I get questions all the time about the supplies I use to set up my teacher planner, so today I'm giving you a full update on everything I'm using for the upcoming school year. The nice thing is most things I use for many years so I get my money's worth, and every year I tweak a few little things here and there so I still get to enjoy the fun of putting together a fresh new planner every summer!
*this post contains affiliate links*
1. Cover and discs
You can get hard covers like the one I have from a few different places but the one I have right now is from The Happy Planner. Honestly when my planner cover starts to get beat up after several years and it needs to be replaced, I look for one from any brand that I can find on clearance and get that one! This one is pretty similar to the one I'm using. I love these Happy Planner Rainbow Expander Metal Discs. The colors are just so fun and because they are metal they are so sturdy! I've been using them for several years now with very little sign of wear.
2. Paper
You don't have to have a fancy hard cover or rainbow colored discs to set up a teacher planner like this, but you will definitely need a hole punch to be able to put your papers into a discbound planner! Someone gave me the hole punch I'm using now from The Happy Planner but I used this one, which is much cheaper, for years with no issues.
This may surprise you but I think the biggest difference between a printable planner that feels cheap and one that feels professional is the paper. If you get 24lb paper to print at home you will notice a huge difference, and it's really not that much more expensive! Here's the paper I'm using right now.
You can also definitely have your planner pages printed- I used to have mine printed at Staples and they always came out great- but it is nice to be able to print at home and have the flexibility to just print out a page or two here and there whenever I need it without having to leave the house, and it ends up being cheaper. I use HP's instant ink service so it sends me new ink cartridges whenever I need them- here's a link to get 1 month free if you want to try it too.
3. Folders and pockets
I find it really helpful to have a double-sided folder and a zippered pocket in the front of my planner. I got a new folder this summer from this accessory pack but you can use any letter size folder! I haven't found any other zippered pockets as good as this Arc Clear Zippered Pocket and it's so nice to keep my favoriteFrixion Erasable Pens, some stamps, and address labels in there. I keep a Staples Clear Pocket in the back too for my choir sheet music.
4. Tabs and bookmarks
If there's one thing I've used longer than anything else (and probably will still be using 10 years from now) it's this pack of Rainbow Paper Tabs. They are essentially sticky notes in the shape of tabs so I just write the section name on it and stick it where I want each section to begin (you can see them along the side in the photo above). They hold up shockingly well as well!
And I made my own bookmark to hold some sticky notes to use in my planner years ago that I am still using today- it's basically just a laminated piece of scrapbook paper cut to size with holes punched to add to my planner, but here is my Bookmark/ Sticky Note Dashboard DIY tutorial if you want all the details.
I also started using a plastic bookmark from The Happy Planner a few years ago that someone gave me and it is finally wearing down so this year I got a new one in the same accessory pack I got the folder from. I keep the DIY one in the current month, and the plastic one in the current week.
I hope this helps if you are thinking about setting up your own planner like mine- I absolutely love it and have been using it with pretty much the same setup for over a decade now! Please let me know if you have any questions, I'm happy to help. Happy planning!
Each new year brings fresh motivation to get organized! I love looking through my planner from the first part of the school year over winter break before refilling it with fresh blank pages for the spring! Today you're coming with me to look through my planner from the first few months of the school year before we start fresh in January.
I actually showed the first few weeks of the school year in a separate video this fall. Here are my monthly and weekly planner pages from the end of August through the end of September:
And then here are the rest of the weekly and monthly pages through the end of December 2025, including a custom page I made to use over break! This is one of the things I love about using a printable planner like this- I can throw in different pages whenever I want to without feeling like I'm wasting anything and make it tailored to my needs.
It's that time again! It took me a while to get this post up but my planner is set up and ready to go for the new school year!
I got a new hard cover for the front, and of course printed out a new planner cover for the inside, but most of the pages are the same as last year. If you want to get the planner pages I'm using, you can find them all in this set, and you can see all the different lesson planning formats available right here. Here's a quick tour of what it all looks like put together and ready for a new year:
Seeing my planner full of blank pages ready to be filled always feels like a fresh start. If you have any questions about the items I used or how I use my planner, leave a comment below!
Every 6 months or so I take out the planning pages I've already used, to keep my planner from getting too bulky, and add in new pages for the upcoming months. Before I cleared out the pages from the second half of the 23-24 school year to get my planner set up for summer, I had to go back and flip through all the pages I decorated and used over the past 6 months to show you what it really looks like when I am using my planner as a music teacher, mom, and business owner on a day-to-day basis.
