How to use the website

Start here: select Family Life in the main menu, then check Choose your state. The toolkit and games links use that state.

1. Choose Learning & Family Toolkit → Open the toolkit for lessons, progress records, schedules and planning tools. You do not need an IEP for every tool.
2. Use the toolkit’s section links: Lesson Plan Creator, Learning & progress, Everyday routines, or Family & school support.
3. On a tool card, choose View example to see a sample or Open tool → to begin your own work. Use the close button to return to the toolkit.
4. Choose Open My Family Planner → for provider contacts, your child’s profile, school-meeting notes and caregiver handoffs.

The other Family Life cards open Family Recipes, Games/News for Kids, and Events & Community. Recipes lead to publisher collections; events let you browse by state and county.

Try one small task: open Everyday routines → Visual daily schedule and add “Breakfast,” “Reading,” and “Break.” Arrange the cards, then save and print the routine using the steps below.

Open Learning & Family Toolkit. Choose a section link, then Open tool → on the card you want. In the parent-tool window, the navigation buttons switch between the tracker, portfolio, schedule, materials, calendar and school comparisons.

Keep your work: adding an entry updates the current workspace. Before leaving, open Save, backup & privacy and select Save on this device or Download backup. Save again after editing. My Family Planner and the school-year planner have their own save controls, described below.

Edit before exporting: use Edit entry or Edit event for saved items. Where offered, choose Edit output, change the preview text, then Done editing. Apply changes and save before printing or downloading.

Open Lesson Plan Creator in the toolkit. Choose one starting method:

• Upload your IEP: create a quick lesson from a readable IEP.
• Customizable Lesson: review the plan and adjust goals, dates, supports and notes.
• Plan Manually: enter your own goal and learning needs without an IEP.

1. For an upload, choose a readable PDF, DOCX or TXT file up to 12 MB. Image-only scans need a version with selectable text.
2. Choose the available plan length and select Generate / Update. Review the activities and required supports; use Edit activity for corrections.
3. Select Save plan or an offered autosave option to keep the plan. Use Open saved lesson plans on the toolkit page to return later. Download a copy you want to keep.
4. Select Use in Parent tools to copy the plan’s activities and goals into the toolkit. You can then build linked printables, a schedule or calendar entries. Save the toolkit separately.

Changing the plan: Save or download your preferred version before choosing Generate different lessons. A new IEP starts a fresh source session; existing saved plans stay separate. Use Customize design beside Download when you want to change the printed style.

1. Open Learning & progress → Progress & goals tracker. Choose Add a goal manually, or bring goals in with Use in Parent tools from a lesson.
2. Choose the Observation date. Under a goal, write what happened, such as “Matched three picture pairs with one reminder.”
3. Select Independently, With support, or Needs more practice. Add another observation after later practice.
4. Open Save, backup & privacy and save. These notes record practice; they do not automatically establish mastery.

1. Open Homeschool portfolio builder. Choose a date and entry type: completed lesson, reading, work sample or parent note.
2. Enter a title and what your child did. If copied lessons are available, use Fill from a lesson. Record completed work only after it was actually tried.
3. Optionally attach a document or image up to 3 MB, then select Add to portfolio. The attachment is not kept across visits until you save or download a backup.
4. Use Edit entry to correct it. Use Print / save PDF for the portfolio and Save on this device for future editing.

Keep original attachments separately. Printed portfolios list document filenames; include the actual files separately when sharing.

1. First save actual completed lessons, school-year work or dated observations. Open Parent learning progress record.
2. Enter the child’s name, who prepared the report, and the beginning and ending dates. Choose Refresh learning records if recent work is missing.
3. Expand 1. Choose this child’s learning records and select the right records. Check each selection; toolkit entries do not have a child name. Only selected records within the dates are included.
4. Optionally add accomplishments and next steps, then choose Create / update report. Review the preview and correct it before saving, printing or downloading.

No records yet? Return to the relevant lesson, tracker or school-year workspace and save completed work first. Creating a lesson alone does not mark it complete.

