Updated January 2026
If you’ve been around here for any amount of time, you’ve probably noticed that I’m a fan of using a digital notes app for homeschool planning and reference. I’ve used one for years now, refined how I use it, talked with other moms who use similar systems, and noticed that far more people are curious about digital notes than are actually using them well.
That’s a shame, because a notes app can quietly solve a lot of everyday homeschool friction.
A digital notes app is basically a blank canvas. It’s a bucket into which you can put anything: text notes, pictures, scans, PDFs, screenshots, links. Think of it as a digital filing cabinet. Mostly it holds what has traditionally been paper in your life—but what doesn’t have to be paper anymore.
Using a digital filing cabinet means you don’t have to deal with quite so much paper, and you don’t have to worry about losing notes, spilling coffee on them, or keeping everything filed just so. Better yet, rather than trying to remember where you put a note, you can simply search for it and pull it up instantly.
Being able to search from your phone or computer inside every note you’ve saved is one of the biggest advantages of digital information. Flipping through binders, folders, or piles wondering where that list went is a thing of the past.
A simple digital notes system allows you to:
- find information quickly by searching
- keep more reference material without taking up physical space
- shrink your paper files by scanning and shredding
- share plans or lists easily with your husband, grandparents, or friends
So don’t let your devices go to waste. Use them to make your life simpler.
The biggest hurdle: getting started
The biggest stumbling block homeschool moms have with digital notes isn’t technology—it’s uncertainty.
Not knowing how to start, combined with the fear of learning a new system or doing it “wrong,” keeps many people from using tools that would actually make their days easier.
So let me hold your hand and show you how simple this can be.
Choosing a notes app (keep it simple)
You do not need the “best” app. You need one that:
- works on your phone and computer
- syncs automatically
- lets you search
- stays out of your way
That’s it.
Standard built-in options
These are already on most devices and are more than sufficient:
- Apple Notes (iPhone, iPad, Mac)
- Google Keep (Android, iPhone, web, Chromebook)
Both are free, sync automatically, and handle text, images, checklists, and scans just fine.
Other free, simple notes apps
If you want something a little more structured, these are solid, free options:
- Evernote – generous free tier, very flexible
- Microsoft OneNote – excellent for notebooks and sections
- Notion – powerful, but only if you keep it simple
- Simplenote – fast, minimal, text-only
- Zoho Notebook – visual, easy to use, good mobile app
Pick one. Do not comparison-shop for a week. Any of these will work if you actually use it.
How to organize a digital notes app for homeschooling
When you first open a notes app, you’re faced with one big empty bucket, which can feel paralyzing. Before we start adding anything, let’s clarify the basic structure most notes apps use.
A note is one piece of information—like a sheet of paper.
A notebook (or folder) holds related notes.
Some apps allow stacks or groups of notebooks.
Think of it like this:
I. Notebook group
A. Notebook
- Note
- Note
B. Notebook
We’ll start by creating a few notebooks.
At minimum, you’ll want:
- Homeschool Reference – big-picture ideas, saved articles, long-term plans
- Current School Year – active plans and notes
- Homeschool Records – previous years, finished plans, samples
Once those exist, you’re ready to start adding content as you go.
Big-picture homeschool notes to keep digitally
Anything you would normally keep in a homeschool binder can live in your notes app:
- vision statements
- yearly goals
- scope and sequence outlines
- definitions of education
- memory work lists
- book lists
- example transcripts for future reference
Keeping these digitally means they’re always accessible and searchable, even years later.
Using a notes app for homeschool book lists
A reader once asked how to keep track of book lists that are accessible while out at the library or book sales.
A digital notes app is ideal for this.
Create:
- one reference notebook just for book lists
- one book list note per school year
- one pared-down “keep an eye out for these” list
Save screenshots, links, or typed lists. If you see a book online, clip it or jot it down immediately. When you’re out, pull up the list on your phone.
You don’t need a perfect system—just one place where book ideas land instead of disappearing.
Planning a homeschool year digitally
When I plan, I still start with paper for brainstorming. Writing things out helps me think. But once I’m ready to plan in earnest, I transfer those ideas into a digital notes app.
Planning digitally makes it easier to:
- reuse plans for younger children
- adjust without rewriting everything
- keep all years accessible in one place
Lists work particularly well here. If you think in lists, lean into that. Tables are optional.
Digital lesson plans: three simple approaches
There are many ways to keep lesson plans digitally. Here are three that actually work.
1. Lesson plans as lists
Make a list of what comes next. Read the next thing. Check it off. Move on.
This works beautifully for:
- read-alouds
- vocabulary
- loop schedules
- rotation subjects
2. Lesson plans as saved documents
If you already use spreadsheets or printable plans, save them as PDFs and keep them in your notes app for easy reference.
3. Lesson plans as reusable notes
For lessons you’ll use again, label them by lesson number, not date. That way they survive sick days and schedule shifts.
Using digital notes for loop schedules
Loop scheduling works especially well with a notes app.
Create:
- one notebook for loop subjects
- one note per subject
- a checklist inside each note
When you complete an item, check it off. Sort notes by “last updated,” and your app effectively tracks what comes next.
Simple. Flexible. No rewriting.
Homeschool record-keeping with minimal friction
I’m not a record-keeping superstar. Digital notes make it more likely to happen at all.
Easy options:
- take a photo of weekly checklists
- snap pictures of projects
- scan sample work
- write short narrative notes occasionally
Small, regular steps beat end-of-year panic every time.
Digital homeschool record-keeping
Keep one note per term or per week. I started off last school year by making a template for term record-keeping, where I’d jot a note about what we did at the end of each week, and start a new note each term.
Scan sample work and snap a photo of projects as you go.
If you have more creative projects in your homeschool or want to also keep samples of completed work, you can also take a picture of those in the same way!
This allows you to keep a reminder or record of what you did without having projects and papers overrun your house. The benefit of doing this sort of recording is that you do it here and there as you go, and it’s never a big project at the end.
Write narrative assessments each week, term, semester, or year Even if you keep records in one of the previous ways, it can still be a good exercise to write out an assessment for each student or for your school year.
You might use a template or form or just free-form journal. Whether you do so every week or every term or every semester or simply every year, simply typing it where you can search and find it when you might need it makes it simpler to get the words out and safely saved.
The point of all this
A digital notes app won’t make you organized by itself. But it will give you one reliable place to put information so you can stop carrying it all in your head.
Use whatever app you already have. Keep it simple. Let the system serve you—not the other way around.
That’s how it actually becomes helpful.
Read more: Digital notekeeping for homemakers