Whether you're looking for inspiration for decorating your planner as someone who still needs a lot of space to actually write down information, or you want to see how I actually use my planner in my day to day and how I use the weekly and monthly pages, I hope this gives you some fresh ideas and motivation to use your planner more effectively next school year!
If you are interested in trying out these printable planner pages for yourself you can see all of the available formats (I'm using a modified version of the Dated 5) here in my TPT store! Please let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
It's summer break and that means no lesson planning for a few months, and a much more relaxed schedule in general! But I've learned I still function best using my planner, even when I have far less to write down- I end up more stressed when I try to put my planner away! Here's how I switch up my teacher planner in the summer months.
1. Remove old monthly and weekly pages
It is an awesome feeling, and a great way to help me process the school year that has just ended and emotionally and mentally transition to summer break, when I take the monthly calendars and weekly lesson planning pages out of my planner. It makes my planner a whole lot slimmer and lighter too! I take the time to flip through the pages and remember everything that happened before I take them out- it's like looking through a scrapbook or photo album- which helps a lot with my transition from the hectic school year into summer. The abrupt switch from the hectic school year to summer break can be tough, actually, but taking the time to remember and reflect, and then physically remove those pages from my planner, really helps.
2. Set up a summer at a glance calendar and summer bucket list
Actually I set up my "summer at a glance" calendar (which is just the 3 summer month calendars all on one page) before the end of the school year so I could start planning all of the vacations etc and keep track of dates, but I do highly recommend it. Even though I do add in the monthly calendars for summer months just like the rest of the school year, having the major travel/ camp dates for the whole summer on one page is really helpful.
The summer bucket list is something I've been doing for years and it really helps me stay focused on my goals for summer vacation- no, not just work things, but mostly family things, home things, and self care things that I tell myself all year, "I'll have time for that during summer break". You can read more about the different ways I've set them up over the years, and how I think about categories of items to keep on my list, in this post.
3. Add in summer monthly and weekly pages
I used to go straight to adding in next school year's pages as soon as school got out but I don't do that anymore- not only have I learned from the pandemic that you can never take schedules or calendars for granted that far in advance, but I like having the concrete reminder of the switch from school year to summer break to keep my brain from jumping straight into planning and preparing for next year. The beauty of the #PlanMyWholeLife planners is there are lots of weekly planning pages in the "business" section of the printables that have just enough space to note basic things like play dates and meal plans but take away the extra unnecessary lesson planning space.
If you want to see all of this in action here's a quick video of my process to help you visualize how I use my planner all through the summer!
Do you use your planner over summer break? I know some people throw all calendars out the window entirely, and some continue using the same planning pages they do during the school year- I've found this happy medium works best for me, but I'd love to hear what other teachers do in the comments.
There are few things more exciting about back to school season than setting up my planner for the new year- it just reminds me of the fresh opportunities for a new start, and helps me feel so much better prepared to get back into the swing of things!
I filmed my process of taking out the old pages from last year and putting in the new ones to set my planner up for the school year so you can see how easy it is from year to year once you get your system set up. It really takes very little time or effort, and of course it's easy to tweak things too!
If you have any questions about anything you see in the video or anything I mentioned please leave me a comment! If you're interested in the specific supplies I use, like the cover, discs, pens etc, here are some of those links below:
One of my favorite weekend pastimes is setting up my planner for the upcoming week. Decorating the pages helps me take the time to process all the different responsibilities and appointments I'm juggling, plus it's just fun for me to do a little crafting! Here's a peek at what I do each week- come plan with me!
This is not a scripted, pre-planned video at all, it's just you and me sitting down together to decorate my planner! I often get asked how I put these spreads together, so I hope this gives you a little better idea of what I do and how I think through putting things together to make everything look cohesive- I don't spend a lot of money on coordinating supplies so my spreads are always a hodge-podge of things I've picked up from different places.
Here is some information on the things I used or mentioned in the video:
The stickers are all from The Happy Planner, the paper pad was from Target Dollar Spot (I think- I got it years ago) and the washi tape is from Michaels.
I often see the debate among teachers over digital vs paper planning, but the truth is there are benefits to both! In fact although I consider myself a paper planner at heart, I use both for my lesson planning and I think I get the best of both worlds without duplicating my work. Here's how I use each one, and why I think it works best this way.
1. Paper
If I had a dollar for every time someone sees me pull out my paper planner and launches into an advertisement for their favorite calendar app.... I truly do think there's something about physically writing things down that helps me process and remember things so much better, and I find I can set things up better visually to see everything I want to see at once instead of scrolling and clicking around to find what I need. My paper planners also serve as a creative outlet for me- I like to decorate my pages like a scrapbook- but even if you're not into that sort of thing I think there is merit to paper planning for day-to-day.
