Would you buy a Happy Planner for your 6th grader?

once you figure out how to make it work for you... yes, it really works ... i took me a little while to figure out how to use mine for creative work, family life and personal stuff. but i am in a groove with it now ... and i can't live without it. i get so much more done and tend not to forget the little things.

i think it's perfect for a young girl too. i tried to get my daughter on board but she has no interest. i agree with Allison that it is really customizable ... those arc disc things will easily let her keep a whole year of pages or just a few months at a time. the spaces are nice and big to write in. they make cute elastic straps that i would recommend getting (or hacking and making your own with elastic ) that would probably help keep it together if going in and out of a backpack every day. and if you buy them at a local craft store with a 40% or 50% coupon ... they are so inexpensive! And like allison said ... if it gets beat up a bit ... a new cover could be bought or made.

i think getting her used to planning/being organized if she struggles with due dates is a great idea. by the time she hits HS she will definitely have a system that works for her. and then hopefully that carries over into college if she is headed in that direction ...

for me ... i t is also a big creative outlet for me. i feel more connected to my paper scrapping roots and i love that. but i know i don't have to decorate it if i don't have time. no pressure no stress.

and updated to add: i now have the Hello Forever planner and Color Crush ... but I'm waiting to use up my Happy Planner pages before I go to the new ones in 2017. I really want one for creative work and one for family/personal/everything else. The Happy Planner was a great "first" planner for me, to make sure I really would use it without a big investment.

 

My 6th grade year was when I started multiple subjects/different teachers... it was a pre-curser to Jr high (which starts at 7th grade in my area), and about where most kids start a middle school type situation. I know in 7th grade my teachers insisted on a type of planner, so I definitely don't think she's too early.

Maybe you can use it as a tool for motivation for her to stay on task? "You can pretty up your planner when your homework is done!" Or, I'll print out more stickers for you when your grades are....
Idk. Something.

I actually went back to Hobby Lobby this weekend looking for another clearance rack find of a Happy Planner because I wanted an extra one for my daughter (she's 4!), since then she could decorate her own planner with me. (I had just picked one up off the rack for $2.50 the week before, which seemed reasonable for my 4yr old to have.... and me to steal extra pages. )

 

that is a really great idea!

And I love that you are trying to get your 4 yr old into it. The funny thing is ... my children were required to have a planner (just a soft cover workbook type daily planner thing) every year from 1st grade through 6th grade. The school provided each kid with them ... and parents had to sign off on it every night. Then in 7th ... when they started multiple teachers/switching classes each period ... they were highly encouraged to use a planner of their choice (even a simple composition book) but my kids completely stopped once it was no longer a requirement. I think all those years of making sure to get everything signed each night actually turned them off of it. Now a days most teachers let the HS kids simply snap a photo of the smart board/homework instead of having to write it down. (even though technically they are not sup'd to be using smart phones in class) .

 

She likes to see my planner videos when I'm watching them on YouTube, so it was just an idea I had for her to be occupied while I did my own. Lol!

 

I'm not sure what that is, since my girls are grown. But I do remember that when they entered middle school, which is 6th, 7th, & 8th grade here) they were given a planner by the school. They loved it, and it kept them organized for the whole year. Some teachers would check it occasionally for extra credit.

 

@djp332 the Happy Planner is a planner/memory keeper/journal. A planner for creatives! It's in the "Create 365" product line by "Me and My Big Ideas" (MAMBI for short) and sometimes also referred to as the "Create 365 Happy planner"
Pretty popular in the planner world!

 

I just would caution the excitement now with failing to keep up with it later. I am notorious for this... Super excited, spend tons of money, lose interest.
Blah. Hopefully she really enjoys it, makes it work for her own ideas of organization while also learning from it.

 

Use a coupon if you have it!! I got my first one at Hobby Lobby for 40% off

 

girls ... I caught my daughter checking out one of my new unused planners today while I wasn't looking .... hmmm.

 

I say if they are showing any interesting in anything related to organization, then encourage it!

I LOVE my Happy Planner. I bought it at Hobby Lobby for 40% off and use it with the planner stickers in Jaimee's Storyteller subscription. It's so much fun and help keeps track of all the things that would otherwise leak out of my brain.

 

I don't have a happy planner, but I do use a paper planner. I know that a lot of people love electronic planners, but I hate them. I just don't grasp time the same in electronic as with paper and pen.

Perhaps with a planner, you could show her how to plan ahead? I remember when we did a big project in Grade 8, and as a class the teacher had us write down intermediate goals along the way. He pointed out that if we were getting these things done by these dates, we wouldn't be overwhelmed the last week trying to do the whole thing. More procrastination based, but it also helped point out due dates. That concept stuck with me, and I think it's part of why I prefer paper planning. I like to be able to flip easily to see what's upcoming.

And she could also cross off dates, or stickers or whatever and that might help her with the concept of time passing and due dates looming?

 

awesome to hear this! and those Frixion pens are not just for middle schoolers. i use them all the time for things that might change. great ideas and enjoy the process with your girls!