4. A well planned homeschool co-op can be a blessing to your homeschool community and serve to grow friendships for the children and the parents. I took over the leadership of our local, small, informal, unincorporated homeschool group last year. 1 – Find Other Homeschool Families. Co-op is an abbreviation that stands for co-operative learning. If one of your homeschool co-op goals is socialization be sure to schedule some field trips and park days too. Some Homeschool Co-Ops are nationally-based, with formalized curriculum and membership fees. Accountability. Smith says that parents are expected to help out in the classroom twice a month at SSNS. Some may also join together at the same time to re-energize with one another as your kids learn. Here are five tips for making your homeschool co-op work. A Homeschool co-op is basically a group of families that come together to share in the education of their kids. In its most basic form, a co-op (short for co-operative) is a partnership between homeschooling families that come together for a common goal. If you belong to a homeschool network or read homeschooling blogs, you have probably heard about co-ops. Any significant outside schedule commitments, whether they are dual enrollment or homeschool co-op, take away from that schedule … A homeschool co-op is a group of families who meet and work together to achieve common goals. Co-ops provide a more well-rounded, homeschooling experience. Homeschool co-ops are becoming more and more popular because they are meeting the needs and expectations of homeschooling families. Here's what a homeschool co-op is, what it involves and how it can benefit you and your kids. As a general rule of thumb all families in attendance will contribute to these activities in some way. A homeschool co-op is a group of homeschooling families who choose to collaborate together. It may not be problem-free to start or run a homeschool co-op, but most homeschool parents find that co-oping is worth the commitment and expense! Kids are generally grouped by age (lower and upper elementary, middle school/jr. What You Need to Know. Parents work together to enrich their children’s education as they share their gifts, talents, and expertise. A co-op is also an excellent way to volunteer and be a part of an ongoing educational experience. The homeschool co-op also provides a means with which a student can participate in classes which are difficult to teach at home. Our homeschool co-op, for example, puts every mom on a teaching team. The one that I participated in had three time slots: two for classes and one for gym. We ask that our parents help the co-op to run smoothly by volunteering for several periods during the day. What is a Co-op? It is difficult to have a consistent and cohesive group without careful planning. A co-op can be as small as two families purposing to work together to rotate teaching specific subject lessons all … A co op will generally meet once or twice a week. But every group is different with huge range of activities offered, member requirements, and levels of commitment. A homeschool co-op might rotate days at different families’ houses giving each family a time of Sabbath. Please remember that co-op is short for cooperative. You know more than they do about the learning your child accomplishes. Co-ops are a great way to provide your children with social time as well as to have the chance to do group activities that are often hard to do as homeschoolers. Although they are often outgrowths of support groups, co-op homeschooling groups usually form for the purpose of opening up group learning experiences for students. Some field trips require advance planning, so it is good to get them on the calendar early. Some of them include opportunities for group learning, extra-curricular activities, accountability, and shared expenses among others. The students read their textbook and did all the workbook material at home. While in theory co-ops are great, how do you know if they fit with your homeschool classroom? Aside from socialization, co-ops can provide your family with many benefits. There are Master’s level teachers at our co-op, and dual enrollment college courses are offered to high school students through a partnership with a local college. A Co-Op is just short for Cooperative. If a homeschool co-op is the right choice for your child, please remember that grades they receive in a co-op only represent a portion of their grade for each subject. All About Homeschooling. YOUR CHILD WILL FORM CLOSER RELATIONSHIPS. Issues to consider. A homeschool coop is a group of families that usually meet once a week (although it could be more often) for group teaching. A co-op … But what exactly is a co-op? A homeschool co-op is a group of families who meet together and work cooperatively to achieve common goals. A … Parents are able share in the education of their children. A homeschool co-op is a group of homeschooling parents who come together in cooperation to provide educational and social activities for their children. A homeschool co op is a group of families meeting together to provide classes for the kids. Some homeschool groups may have an official co-op that is one of their many activities. Strict Schedule Experienced homeschoolers get used to having a lot of schedule flexibility. That way, each age group had two classes. Because someone outside your immediate family is setting the schedule, a homeschool co-op can provide a level of accountability. A homeschool co-op is a cooperative learning experience with a small number of families. A homeschool co-op