isn't it lovely!? {sigh}
when I became frustrated! I wrote something wrong and couldn't fix it! Plus... I am not a big fan of my handwriting and writing them out (seems to) take longer than typing them on the computer. Last year I used post-its and a daily At-A-Glance planner that I loved....
....but it just wasn't enough.
The Erin Condren planner (everyone on IG seems to have one!) is great because it is my calendar, lesson planner, attendance, and grade book all in one! But I still disliked writing my lessons.... until an idea hit me. I opened my desk drawer and found my mini post-its. I laid the stack on top of one of the spaces for a lesson in the week, and low & behold... IT WAS THE PERFECT SIZE!
So I quickly got to work as soon as I could. I opened a file I have on my computer that has boxes already the size of the mini post-its for another use (I make my students reminders for different things to put in their binder... but I digress...)
I copied the file and started moving everything around to see what I could fit on one page.
Since there are 7 blocks per day in the teacher planner, I put 7 of the boxes at the top of the page and 7 more at the bottom with a gap between the two to delineate the days. I duplicated the slide (I use Power Point) and added in text boxes. To help myself in the future so I don't get confused while typing, printing, and transferring it into my planner, I put titles by the post-it boxes for the subject they will go on, and labels for the day. I also wrote in (very small) the color that the post-its for that day are, just to help me remember. None of those will print onto the post-its themselves. They will be on the paper. They are just a good reference for me.
Here's what it looked like at first:
then, in those gray boxes, I put my transparent text boxes with my lesson info for that day. You can format the font (any font you want!) to be bold, italic, shadowed, outlined, and any size you need! I continually duplicate my slides so everything is in the same format and I only have to change the lesson info.
Here's what a two-day page looks like all typed up:
So...once everything is typed for the week, I can start printing. First, I print the blank template, which is slide 1 in the file I shared below (you didn't think I wouldn't share the love, did you!?!)
It looks like this:
It is just light gray boxes the size of the mini post-its in the same place as the above slides. I print a few copies of those (so I can print faster) and put the post-its where the boxes are. As mentioned, I use different colors to delineate the days. The top 7 are one color, the bottom 7 another. I use 5 different colors for the 5 days of the school week.
Once all the post-its are on the papers, I insert the paper into the printer and all of my lesson plan info will print right onto the post-its! Then, I transfer them onto my planner, add some washi tape to show where snack & lunch are in our day, and that's it! The whole week is done! Then, when you don't get to something or need to switch it around, just move your post-its! You can also flip them up and write underneath of them, too, if you want additional notes/details, or want to write notes after you teach the lesson for future reference. It's that simple!
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8-bwRPJivdPDB6t56jowrPLDXVn4xD5BLrSoFfkmU-TImU9WUtaJ6tEVoSPlR5aqh1j8rujiDs8ZQecck65uCndTgaJ4HmweQSvfTMUBMUDCfu3AyN1vR7BYDnX2BSrAQgRQEUtslBvY/s200/postits.jpg)
You could also use post-it flags for writing the date so your lesson planner is more reusable if you like. I use them under the date for notes specific to that day. and write the date in because I know I will probably use a whole new planner next school year. I use a pack I got at the Dollar Tree that come in a bunch of sizes, are transparent, and are only $1!
So... here it is, all finished!
I just love the colors and the neatness of the fonts! What do you think?!
You can get the template for this here! It is a Power Point file :)
You can also view my YouTube video tutorial to see it in action!
I hope you find it as useful as I do and find that the instructions are clear. Feel free to comment or email me at mrstamilynnmo@aol.com if you have any questions!
Oh my goodness!! THANK YOU!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is going to make my life some much easier! I hated when something would happen and I needed to move a lesson to the next day but already wrote it in. Now I can simply move the post-it over. Thanks a million!!
Fabulous idea! I love the planner too - it's been on my Christmas list for awhile! :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with kristid2013 completely! Thank you so much. You don't know how much this will help many of us! Thanks again =).
ReplyDeleteI love this idea! Can I ask what fonts you used?
ReplyDeleteHI Veronica!
DeleteThe fonts I used are by Kimberly Geswein... you can download them here to use personally for free: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kimberly-Geswein-Fonts. The script font is called KG Eyes Wide Open, and the other font is KG Be Still and Know.
Thanks so much! I hope this all works out for you!! :)
Tami
Hello! Where did you get those colors for your post-its? I love how you coordinated them!
ReplyDeleteI just got one of these planners to use next year and LOVE the idea of sticky notes for my planning. How did it work out as far as the thickness of your planner (when closing it) as you used sticky notes throughout the year? Does it hold up well? That's my only concern!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing the template!
