It's true; I'm something of a planner junkie. I wonder if it goes along with being organizationally challenged. On the other hand, I know other planner junkies who seem to have organizing as a hobby, so maybe there's just a slice of society that, like me, loves to look at planners, to try out different kinds, to figure out what works best for me and my family.

The Well Planned Day is a planner that serves as a tool to help you, just as in the name, plan your days well. Here are over 200 pages of planning help. Many of these pages are taken up with two-page week-at-a-glance spreads, more than a year's worth, from July 2009 to June 2010, but there's a lot more.

The first couple of pages give you an idea of how to use the weekly pages. You can plan a day's or a week's work ahead of time and check off assignments as they're done, or record grades. Examples show how the planner might be used for one, two, three, or four students. Pre-printed subjects include the basics: Bible, English, Math, History, and Science, with a blank entry for an additional subject or elective. Each week's two-page spread also supplies a scripture suitable to memorize, a quote to ponder, a catechism question of the week from the Westminster Shorter Catechism along with scripture proofs, plus room for notes, a weekly to-do list (or priorities), and a dinner menu planner. And that's just the weekly pages!

For each month, there's a month-at-a-glance calendar with a daily Bible reading plan and space for recording memorable moments, a page where you can record booklists for each student, along with field trips and the month's expenses, a page of shopping lists and another of general-purpose to-do lists. A dozen helpful articles, one for each month, are included, excerpts from The Home Educating Family Magazine. You'll find lots to consider here, much of it reflecting Charlotte Mason's philosophy. Other topics reflect good habits for parents and children, submission and teamwork in marriage, thoughtful discipline, finding purpose in being a stay-at-home mom, working outside the home and homeschooling, and more. There are articles by John and Noel Piper, Elisabeth Elliot, Ted Tripp, among others. Not all the articles are serious (I'm thinking in particular of a laugh-out-loud-worthy discussion of crafts for the fumble-fingered mom), but all leave you with food for thought to chew over during and after reading.

The planner is divided into two semesters, with semester related pages for planning (goal setting and scheduling) and record keeping (daily attendance and weekly grades in the various subjects, along with accomplishments). You'll find lengthier quotes here, thoughts to ponder. (I found myself teary-eyed, reading a quote from Missey Gray of HeartSchooling, a homeschooling mom who was generous with her time and encouragement to the end of her days on earth.) You'll also find quotes from Richard Baxter, Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Douglas Wilson, among others.

I've been going from small (weekly pages) to larger (monthly and then semester) and am going to touch on the overall pages last, though perhaps I should have mentioned them first. (I often read books backwards, from last page to first... do you?) The planner begins with a family-oriented page, having space set aside for a 4” x 6” family photo, family information, and emergency contact information. A “Staying Connected” section follows, with address-book entries and room to record support group information. Two “Growing with Grace” pages come next, each suited to record information for two children, with space for a photo of each and lines to record individual information, including strengths, challenges, height, weight, and goals. Four “Class Plan” pages are designed to help you formulate this year's plan for each child. Finally, a year-at-a-glance page is very helpful in planning academic and vacation days.

Colors are soft and suited to the seasons of the year, but if you want to save on ink, you can print out planner pages in black and white. Though I've mentioned that there is space for recording details for four children, of course, if you have more than four children, as this is an e-book you can simply print out more copies of the pertinent pages for your planning and record-keeping.

The Well Planned Day is well-suited to deliberate, godly living, infused with a biblical worldview and especially suited to those who take a Reformed view.