Busy families appreciate tools that can multi-task. This is certainly true about what we’ve come to expect from planners and calendars. And TAN Books are definitely up to the task.

TAN’s unique and beautifully designed planners are an ideal way to remind us, as we are scheduling activities and appointments, who’s ultimately in charge of our future. To use King’s Solomon’s words: “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established.” (Proverbs 19:21) 🙂

2019 Saints Calendar & 16 Month Planner

I anticipate the publication of this book every fall because it’s so much more than just a calendar or planner. In a compact, spiral bound format, TAN packs in all of these features:

• Monthly and weekly calendars/planners for September 2019 to December 2020
• 2020 Year at a Glance
• A list of the 36 Doctors of the Church and 14 Holy Helpers
• Holy days and holidays in 2019, 2020 and 2021
• Saint resources: list of patrons, saints’ days and feasts, Saturdays of Our Lady
• Saint quotations throughout
• Saint biographies throughout
• Catholic ID cards and pocket calendars
• Extra note pages

I dislike pulling out my phone to answer questions like “whose feastday is it?” and “who is the patron saint of midwives?”  (The answer to that second question is Saint Raymond Nonnatus – his nickname in Latin means not born because he arrived by c-section due to the death of his mother). It’s a pleasure to find these things out by flipping through the TAN Saints Calendar.

Each year, the cover image gets a refresh; featured for 2020 is The Temptation of Thomas Aquinas by Velazquez.

The meat of this planner, and what you’ll be using most often, is the calendar section with both monthly and weekly views. There’s ample room in both views for appointments, assignments and notes.

And now for my favorite part: the weekly view. I not only have lots of space for scheduling, but I can see the saint for each day (both new and traditional) and read a brief but inspiring saint bio. There are also symbols throughout to mark obligatory fasts and/or abstinence (see circled fish).

Besides functioning as a regular daily planner, you could also use the Saints Calendar as an academic planner for one person.

2020 Homeschooling Lesson Planner

There are a lot of planners out there for homeschooling mothers, but they fail to address two very common problems in the daily grind: burnout and discouragement. Written goals are great, but what happens when you get behind or hit a roadblock? The brunt of homeschooling tends to fall on the mother. Whether it’s a steaming cup of coffee and a devotional book early in the morning, or daily words of encouragement, being recharged and refreshed are crucial.

A recent addition to the TAN lineup, this lovely homeschooling planner is designed with the busy Catholic mother in mind. Author Amanda Evinger teaches four children in a “little house on the prairie” in rural North Dakota, and her book manages to find a happy balance between organization and inspiration. The meaty spiritual quotes combined with sage observations from the author (“The only person we need to impress is God”) are well curated for those in the homeschooling trenches. And the planner pages themselves have practical features like large, lined boxes to write in, and extra lines for notes and prayers intentions.

Looking at the sample pages gives you an idea of how much room you have to work with in the weekly agenda. Five subjects are listed along the left side (English, Religion, History, Science and Math) and there’s room to fill in two more of your choice. I would estimate that you could squeeze in lesson plans for 2 or perhaps 3 children, which translates to a real money-saver.

My older homeschoolers have their own planners, and this helps foster self-reliance, so I think TAN’s planner is ideal for the mother of elementary students.

There are other bonus features like “Looking Ahead” and “Yearly Progress,” that allow you to track goals and make plans for the next year or school term.

The planner runs from July 2019 to July 2020 and is sturdily constructed with double wire binding. There’s a delicate pink floral watercolor motif throughout. Any room for improvement? With daily use, I would suggest a poly cover rather than the current cardstock. Also, the gray print within the planner could use some darkening. It’s not difficult to see, but it doesn’t really stand out.

Here’s Susanna (my 2nd grader) to give some perspective on the size of each planner:

Shop TAN Books
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Saints Calendar & 16 Month Planner $16.95
Homeschooling Lesson Planner: $19.95

If you into digital planners, and would rather schedule your school year using a program, I highly recommend Homeschool Tracker! We’ve used it for many years – it keeps track of school days, lesson plans, grades and more!