Casey
www.cuteclassroomcreations.blogspot.com
Hi Casey! Good questions! It's actually not that thick! I took some pictures and posted about it on my Facebook page so you can see how thick it is. When I get my new planner for next year in the mail, I'll post a side-by-side comparison of the two for you to see the difference!
DeleteHere's the link>>> https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=1124534174239886&id=858841157475857
Thanks! :)
Tami
This post may have just changed my life.
ReplyDeleteDaisy Designs
This post may have just changed my life.
ReplyDeleteDaisy Designs
This is so creative! Love this post! :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! So excited to do this to my Teacher planner this year. I had one quick question. I printed out my first set of sticky notes and was wondering if there was a secret to getting the grey boxes to not print when i print my lessons? For some reason I can't figure out how to get them to no appear on the sticky notes.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
Hi Ashley!!
ReplyDeleteOkay, so what you can do to get rid of the boxes is to delete the boxes once you have printed them on page you need to put the post-its on and have all of your information typed into your text boxes. Leave the text boxes exactly as they are, make sure the file is fully saved and then go ahead and delete the entire background image that has those boxes in it. Then, you can print and they won't show up. When you go to save the file, you can hit CTRL+Z and that will undo that you deleted those images and then save the file as it was (or you can just close it out without saving and it will undo that you deleted the image with the boxes). I hope that all makes sense! If you need me to explain more, I can. Feel free to email me any time at mrstamilynnmo@aol.com.
Thanks!
Tami :)
THANK YOU for this response!! I am absolutely IN LOVE with the idea of post it for planning as I teach PE and often class gets interrupted or the gym is out of use. I was struggling with the boxes as well! Thank you so much!!!
DeleteYes it does. Tried it and it worked. Thank you. LOL I feel it was so easy I should have known. Thank you!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat idea. Do you know if this works on a printer other than a laser?
ReplyDeleteHi Diane!
DeleteYes, it does! I actually print on an inkjet at school most of the time. We just recently got the laser at home and I was worried it wouldn't work with it, but it did. The key thing you need to do is make sure to peel your post-its off of the pad from the side so they stay more flat and don't curl up. If they start to curl, they are more likely to catch in the printer. Once in a while I get one that catches and moves a bit, but otherwise I am pretty successful in how well they print! Thanks to checking this out.. have fun planning! :)
Do you find that the post its stay stuck? I am a little worried that I will have all of my planning falling out of my diary...
ReplyDeleteI have not had any issues with any of my post-its falling off, and I've been planning with them for 3 years now!
DeleteGreat!! I am trying it for next week! :)
DeleteI love this! I have been using different color pens! I just got the happy planner and am hoping this will work for that.... Thank u so much for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteI love this! I have been using different color pens! I just got the happy planner and am hoping this will work for that.... Thank u so much for sharing!!
ReplyDeleteWhat size post its should I use? Sorry is this has been answered and I missed it...
ReplyDeleteHi Heather! The template is made for the 1.5x2 mini sized post-its!
DeleteThis is genius! Thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteWhat size post its did you use for this currently deciding whether to get 1.5 x 2 or 2 x 2?
I used the 1.5x2, but there is some room under them, so the 2x2 would fit the planner as well. I just used what I happened to have with me at the time and then just always used that size, so that is what is in the template.
DeleteThank you for sharing! This is great!
ReplyDeleteI can not wait to give this a try when I finally get my new planner. It speaks to so many of innermost needs. ;-) Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHey so I can't know what the problem is but when I try to click on the link to pull up the templet it just opens a blank page in safari. I know you said it was a powerpoint file, is there something I am doing wrong or is the link not working?
ReplyDeleteMegan
Hi Megan! I am so sorry it's not working! I will look in to that... in the meantime, you can go to my TpT store to download the template more easily, or email me at mrstamilynnmo@aol.com and I will email you the file! :)
Deletehttps://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Teacher-Lesson-Planner-Template-with-Sticky-Notes-1668242
Hi Tami. So you just stick the post its on the template and print? There is no paper stuck in the printer?
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this but goodness how long does it take you to type out every little thing like that? I would imagine this takes longer doesn't it?
Hi Jen! The initial set-up of my first week of lessons does take a little time to set thr schedule, but once it's made I just copy the file each week so that all of the formatting is in place and I just change more specific information such as workbook pages, and etc. It's actually not very time consuming at all!
DeleteOh my gosh! I can't wait to use this in my new planner. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHi, do you have a template to print on the post it flags??
ReplyDelete