assessments, AM ind. assessments, PM attendance, PM assessments, and PM ind. assessments.
The assessment pages are also from Pocket of Preschool on TeachersPayTeachers. I use everything from her! This is the link to the bundle, but you can buy it in pieces if you prefer! https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Editable-Teacher-Binder-and-Planner-1362736
I use this for my 3 & young 4’s class. They come in the morning. I use this for 4 and 5 year old class. They come in the afternoon. This one has numbers to 20 and letter sounds in addition to the one I use for my AM class.
Resources is up next! In this section, I have all 3 years of Pocket of Preschool’s curriculum maps, her book lists, my book lists with my personal books, the teacher pages from PoP’s writing center & name cards, handouts from her Pop’s FB Lives (teaching letters & sounds, sensory table fillers, small group & table time, her schedules, & gifts for kids), PoP’s parents handouts, number formation rhymes from TeachingMama.org, shape poems from Pinterest, my school’s Preschool Out’s list, and some sweet letters I share with parents at conferences.
These curriculum maps are free on PoP’s TPT page. Here is the link: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Curriculum-Map-for-Preschool-Pre-K-and-Kindergarten-3204482 My book lists.
The final tab is lesson plans! I am trying out a new format this year, so I’m sure there will be some changes in this section throughout the year.
My AM class only comes 2 mornings a week. My PM class comes 4 afternoons a week, with the option of Full-Day Friday for “Kindergarten Prep” day. We get to experience a full day of school!
I printed my dividers and covers on cardstock, everything else is on regular paper. I laminated the covers and dividers in a 5ml pouch. I purchased my Happy Planner Big Punch and rings at Michael’s when I was in the cities one day this summer. Use a coupon for the punch! And don’t forget to use your teacher discount!
