Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner Review – 2016

I was beyond thrilled to be contacted by Erin Condren again to review their updated teacher lesson planner for the upcoming school year! I reviewed the teacher lesson planner last year, so this year I am going to focus on what is new and what’s the same. I’m going to start with what’s the same and save the exciting new stuff for later. 😉 Oh, and if you’ve never ordered from Erin Condren before and you are interested, I will include a link at the end that will save you $10 off your first order! First up, here’s a quick video (Flipagram) showing every page in the planner (minus the duplicate pages for lesson plans, notes, etc. I also only showed the full calendar spread once.)

https://flipagram.com/f/oTo8tiN4LC

What’s the same?

• The monthly calendar pages are undated again. This means you have can write in the date for each day OR use the Colorful Date Dots stickers that are INCLUDED with your planner!
• There is still a plastic page protector in the very back of the planner (you have the option to add more).
• The covers are still interchangeable.
• There are still fourteen pages for grades/checklists.
• There are still four pages of stickers (including all of those furlough stickers?!).
• There are 40 weeks of lesson planning pages.

Now the exciting part!

What’s New?!

• The inside front and back covers are now dry erase! So if you need to jot down a note or keep track of something quickly there is a quick place you can do that. The dry erase marker I tried erased easily and completely. Erin Condren will also be selling their own dry erase markers (I believe).
• The cover itself is a new design featuring a navy background with an apple and quote on the front. The back is several apples with different inspirational words.
• The folder in the back of the planner is entirely different. I LOVE the colors! The folder is a whole different style. The front has a taller pocket and the back has a shorter, scalloped folder. It’s super cute! This year, because of the design, you can not tape the bottom of the folder to create an inside space to stick things (if you’ve done this in the past).
• The plastic pouch in the back is REMOVEABLE! Actually, it’s not attached to the planner at all. But don’t freak out! It comes with a coil clip so you can take the pouch in and out and move it around like you do the included page marker/ruler. I think this is a good thing. The way it was before, if you put pens and stuff in the pouch then your planner had a weird hump you would then have to write on top of. With it being removable this year, you can put that pouch in the front or just take it out completely when you’re writing in the planner and then stick it back in when you’re done! I think this was a great change!
• You get to CHOOSE the start date of monthly calendars! Start it in June, July, or another month of your choosing!
• The lesson plan page colors are different this year. Nothing too drastically different, but if you used custom matching stickers in the past, you might want to pay attention to the colors if you purchase more (if that would bother you).
• There are now three notes pages at the end of every month. A couple of years ago, there was an actual notes section with a tab. Last year, the notes section was removed and instead one notes page was at the end of every monthly calendar. When the planner had the notes section, there were 10 notes pages. Last year the planner had one note page at the end of every month, so 12 pages. This year there are 36 notes pages (because every month has 3 pages). So even though the notes section is gone, you’re getting more notes pages overall than you got the last two years.
• The tab colors are different colors this year.
• New freebies in the pouch!!
• Last year’s planner had six pages for absent students. This year’s has 2 pages for absences. I feel like six was way too many. I think two is more reasonable.
• Last year there were eight graph paper sheets in the graph section. This year there are four graph pages.
• While there are still four sticker sheets, two of them are shaped more like page flags and are quite cute!
• There are many awesome new personalized covers to choose from! So colorful!

In addition to the teacher lesson planner, Erin Condren also sent me this amazing, comfy t-shirt! The design matches the front of the lesson planner. The shirt itself is a gray color. It is seriously a super comfy shirt! If you own a Home T, it’s like as comfy as that!

Exciting news!! The “Teaching is a work of heart” T-Shirt will be FREE with any purchase over $100. The T-shirt will be automatically added to cart, and you may choose your size during checkout. No code necessary, offer ends 5/31/16!! Details on erincondren.com!

Also new this year are the gemtone rollerball ink pens! These are a completely different pen than last year – the party pops markers (those are still available though). These pens come in five colors: black, jade, navy, teal, orchid, and magenta. It says on the package they are smear resistant- and they actually are! I wrote something and immediately ran my finger over the ink and it did NOT smear at ALL!

The last amazing thing I have to share with you all is the teacher carry-all-clutch. They are a soft, flexible case made of neoprene. There are two zippers, and it’s something you can carry your planner in to keep it protected and all together. Here is a picture of the front and back (it matches the planner).

This thing honestly can hold a lot of stuff! First of all, it can fit TWO teacher life planners. It can also fit a teacher planner AND a Life Planner (among other things). But here is a fun picture of it STUFFED! (Okay, not totally stuffed. I could have fit a few more things in I am sure!)

So….what’s inside?! ALL of this!!

Inside: an Erin Condren Teacher Lesson Planner, set of Party Pops markers in case, set of Gemtone rollerball pens in case, package of Crayola crayons (16 count), 15 individual gel pens, three list pads, one set of post-it notes, a set of PaperMate Ink Joy pens in package, glue stick, hole punch, six rolls of washi tape (one is not pictured because it rolled away), and…..I could have fit in a few more things! It really holds a lot, zips well, and is a nice accessory to have for your planner. And there areseveral designs to choose from – not just the one I’ve shown here!

I know a lot of schools give you a free, generic planner at the beginning of every school year. It’s seriously not attractive. Does a lesson plan book have to be attractive? No, certainly not, BUT there is just something about Erin Condren planners that just make you feel so “legit.” If you have one, then you probably know what I mean. They’re a great quality and will hold up all school year (and beyond!).

This year’s Teacher Lesson Planner launches TODAY, May 3rd!!

If you think this planner sounds like a good fit for you and you’d like to order one for yourself – click this link to save $10 off your first order from Erin Condren!