I use paper planning for:
weekly and monthly calendars, with everything (meals, lesson plans, appointments, birthdays, etc) consolidated in one place
running to-do lists
brain dumping (especially for things like concerts or new curricular units)
I keep paper copies of other things in my paper planner, just to have it available, but those are the things I truly rely on my written plans for and I think are better suited for paper planning. Sure, these can all be done digitally as well, but my brain just doesn't process it the same way on a screen.
2. Digital
As much as I love paper planning though, there are definitely areas of planning for which digital planning is much better suited! For anything I want to keep and reference long-term, or things that don't require a lot of thinking through on my part, digital planning is definitely better because I can save it without needing a mountain of papers to sort through!
I use digital planning for:
curriculum outlines by grade
lesson plan ideas by month for each grade
grades and attendance
student contact information
concert and performance plans/ repertoire
Could I keep paper copies of all of these? Yes, and in the past that was what I did. But for things that I want to store and reference for years to come, having a running document saved digitally is far more helpful than a piece of paper, and I can add in links, copy and paste, and otherwise organize everything to keep it more streamlined. I do keep notes to myself on performance task assessments I grade in class on paper, but I transfer those to our district's online grading platform when I am figuring out report card grades and keep all other grades there, so I don't have to go looking for things when it's report card time.
I think the key here is to think about the purpose of your planning, then figure out how to best accomplish that, realizing that not every part of planning will be best served by the same system! As with most things in life, there is no dichotomy here- we don't have to pick a team, we can take the best from everything to do what works best!
Are you a paper planner, digital planner, or a hybrid planner? I know everyone has their own system, and I'd love to hear yours! If you want to read more about how I plan my curriculum and monthly lessons digitally, and write out my weekly lessons in my paper planner, here's a good post that explains my system. If you want to see the paper planner I use to consolidate everything on a monthly and weekly basis to keep me on track, here's a walk through of my entire planner. And if you're a die-hard digital planner, did you know you can use the same planner templates digitally? This post has a tutorial on how to do that.
If you're new to the world of Organized Chaos planning, or just need more planner content in your life, you can find all of my planner-related posts right here.
I made a small but significant change to my planner setup this school year and after test-driving it for a couple of months I'm officially in love!
So let me show you what I did and then I'll explain what it is, how I use it, and why it's awesome :)
For those who don't know, I designed a planner years ago where I can keep everything in one place, from lesson plans for my elementary general music classes to meal planning, from concert organization to birthdays and anniversaries, and everything in between. If you aren't familiar with what my planner is like, here's a video "tour" from a couple of years ago, which takes you through all of the different sections of the planner:
I've had a section for "curriculum" since I first started this planner system, and as my lesson planning systems and resources have changed, the contents of that section have changed as well. A couple of years ago I started creating and using monthly lesson banks to more effectively fill the gap between my long-range yearly plans and my day-to-day lesson planning. If you aren't familiar with that system, stop everything you're doing and go read the post below- it has been life-changing for me!
Until this year, I was referencing those all-important monthly lesson banks in two ways: 1) on my computer, and 2) a hard copy of the current month, which I kept in the back pocket of my planner. As I completed each month's plans I would print out the next month and throw away the old one.
The problem was I found myself referencing those monthly lesson banks so often that it was sometimes inconvenient not to have a hard copy of every month at my fingertips! And as I reflect on my curriculum and lesson plans this school year to dig deeper into how to better represent and respect all of my students from differing backgrounds and perspectives, I have wanted to have a hard copy where I can jot down ideas when I think of them, and pull out several months at a time to look at them side-by-side.
Enter my planner setup update: the grade level tabs within the curriculum section of my planner!
For each grade, I printed out the yearly outline for which skills and concepts I plan to cover each month, with the curriculum overview for each grade level based on the standards on the back of that page. Behind that, I have each month's lesson bank:
I was avoiding having everything printed and included in my planner because I never want to add unnecessary bulk, but these monthly plans have become such a critical part of my planning process that it is worth it for me! If you want to get a closer look at what my monthly lesson banks are like, you can download the September plans for 5th grade for free right here, and you can get all the templates I used to set up everything from my long-range curriculum documents to my specific lesson plans, plus the directions for how I did it, in this free email course.
