Erin Condren Teacher Planner Review -- Updated May 2016

Scroll down to see how previous planners held up, and new pictures of the 2016-2017 planner. This is my personal review (pros and cons) of the Erin Condren Teacher Planner. 

I first saw these planners on my friend's computer.  When she told me they were $60,  I said, "There is no way I'm going to pay that much for a teacher planner!  That's just ridiculous!"  (But, really in my head, I'm thinking, "Ohhhh that's really pretty!  I'm sure there's some way I can justify spending that much!")

Then, my friend tells me there's a 25% off teacher appreciation discount for the month of May.  "Well $45 is still a lot, but it is super cute."

She goes on to tell me a teacher she knows had one last year, and it has everything you need in one place.  It has an absent log, a grade book, a calendar, a lesson planner, etc.

Within 5 minutes I'm in my own classroom picking out my planner.  (I'm a shopaholic). We convinced each other it was worth it to buy one, and we bought them together to save on shipping.  Shipping is a little pricey.

It took a few weeks to get it in the mail, but when I saw that pretty box sitting on my porch, I literally squealed with joy!

Okay, now for the actual review!

The Cover

 

Pros: You can customize your cover.  It's also covered with a very thick laminate.

  Cons: After less than a month, my front cover started to get a small air bubble on the top left corner.  

Tabs

Pros: The colorful tabs come in handy.

Cons: They cover up date circles that need to be filled in on the calendar.

 Information Page

Isn't it pretty?!

  

Events and Sub Pages

I'll use the volunteers page for sure!

Dates

Pros: It's a great list of holidays and celebrations!

Cons: It's not year specific.  For example, Memorial Day says, "(last Sunday)" and Good Friday says, "(March or April)."

Birthdays

Pros: All of your student/staff birthdays in one spot! -- I love this!

Absent Log

There are 6 pages total.

Pros: Great way to keep your own documentation!

Graph Paper

There are 8 pages total.

Pros: Great spot to track student data!

Year at a Glance

Pros: Good for unit planning or important dates.

Calendar

Pros: There are cute quotes at the top of each month, and there are two full pages for notes after each month!

Cons: You have to fill in the dates.  Some of the date circles are covered by laminate tabs, so this makes it tricky.  You have to use a pen that won't bleed on the paper and a permanent marker on the tab.  I butchered my January dates. :(

Lesson Plans

There are 40 pages.  Each one is a two-page spread.

Pros: The removable bookmark/ruler will keep your place for the week.

Grade Book/Check List

It comes with 14 pages, and you can order more pages for an extra fee.

Pros:  You can fold the name section over each time, so you only have to write your students names once.

Cons: It cost an extra $10 for 56 pages, and I will have to white-out the "Emergency Kit" tab that is on EVERY page.

Notes

There are 10 pages.

Stickers!!

Pros: You get a whole bunch of colorful stickers!!!  There are even blank ones to make your own.

Cons: There are too many of the stickers I will never use and not enough of the stickers I will use.

2-Sided Folder

  Pros: It holds my EZ Grader. :)

Cons: Stuff could easily fall out if you're not careful, and the top part of the pockets are a little bent and frayed.  (Not a huge deal, but the planner was expensive, and my friend's teacher planner pockets were fine!  I'm just jealous of her perfect pockets. Ha!)

Sheet Protectors

It comes with one.  I added two more for $3.00.

Pros: They're super thick!

Plastic Pouch

Pros: It comes with name and gift labels inside.  It also comes with $10 off cards for your next purchase!!

The air bubble and the tabs issue annoyed me, but overall I think it's a really nice planner. Erin Condren's customer service is really nice too.  Because of my air bubble and frayed pockets, they offered to reprint my planner or give me partial credit for a future purchase.  As of right now, I plan on buying another one next year.  I'll update this post during the school year if I change my mind.  :)

Being the shopaholic I am, I eventually bought a life planner too...

If you want to see more of the fabulous teacher planner, you can watch Erin Condren's "Peek Inside" video. 

If you are a new Erin Condren customer, you can use my link to save $10 off your first purchase (you’ll get a code via e-mail after you register). https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite

Update 5.31.14: 

I loved using my planner this year.  I  used the calendar, note pages, and check list pages the most.  I didn't keep up with the daily lesson plan pages as much as I would have liked to, and I never touched the absent log pages. I went ahead and ordered a new one for next year, because I liked having my gradebook and calendar with note pages in one place.  The planner is also really colorful and pretty.  It made me happy.  :) 

I didn't like the AIR BUBBLES.  My planner's tiny air bubble grew to a much larger bubble, and many new air bubbles popped up.  It looks like I threw the planner around and stomped on it, but I totally didn't!  I carried it home a lot in my Vera bag with my laptop...maybe my charger smooshed it too much?  Two other teachers I know bought Erin Condren teacher planners.  One teacher used hers everyday, and it still looks really nice.  Maybe hers didn't get smooshed in her bag. haha  The other teacher only used hers at the beginning of the year and her planner had air bubbles after having it less than a month. 

I loved the calendar and daily lesson plan pages.

The gradebook is so pretty and colorful.  How could this not make an elementary teacher happy??

I didn't use a lot of the pre-made labels.  I had way more than 15 computer lab, library, and duty days, so it didn't make sense to label only 15 of those days.  There are a lot of furlough day labels. Are there really 15 furlough days in some school districts?  That's really sad if so.  

My folder pockets barley made it through the year.  My unit plans were too much to handle for these pockets.

I think the cover and pockets could be stronger, but overall the planner was nice enough to make me want another one for the next two school years!  

Update 5.25.16

The newer planners help up a lot better. I didn't have air bubbles, and the folders didn't tear. 

You still have to annoyingly write the dates (or buy the number stickers) for each month, but the date circles are now on the right side of the calendar boxes, so the tabs don't cover them up! :)

I used the heck out of the note sections! I loved having those after each month. They worked great for staff meetings and professional development.

I also bought coil clips for all of my handouts, but they ended up being too bulky, so I made my own with sticky note dividers and a 1/8 inch circle hole punch. This was way cheaper! 

The 2016-2017 planner had a makeover. I'm not buying one this year, because I moved into a non-classroom position. I had to settle with a life planner. I snapped some pictures of my friend's teacher planner. It's so pretty and girly!!! 

The inside cover has dry-erase boards for notes!

 

I love the new girly colors.

 I like the edges of the new stickers. I still would order my own custom ones though. I can't believe how many furlough stickers there are. That's just so sad if districts have that many furlough days!

If you want to see more of the new teacher planner, you can watch Erin Condren's YouTube video. 

If you are a new Erin Condren customer, you can use my link to save $10 off your first purchase (you’ll get a code via e-mail after you register).https://www.erincondren.com/referral/invite