Welcome

Nobody wants to read about a boring homeschool co-op much less attend one. A this point in the co-op process, you need to coordinate it so that all your hard work pays off. Attention needs to be given to the details and I have some tidbits to help you.

I created this acronym above to help you remember some of the basics to ask about a co-op. Things to cover like finding a place to have it, what activities to include and how to get members of the homeschooling community to your co-op, determining if your group will be inclusive or not to the homeschooling community, and how expenses will be handled gets the basics out of the way.

The type of co-op that I will share about from here on has to do with enrichment and an emphasis on socialization and fun.  Again, there are many co-ops that are created for academic purposes only but I happen to not be interested in them because I prefer to teach my kids the basic subjects. That is not to say we won’t take advantage of a class here or there for something that is unique, but as a general rule I don’t go to co-ops that teach my kids how to write, do math or teach them to read. In my humble opinion academic co-ops can border on private school status and it takes some finesse to keep them from being set up like a mini public school day.

My focus is how to coordinate a co-op that is for enrichment, has plenty of fellowship, and is hands-on for all ages.

Here are a few key tips.

• Subject matters.

The best co-ops focus on science or history topics. Those topics seem to lend themselves to finding a lot of hands-on activities that can be done by multiple ages of children.

Too, I learned along the way that this is a good time to consider a time period in history that is more expansive if you have not had time to cover it or to even consider a narrow topic. It doesn’t really matter if the topic is narrow or general, it just matters that you find enough games and projects to do. When we did the Westward Ho Co-op, it covered a longer time period and we covered many topics from Mountain Men to the Oregon Trail and the Gold Rush. Any one of those topics could be a whole unit itself. Then, when we covered  Reptiles/Amphibians and it was a much more narrow subject. Either way, try to vary your topics throughout the year.

• Prep the learning environment.

Appearance matters at our co-ops. When members arrive, we always try to do some visual presentations about what the kids will be learning or decorations so they understand the theme.

If you have highschool kids, preparing boards is a great  project for them to do. If your group has all small kids when starting out like ours did then have your moms in the group do the presentation and learning boards. You will learn right alongside the kids and the kids will appreciate having the information boards to learn from during the day or weeks you use it.

Too, I am not surprised anymore by what a bunch of hard working parents that ban together can do. I never did any of these co-ops by myself. For the rainforest co-op, one mom made “trees” complete with leaves that she stood behind the table. We used green netting to show the forest canopy and draped animals inside the canopy for the younger kids. She even made a bridge you can see between the trees and put animals on pieces of “steps” or cardboard. I used banana leaves that I ordered to drape the table in and we also used the banana leaves as “plates” to eat off. One family made food that came from the rainforest. In addition I made fruit skewers that had fruits from the rainforest. We ordered a chocolate fountain and scattered bubblegum throughout the table and used bromeliads as decorations. It was a joint effort but when time is taken to coordinate a co-op, all benefit from not only the fun but the rich learning environment.

• Plenty of hands-on activities is the key.

Contrary to popular belief, learning is about doing and not always telling. Even things that may be boring to learn about, like an ecosystem, can come alive when it’s done with others. The key to a successful co-op is choosing hands-on activities and having those activities ready to go when the members arrive. The leaders do not have to shoulder all the work. For example, if there is a lot of cutting involved because you will be making crafts, then an experienced leader will have some of the prep work done ahead of time. She will not use the time at the co-op when together to do something boring like cutting. Doing small things ahead of time so the hands-on projects move along and don’t get bogged down by tedious things adds to being more productive.

Try to determine how much work can be done ahead of time, but don’t rush the hands-on projects at the co-op either. I have learned that projects that I planned on doing, we did not get to do because we had so much fun doing the few we had done. I always plan for more activities than we have time to do because it is good to have a “fall back” plan if one or two activities don’t go over so well.

Let the children lead and dictate and they will. We were surprised at some of the things they found satisfaction in doing. As long as they are together, most of the time they will savor the time and learning.

• An end they will remember and cherish.

Whether you meet one day or several, we try to do something the whole group can do that not only signals the end of the event but is something they will remember and cherish.

Whether you choose to play games, learn a new dance, sing a time period song, perform a Shakespeare Play, or have a Renaissance group perform for your group, make a memorable and lasting ending to your co-op.

There is no need to do this by yourself but you could if you don’t choose the right leaders. Next post I will share what I feel are qualities to look for in a fearless leader.