I love having everything organized this way, and having the tabs-within-tabs makes it easy to find what I need when I'm writing up my lesson plans. Anything that saves me time with all those different lessons is a huge win for me! If you don't want to add too much bulk to your regular planner, this would also be a great binder to set up separately with tabs for each grade and the grade level overviews and monthly plans organized within each grade.
I hope you found some fresh inspiration and new ideas to help you simplify your general music lesson planning! If you want more ideas like this sent straight to your email, be sure to sign up here for the Organized Chaos Newsletter so you can stay up to date on the latest happenings around these parts :)
I'm not much of a touchy-feely person. I tend to be skeptical of anything that seems fluffy or ignorantly positive. But I have come to appreciate the power of positive visuals and the influence it can have on my mood and motivation in a very real way, and today I wanted to share some of my favorite ways to incorporate them simply and effectively into my daily life.
It all started with a quote that really struck me. I knew I wanted to be reminded of that thought often, so I stuck some paper inside a dollar tree picture frame to make my own dry erase board, wrote down the quote, and hung it by my front door. When I came across a new quote, I erased the previous one and wrote down the new one.
When I moved into my new house, I was looking for easy ways to decorate my bedroom and make it more colorful, and picked up a scrapbook paper pad with colors that coordinate with my bedding. In that paper pad were a few pages with large quotes, and one of them had both a great message that I wanted to wake up to, and was visually appealing as wall art. So I modge-podged it onto some cork board and hung it on the wall in my bedroom:
As I started playing around more with my planner decorating, I started incorporating other pieces of scrapbook paper and stickers with inspirational quotes that I anticipated I would need to be reminded of that week. I even made some of my own (see them here) that I printed, cut, and glued into my planner. Since I look at my planner multiple times every day, I figured I should use the space to help keep me in the right mindset!
All of these are very simple but have had a positive impact on my mood and mindset as I go through my day- it's amazing how powerful a simple image can be!
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My teacher/ life planner is my single most important tool for maintaining my sanity as a mother, music teacher, and teacher-author. I designed my "perfect for me", all-in-one planner 5 years ago, and I've been refining my system and streamlining my organization ever since. Along the way I've shared my favorite tips for using planners on this blog, and I think it's high time I compiled those tips into one place!
Below you'll find all of my favorite posts on tips and strategies for using your planner for everything from lesson planning to home life organization (and everything in between). Click on the pictures to read the full posts- happy planning!
A "tour" of what my planner looks like after a full school year of use:
"Teacher-y" things to keep in your planner:
Home and life items to keep in your teacher planner:
Using the lesson planning pages in your planner as effectively as possible for your own unique teaching situation:
How I use my monthly calendars:
Planning ahead for the following school year:
Using "decorating" to make planning more effective and organized:
Consolidated to-do lists:
Tracking snow days:
Tips on planning ahead for winter holidays:
Organized concert prep:
I hope these resources help you get the most out of your planner and get more organized! If you have any questions or your own tips to share, I'd love for you to leave them in the comments below! And if you want to learn more about the planners I design for music teachers, check out the video below and click here to shop. Happy planning!
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My obsession with my teacher/life planner is no secret: my very first post on this blog 4 years ago was about my planner, and it has been an ongoing topic ever since! As a mother of two young kids, a full-time music teacher, and a teacher-author, having a planner that allows me to consolidate all of my responsibilities and streamline all of that information effectively and efficiently is a life-saver!! I simply cannot overstate how important my planner is to my sanity.
BUT after sharing so much planner goodness for so many years, I realize it has become increasingly difficult to concisely share all of those tips and tricks with planner newcomers. So this week I'm going to do my best to bring all of my best information together in one place to make it easier for newbies to get started, and probably help those of you who are already on board the planner train find some hidden gems you may have missed before!
Today's post is all about setting up the physical planner itself to get it ready to use. Click on the pictures to read the full posts!
All of the supplies I use for my current planner setup, including the binder and accessories I use, how I print my pages, and more:
How to customize the planner printables on the computer before printing (with a video tutorial showing you exactly how I do it!):
A tour of all the pages I have in my current planner, including sections for school, home, and business, and how I organize the pages to make them easy to find/use:
Super-simple tutorials for making your own sticky note "dashboard" to use as a bookmark, and a pocket folder to stick in the back of your planner:
All of the supplies I used in my previous planner setup (which I used for over 3 years and loved!). If you're just getting into planners like this, I would recommend starting with these:
I hope you find all the information you need to get your planner set up the way that works best for you and your needs! If you have any further questions about getting your planner set up effectively, please leave them in the comments below- I LOVE talking about planners any day! And if you want to look at the different planners I design for music teachers, check out the video below and click here to shop. Happy planning!
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