1. Open School-year planning organizer. Use New child / year for a separate workspace.
2. Enter the year name, first learning date, learning weekdays and activity length. Add interests, priorities and access supports. Choose Add IEP or other documents if needed.
3. Select Create 180-day plan. Use My plan for the schedule, Child & sources for documents, Care & outings for appointments, and Progress & records for learning records.
4. Adjust activities and record actual completed work. Choose Save on this device, enable the optional automatic-save checkbox, or select Download backup.
5. On a later visit, use Open a saved school year. Keep a separate child/year workspace for each learner.

The 180-day preset is a planning aid; it does not determine your state’s education requirements.

1. Open Everyday routines → Visual daily schedule.
2. Enter an Activity or routine, choose its Picture, and select Add routine card. Repeat for each activity and break.
3. Use Move up, Move down and Edit label to adjust the order and wording. The first two cards become the First / then board.
4. Choose Print / save PDF for the board and routine. Open Save, backup & privacy to save an editable copy.

With copied lesson activities, Build routine from this day gives you a starting routine to adjust.

1. Create a lesson first and choose Use in Parent tools. Then open Printable learning materials.
2. Choose the lesson and material type. For cards, review suggested targets or enter one word, number or shape per line.
3. Select Create printable. Use Edit output for corrections and review the words, instructions and supports.
4. Choose Print / save PDF for a copy. Save the toolkit to keep the printable for later.

No lesson to choose? Return to your generated plan and select Use in Parent tools, then reopen this tool.

1. Open Learning & therapy calendar. In Add an event, enter a title, date and type. Leave time blank for a flexible day.
2. Select Add event. For example, add “Speech appointment” as Therapy, or “Reading together” as Home practice.
3. Use Previous week, Next week, or Show week containing to find a date. Choose Edit event to change an entry.
4. Use Print / save PDF for the displayed week, then Save on this device to keep the calendar.

If lesson days were copied into the toolkit, Add lesson days to calendar adds their dates as untimed entries.

1. Open My Family Planner. Enter the child’s name or initials, or choose Open saved child workspace. Use New child for someone else.
2. Choose Contacts & next steps. For a directory listing you already hearted, choose it under Bring in a saved county resource and select Add selected resource. Otherwise open Add a provider or resource manually.
3. Keep confirmed details, costs, applications and follow-up notes with the contact. Update its status as you move from researching to contacted, applied, waitlisted or appointment booked. Compare up to three using your own notes.
4. Select Save this child’s organizer. Use Print this tool / PDF or Download this tool for the current tool’s output.

No saved resources? Heart a listing in the county directory, then reopen the planner. Saving a directory favorite and saving the child’s organizer are separate actions.

Open My Family Planner and choose the child’s workspace first. Use the five buttons across the top to switch sections.

Child profile

1. Choose Child profile. Add strengths, interests, communication, access supports and what helps with learning or transitions.
2. Review the live profile preview and keep only details you want to share. Save the organizer, then print or download this tool.

IEP / 504

1. Choose IEP / 504. Enter the plan type, team contact and dates confirmed with your school. Add questions before the meeting.
2. Use Add a document entry to note which records you need and where they are kept. Use Add a follow-up for next actions.
3. After the meeting, update agreed next steps and save. This tool does not calculate legal deadlines.

Question guides

1. Choose Question guides, then select the professional under Who are you contacting?
2. Choose Edit output to tailor the questions or Add a note to record answers. Save the organizer; each guide is kept separately for that child.
3. Use Print question guide / PDF before an appointment.

Caregiver & emergency

1. Choose Caregiver & emergency. Add contacts, routines, communication needs, backup caregiver details and the location of current care instructions. Copy only confirmed medical information.
2. Review the sheet with the caregiver and enter the review date. Choose whether to include communication and access preferences from the child profile.
3. Save the organizer. Use Print this tool / PDF for the handoff sheet or Print emergency summary / PDF for the shorter summary. These exports contain the sheet, not the whole organizer.

1. In My Family Planner’s Contacts & next steps section, open Detailed school comparisons. You can also use School comparison tool in the parent-tool window.
2. Filter by county and school type. Choose a listed school and check its official information, or enter a school yourself.
3. Add confirmed supports, access, costs, transportation and questions. Leave unknown fields blank, then select Add school.
4. Repeat for other schools, up to eight. On a phone, swipe across the comparison table. Use Print / save PDF for a copy and Save on this device to return later.