Hugs and love ya,

If you missed the other posts in this series, here they are for you.

5 Days of A Homeschooling Co-op Convert – Day 1:Who needs one anyway?

5 Days of A Homeschooling Co-op Convert – Day 2:What are the basics?

My homeschool journey has felt like a revolving door at certain times. One point that I kept circling back around to was the need to be part of a co-op. Now before you think I am a social butterfly, most of my close friends know that I love being at home and working on projects. However, because I am fully aware of my need for constant order in my life, I know I can get lop-sided if that part of my personality was left unchecked. Yes, we can grow stagnant when we are not around others.  That is not something I wanted to pass on to my kids.

Before I started a co-op what I did appreciate was that other people can enrich your life and make your homeschool journey incomparable. Yes, they can make it stink it too. But hey now I am focusing on the positives about being around other people on a regular basis.

Starting a homeschool co-op was the furthest thing from my mind. I looked around to join one, not start one. Not me. Seven or eight years later  our co-op is still strong, flourishing and not growing. (I will let you wait just a minute or so for my explanation on that.)

I’m certainly not going to talk you into joining one either because I want you to picky, very picky. All co-ops are not created equal. I do hope by the time you finish reading this series, you will be armed with a Co-op 101 Guide and then maybe decide to look for one.

Indulge the new bee teacher side of me for just a moment too as I give a definition for a co-op so that I don’t lose a new homeschooler who may be getting the glazed look in her eye about now.

Definition: Co-op – One or more families meeting together on a regular basis to enrich their children collectively about any topic. Everything is negotiable. Meeting places, costs and expenses, topics, how to run it, ages involved, whether a parent teaches or not, if the kids are dropped off or not and discipline issues, everything is determined by those who lead or are the founders. They can spring up as quickly as they fold and it all depends on the need in your area. Anybody can form one, but not all succeed.

Control freak Organized person that I am, I determined that it would be best that I be part of leadership. I started a co-op and Kelley joined, then we added one more mom to our group to balance us out. Adding Cynthia to our group, we became the dynamic trio.{She is the mom standing behind me in the first picture above. I chose that picture of us because we all look tattered, complete with painted faces after we had the BEST co-op that year.}

Now comes the honest assessment of your qualities for being part of a co-op. I knew already that I was perfectly content to be at home but realized that other educators possessed strengths that would only enrich and benefit my children. Things I do enjoy are warm conversations, hand-waving as I am speaking {yes I am rather dramatic as I talk} and I don’t have a problem getting up in a huge crowd. Yes I really do like people that are engaging and warm just like everybody else. Think about what contribution you can make to a co-op and focus on that for a start.

Sharing the benefits to my family, I hope you will see that the benefits far outweigh the drama, discipline problems and anything else negative you might think of from fees or cost to possibly driving longer than 15 minutes to get there.

• By creating a large “family atmosphere”, my children have a sense of extended family. This is not so important when your children are 4 or 5 years old but when they are 14 and 15 years old having friends other than their siblings, stimulates their social development.
• If some of the local educators and other parents had not taught at our co-op, my sons’ passion for certain subjects like history and geography might not be what it is today.
• By sticking with the co-op, my sons have had a sense of “class”. They have seen others graduate and leave the co-op and will be graduating at the same time with others who started with them. This builds lifetime friendships. I cannot put a grade in my planner for life time friends.
• The friends I too have connected with who are caring and selfless leaders year after year like Kelley and Cynthia is unmatched. I only imagined I could have such treasured and dear friends.
• Let me not forget that my sons won’t fall short in the crafts department of homeschooling because there are plenty of other women who not only love it, but have a gift for it and share it willingly with my children.
• Because of our attendance in a co-op, we have enjoyed perks by attending educational places that only will allow “school groups” and by our sheer numbers we have received significant discounts that we otherwise would not have received.

Our co-op swelled to over 100 families and we had to split. Now that our co-op is at the size we want and because our members tend to not leave, we have closed the co-op. Our kids will grow, but our co-op will not because we like the size of it now.

I have remembered one saying and I know I have used it before, but it really expresses my sentiment as a homeschooling co-op convert with all the years of hard work I have put into our local co-op. It is only matched with those that share this task with me.

In a full heart there is room for everything, and in an empty heart there is room for nothing.

~Antonio Porchia~

Can you share your heart in a co-op?

Hugs and love ya,