Planning with LiveBinders

Before I get to the nitty-gritty planning details, I want to share with you how I gather ideas throughout the year.

Have you ever used LiveBinders?

It is an online organizer. I like to think of it as a virtual file cabinet.

I create a new LiveBinder at the beginning of every school year … for the NEXT year. Then I save any links that I come across that I think we might want to use for the next school year.

Here, take a peek at my 2012-2013 Curriculum Ideas LiveBinder.

I gather all kinds of ideas:

• books I might want to purchase
• free curriculum to print
• lesson plans
• crafts & activities
• holiday fun
• planners/organization
• things I need to make before school starts

You want your planning to be simple, so only save links that you want to consider for your upcoming school year. Don’t save every cute idea you come across – that is what Pinterest is for! 😀 (Or create another LiveBinder to house all those extra links.)

Setting up a LiveBinder is simple!

• Go to LiveBinders and sign up in the top right corner
• Log in and click on the My Binders tab
• Choose Start a Blank Binder from the dashboard on the left
• Add a name, description, and category
• Make your binder Public (everyone can view it) or Private (only you, or those with an access code, can view it)

You can easily save links by installing a bookmarklet in your toolbar. Instructions for this, and for customizing your LiveBinder, are in the Help Section.

Feel free to ask all the questions you want about setting up your LiveBinder!

You can view my 2012-2013 Curriculum Ideas to see what kinds of things I save, or browse my Public Shelf to see the other ways that I use LiveBinders.

More posts in this series:

• Part 1:  Planning with Purpose
• Part 2:  10 Reasons I Create My Own Curriculum
• Part 4:  Mapping Out Your School Year

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