is a group of homeschooling families who come together to work cooperatively to provide social and educational opportunities for the families. Then each Friday we held a "lab" group. A homeschool co-op is a group of families that home educate working together for a common goal. We can decide what hours of the day and times of the year work best for homeschooling and let homeschooling fit in with rest of our lives. Homeschool co-op classes for older students often include lab sciences, such as biology or chemistry, advanced math, writing, or foreign language. Along with providing resources, networking, and advice for parents, homeschool support groups provide opportunities for students, as well. WHY SHOULD YOU JOIN A HOMESCHOOL CO-OP? In the context of homeshcool, co-ops are as unique and varied as the homeschoolers that comprise them. We are using the word co-op as an abbreviation for "cooperative" in the sense Merriam-Webster defines as "an enterprise or organization owned by and operated for the benefit of those using its services." A co-op, by definition, is not a “drop off” class situation. Homeschool cooperatives (often called co-ops) are a common outgrowth of support groups. Parents teach classes, share ‘expertise’, facilitate activities, organise venues and ideas, help care for children, clean up and a variety of other tasks. Usually co-op instructors are not certified teachers and they only see your child for perhaps an hour each week. Apr 22, 2014 - Thinking about joining a homeschool co-op? We’re a group of families that meet for unstructured socialization/play time twice a month. Some co-ops focus on elective and enrichment classes while others offer core classes such as history, math, and science. Each co-op responsibility varies by school, and includes factors like how many days a week class meets and how big the class size is (classes with more co-oping parents will be able to reduce an individual's share of the load). In general, co-ops are at least 2 families who agree to get together regularly with the intention of learning—whether the learning goals are academic, social, experiential, philanthropic, or something else. A homeschool co-op is a group of homeschooling families that gather together to enrich their children’s education. Homeschool co-ops typically involve parent participation. As an example, Austin Rising School is a homeschool co-op that operates two days a week for students in grade K-6. What is the difference between a homeschool group and a homeschool co-op? high, and high school) and can take any number of courses. Example: When I was planning our homeschool co-op for fine art and geography I sat down with the other moms and we looked at our calendars. A homeschool co-op happens when two or more homeschooling families get together to study a particular topic. It is only a true cooperative if the parents all have a job, helping teach or assist in some way. Homeschool Co-op Drawbacks. Homeschool Co-Ops are all … There are often opportunities for students to take classes that function better with a group. Having a support system is critical when it comes to homeschooling–oftentimes that comes in the form of a homeschool co-op. It would make sense for him/her to teach the science co-op course. A homeschooling co-op can be as simple as a few families gathering at the park each week to share in activities. One parent or guardian from each family is required to stay on campus and help in some capacity; set up, cleaning, teaching, assisting in a class, or coordinating. Joining a homeschool co-op will take commitment, but hopefully it will be time and money well spent. It implies parental involvement. These are structured learning opportunities for students that take advantage of shared teaching from parents or outside … The co-op also provides a means for students to participate in costly classes when a group takes them together. Planning a homeschool co-op should be well thought out and organized. During the class slots, one mom would teach the older children and another would teach the younger children. There are many homeschool groups and co-ops available, and each one will differ. Having access to a homeschool co-op where there are other mothers that dedicate their time, talents, and love of math is priceless. First Class Kitsap Homeschool Co-op Is: A homeschool cooperative where everyone has the opportunity to help out. Some homeschool groups and co-ops may blend characteristics of each or define themselves distinctively one or the other. New York Co-op Homeschooling Groups. So, Planet Homeschool is a homeschool co-op, but what does that mean? A homeschool co-op is a group of parents, who meet regularly, in order to give homeschoolers the experience of learning with peers. Most co-ops offer some combination of classes, clubs, field trips, potlucks, and parent discussions. There are a large range and variety of co-ops. For example, last year I was on the middle school science team. What’s the difference between a homeschool pod and a homeschool co-op?” “Could my kids benefit from joining a pod or co-op?” “So what kinds of pods and co-ops are there? This may include, but is not limited to, nature study, arts and crafts, science experiments and sporting activities. They usually meet regularly for all sorts of reasons. Homeschool co-ops are usually organized around social time, extracurricular activities, and other non-academic class requirements that students need to … For example, you may have a science teacher as one of the parents in your co-op. 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