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CM style cottage school for middle/high school?
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I’ve been kicking around an idea for a 2 or 3 day-a-week “cottage school” typ of thing. My oldest kid is 12 and as we are in the middle school years I’m wondering if she might benefit from such a thing, namely a little more peer interaction & discussion (under guidance) and accountability & support (for me).
But I wonder if such a thing would appeal to others? Do you find it something worth exploring? Or not at all? Why or why not?
And thanks in advance for helping mr think thro this! With many councilors there is wisdom!!
In Christ,
Pati in WA
I’m using it as a term for something more than a co-op but less than a full private school. Like a 2 or 3 day a week school using a combination of moms and professional teachers.
It sounds appealling to me, except I think it would overwhelm me to organize it…and if I didn’t plan it I probably wouldn’t like somebody else’s plan:) I’d love the discussion and social aspect for my 12 yo. I’m picky about not being around sick kids, so that would be a drawback for me, personally. But if you know people doing pretty much what you’re doing and would jump in and help, it could be a neat thing.
I’ve thought that a once a week co-op day would be neat, and not too difficult to get people on board with a certain composer, artist, Shakespeare play, doing nature study, an art project, handicraft, etc. But I do think it’s a bit more of a challenge if you’re planning other subjects…but doable if you have enough like-minded people! Best wishes:) Gina
Well, it sounds kind of interesting, but our state homeschooling law says that of the 1000 hours required yearly, 600 of them must be in our own home with me as the teacher, in the basic subjects described in the law. So that cottage school idea may not work for me since I am guessing that most of your teaching would be done by those teachers and somewhere other than your home – I am not sure that your definition would qualify it as a homeschool here.
Who would decide what subjects, who is teaching, are the teachers getting paid, where it is held…etc. Can that still qualify as homeschool, or would that go into the private school sector?
Have you checked your laws/regs to see if you have any restrictions or specific guidelines? That might give you a direction to head as you try to get something going… I really have no idea; I am just thinking out loud. =)
I can see how some would find it an attractive idea. My 11 year old would love the socialization for sure, but I don’t think I would participate in something like this. A weekly co-op, probably, if there were such a thing available in my area. As soon as you start hiring teachers I think we move out of the realm of homeschooling.
In Florida, we have many of these and they’re considered “non-traditional private schools”. Some simply give direction and guidance, some meet 2-3 days a week. All are considered, under the law, private school students though the former really are homeschooling with some level of handholding; the latter pay tuition and are more like part time private school students. Personally, we choose straight homeschooling and don’t foresee needing these options.
In the CM co-op I lead, we hired a Spanish teacher because moms wanted some Spanish exposure and we had no qualified moms. I am fine with having paid teacher class options on an as needed basis. Last year, our high schoolers needed Chemistry with labs and none of the moms wanted to or was confident to teach it. We hired a teacher. It was much more cost effective as a group to bring the teacher in to teach Apologia Chemistry than it would have been for each of those kids to seek a tutor on their own. This is why I LOVE our co-op! We use our best resources that are free – moms and older teens – and supplement that as needed. This term a 15 year old boy is teaching our PHys Ed and its great.
Thanks, ladies, for your input! I do appreciate being able to have help in thinking thru these things! I know that where I live, classical christian “mini schools” have started popping up. I have friends who send their middle schoolers to one specifically for middle schoolers. It meets 2 days a week and the kids have assignments to work on the rest of the week. It still falls under homeschooling as far as I know. My community is far more into the “classical” thing than I am – only a few are really interested in CM. I know there is overlap, but the approaches are different.
Maybe I’m just engaging in wishful thinking 😉
In Christ,
Pati
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