5 Ways To Make Lesson Planning Fun
Lesson planning isn’t always something that we look forward to. It doesn’t matter if you plan your lessons daily, weekly, or for the semester; it can still be a tedious process. It is just so time-consuming, and if you’re anything like me, lesson planning tends to have you daydreaming about sitting by the pool or binge-watching Netflix! I knew I had to come up with a way to make lesson planning more fun because the task is definitely not going away. Lately, I’ve come to enjoy planning out the weeks ahead, and I hope you will too with some of my favorite ideas to make lesson planning fun again!
#1: Personalize Your Planner With Colors, Fonts, and Digital Stickers
I approach my planning like I approach my food…I eat with my eyes first! For me, I have to be inspired by what I am seeing in order to feel like I can move forward. For me, that is with bright colors, customizing fonts, adding a few digital stickers.
I use a planner where I can change absolutely anything that I want. I love using AG fonts paired with a classic Century Gothic font. I fill in my text boxes with colors that speak to my teacher soul, and I splash in a few digital stickers to bring a sense of fun to each page.
Digital stickers bring me joy! They can be motivational, serve as great reminders of what is to come, or something to simply make you smile. Whatever they do for you…they do it well!
#2: Use Washi Tape
I have to be totally honest here. For the longest time, I never even knew what Washi tape was. I didn’t! I heard other teachers talking about it, and I just went about my old ways. That changed on one fateful trip to Michaels, haha! I was happily walking with my cart through the aisles when I first saw a display of the most beautifully colored tape I had ever seen! It was Washi tape! That was an ah hah moment for sure! I knew I had to buy some to test it out. Well, I fell in love.
Long story short… I went back the next day and bought ten more! I’m not kidding. I use Washi tape in my planners all the time. You can have a black and white lesson plan, and place a piece of colorful Washi tape on it…and BAM! The planning angels start singing, my friends. Okay, I might be getting carried away, but It really can add a sense of personality to your plans, which I love.
I use it to section off days where I have something special going on, or a span of time that needs to be blocked off for a certain reason such as testing or career week. I even write on most of my Washi tape, as long as it isn’t too busy or that doesn’t have a metallic sheen to it. It definitely makes my planning a little more fun when I have a selection of Washi tape to choose from when I sit down to write out my plans from week to week.
#3: Add Stickers to Make Lesson Planning Fun
I know we talked about digital stickers already, but if you like to go old school like me and print out your planner, then you need to get yourself some stickers! Yes, I have another Michael’s story. It’s a bit shorter… they have great planning stickers. The end. Haha!
Okay, okay…a bit more to say about that. I love a good planner, and the Happy Planner company has the most adorable planning stickers! I think my inner twelve-year-old comes out when I am deciding which one is speaking to my teacher soul as I plan, but man…it works!! It doesn’t take much to make me happy.
Did you know that you can even make traditional stickers from digital stickers on a Cricut by using the print and cut option? How cool is that?! There are a ton of tutorials on YouTube, so if you’re interested in that, make sure you check them out!
#4: Mini-Post Its
Now that I’m thinking about it, my Washi tape obsession extends to Post-It notes as well. I have an embarrassing amount of them shoved in my desk drawers and all around my classroom. I think I own every shape, size, and color known to man. They’re just so versatile, you know? I can’t get enough of them.
For years, you could only find the standard square-shaped Post-Its…well, my friends, the times have changed! The tiny Post-It that you see in this picture fits perfectly into my planner columns, but if I turn it horizontally, it fits perfectly into my blocks. That’s kind of awesome when I know that a plan may or may not change! No need to erase…write the “up in the air” plan on a mini-Post It and simply remove it, if needed!
#5: Add Some Fun “Gadgets”
Join me as I step out of Michaels, get into my car, and drive to Staples. Now, THIS is where I found the little pretties in this picture. I have found SO MANY unique clips and “gadgets” in the office supply aisles at Staples. I am never disappointed. Everything from paper clips topped with a rubber slice of pizza, to these smiley-faced clips that hold my planning pages together so that I can navigate the sections a little easier.
It’s all about what makes you happy. For me, it’s the bright, cheery colors of whatever is on my plan book. From fonts and digital stickers to Washi tape, Post-It notes, and “gadgets.” You do YOU!
Finding YOUR Perfect Planner
Go Custom
I have created a planner that tears down the walls of a typical teacher planner. It is an ORGANIZATION SYSTEM that meets the needs of ALL teachers and lets you customize every single aspect of your classroom planning. It goes beyond lesson plans and dives into things such as small group work, RTI, center organization, project planning, a built-in sub binder, pre-dated calendars, lesson plans formatted for teachers who teach one subject…all the way up to eight subjects (and with room to grow!)
Planners, as I am well aware, are again another way to express ourselves, so I have included HUNDREDS of cover choices for you! Yes…Hundreds…and the number grows each year.
Do you want to go paperless? I also have a GoodNotes planner that I’m a little obsessed with.
Again…planning is personal. YOU have to find a way to make it tolerable, and that has been my goal for years. Planning is not just about lesson plans. You know that. It’s about your entire classroom functioning as it should. To check out my best-selling Ultimate Planner, click here! To check out my paperless GoodNotes planner, click here!
Pin for Later!
Not currently in planning mode? Pin this to your favorite Pinterest classroom page so you’ll have everything you need to make lesson planning fun again! pin image
Free Teacher Planner Forms
Keep track of important information in a stylish and practical way.These printable planning forms are the perfect way to organize your classroom information. You can place them into a binder or add them to your favorite Happy Planner or custom teacher planner!
