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This weeks question of of the week over at HomeschoolBlogger is all about co-op’s. We have participated in a couple of physical education co-op’s and my kids really liked them. I often wonder when I would fit the time in. Between guitar lessons, ballet, bowling, library and book club we are a fairly busy homeschooling family. I do think there are a lot of benefits to co-op, though.
The three main reasons I can think of for belonging to a co-op are
- Socialization – you now we always worry about that.
- Help with subjects you are not familiar with – I know. It’s hard to believe I don’t know “everything”.
- FUN for everyone – what better way to interact and make friends.
A co-op is a group of families that get together at a set time to share in the education of their children. Moms or Dads take turn teaching and it works best if everyone is involved in the co-op in some way. A co-op can be held in a church, public building, or even in your home. They can be small, with only one subject covered at a time. Or, they can be very large, covering K-12 with many subjects to choose from.
The co-op that we have participated in is called LEAH which stands for Loving Educators at Home. We participated in the physical education co-op that used the Presidential Fitness program that is used in schools. My son loved this. He got to make new friends and see them every Friday. Not to mention he could do 50 push ups when we finished! My daughter was not in school yet when we did this but she still enjoyed all of the people.
I have recently thought about starting a co-op in our area. But, I know that they require a lot of work and I don’t want to add too much to our homeschool days right now. I hopefully will be able to come up with plans so that we can start one next school year. I would love to include a couple of classes to choose from with several families participating. Ideas I have come up with are art, phys-ed, and science. These are subjects that work well with multiple age children. The only real problem I foresee is the location.
So, if you are like me and wondering when you would fit the time to attend a co-op in your day, I suggest you investigate the idea to see if it would work for your family. I don’t think you will be disappointed. I am really looking forward to working with my friends to see if we will be able to accomplish this before the official start of school next year. Please pray with me about this and if you live near me, let me know if you would be interested in a co-op in our area.
Happy Homeschooling!
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4 comments:
Sounds like great fun! You're right...location????
As far as fitting it in...do less work, lol!
Thanks for stopping by to comment Debbie. It's nice to read your positive experience with a co-op. It sounds like it has really worked well for your family!
Exactly - finding a spot to hold classes can be tough. I think involvement can sometimes be tricky too. There are definitely pros and cons though aren't there? ;-)
Location can definitely be an issue when planning a co-op. If it's just a family or two, then a house might accomodate. But, more space can allow for more people.
We've seen homeschool groups meeting at a local library or church (especially if they have lots of Sunday School rooms!) The one we did that met at a church actually had a per family rent fee. We had 4 rooms for classes and paid $25 per week (as a group.) They even let us use their stage for the co-op's production of Hamlet at no extra charge. We did have a free will offering at the performance that went to the church.
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