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Homeschool planners come in all shapes and sizes and deciding which one to use can be overwhelming. While there are many great options to choose from, there is no one size fits all, and the best homeschool planner will vary for each homeschool mom. You will only know which one is best for you when you begin planning your homeschool, and figuring out what actually serves you well in your planning. You might also come to realize that what you used to plan last year or season, doesn’t work for this year. Ask me how I know!
Our Cooper Nest Homeschool Planners have only been around since December 2020, but I am very grateful to say OCN is growing and it’s such a privilege to have the opportunity to continue creating useful, affordable, and printable homeschool planners. Since OCN is relatively new to the planner market, I thought it would be best to dedicate a blog article to FAQs, favorite printing resources, and homeschool printing companies.
It’s my hope that as you are shopping around for your homeschool planner this year (and years to come), in this blog article you get a clear idea of what OCN planners have to offer, feature favorite planner inserts, and hopefully help you feel more confident in your decision on selecting the right homeschool planner for you.
Common Questions Answered:
Q: Do I have to repurchase an OCN planner every year?
A: No. OCN planners are all undated which means you can reprint year after year if you want to keep the same weekly layout! You will have to purchase a new OCN planner if you want a different weekly or monthly layout, but you can just purchase a Minimalist Planner rather than a full Comprehensive Planner. Minimalist planners only include the monthly and weekly layout pages without any extra planner inserts.
Q: Do you offer physical planners to purchase?
A: Not at this time. All planners will come in a PDF download. You have permission to print for your personal use and have printed from common office supply stores or use our recommended printing options from the list below (which I’ve been told is more affordable than printing at bigger office supply stores). Plus, you’d be supporting another small homeschool business when you print from these companies below! This list was updated May 2023.
- Pure and Simple Printing (Use code “OURCOOPERNEST10” for 10% off your printing order)
- Makingfamilycount
- watsonfamilypress
Q: How many layout options do you have available?
A: Right now, we have 4 weekly layout options for Collection I and II. Collection I features 1 monthly layout, and Collection II features 2 brand-new monthly layouts.
Q: I would like to print from home but don’t know what materials I need. What do you use?
A: You can find all the printing and binding products I personally use at home right here!
Monthly Calendar And Monthly Overview Pages
The monthly calendar sheets in Collections I and II are all undated making it easy to use year after year. You’ll have plenty of space on these pages to include special events, birthdays, and appointments, making it a perfect place for planning home management. There is no right way to use your planner pages!
The above photo is the monthly layout for all Collection I homeschool planners
See monthly layout options for Collection II in the example photos in the shop listing for Collection II planners.
Weekly Layout Pages
Whichever weekly layout option you choose, following the monthly calendar pages will be your weekly planner pages. the weekly layout options (there are 4) are the same in Collections I and II. If you’re printing as recommended, you will have two full-sized pages, side by side with the weekly layout you chose upon purchase. I have seen many versions of how homeschool moms are filling their own weekly layout pages and it will be different for each family. All planner layouts are for a full week’s planning but can be customized for just about anything you need. The pages are also undated and blank so you add your own weekdays, dates, names, subjects, etc.
Website Gallery Page
I have added a gallery page on the website to begin featuring the many ways other homeschool moms are using their planners to hopefully give anyone inspiration on how they might use and organize their own planners. You can also check out the hashtag #ourcoopernest on Instagram. If you would like your OCN planner photos to be featured on the website gallery, please send photos to ourcoopernest@gmail.com. All photos will remain anonymous unless you’d like to use your Instagram handle or first name, then please specify in your email and I’ll be happy to give you the credit!
Please consider lighting, and clarity when taking your photos, but I am not looking for Instagram-worthy shots (though, those are also welcomed!), just real-life photos of your filled-in planner or planner inserts (whatever pages, just no blank planner photos, please) that will inspire other OCN planner users when they see a variety of examples on the gallery page. Thank you for going above and beyond in supporting OCN in this way!
Additional Planner Pages/Inserts
After you get to the end of the calendar and weekly planner pages, you will have several other planning insert pages to use when you purchase any of the Comprehensive homeschool planners. The inserts included in OCN’s Comprehensive Homeschool Planners will vary in the different Collections so be sure to check out the shop product listing for more details on what’s included. The planner inserts can be so helpful when filling in little details such as booklists, attendance (some states require keeping track so this can be a useful insert to include), lessons in a glance, and pages for notetaking or even habit tracking. The number of Planner Inserts available continues to grow, so be sure to check them all out in the shop!
You can choose to use all of these or some, print off individually, and stick them where you’d like in your planner. It is most popular to keep them in the back of the planner, but there’s really no wrong place to add them. I also love to include my free Year At A Glance sheets in my planner, which you can download for free in the free resources section of my shop. I will continue to update those per year. NEW: included in all Collection II planners is a blank year-in-a-glance page!
The Minimalist Homeschool Planner
Not sure yet if you’ll need/want all the extra planner pages? No problem! A Minimalist Homeschool Planner would be perfect to start with, which only includes the monthly and weekly planner pages. If you only want a select few of the other planner insert pages, you can just purchase them separately! The top favorable planner inserts include:
- New Week Preparations Printable
- A Mother’s Glance Printable
- Attendance Log Printable
- Morning Time Plans Printable
- Weekly Timetable Schedule Printable
- Ideas (blank grid layout) Printable
- Lessons In A Glance Printable
- Day In A Glance Printable
- Master Booklist Printable
Closing Considerations
As you begin to consider if an OCN homeschool planner is right for you, I want to share some final considerations that may be useful.
First, unlike a store-bought teacher planner, homeschool planners are most often created by a thoughtful homeschool mom who is also planning for her homeschool. It is tried and true.
With an Our Cooper Nest homeschool planner you get access to your planner immediately after purchase! There is no wait time or stress about possible shipping damage. You are also able to reprint every year, saving you extra money and one less thing to purchase each year.
If you have any questions about our planners, please feel free to reach out!
Happy planning, friend!
