Co-op CM-inspired class ideas?

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  • February 21, 2012 at 11:28 pm
    Mela
    Member

    First-time poster….I am going to teach a CM inspired co-op class in the fall for 1st and 2nd graders.  I would like to introduce the children to nature study, picture study, poetry, and classical music.  My class will run for 31 weeks and be one hour long.  I am wondering if anyone else has done this before.  I’m looking for a great name for my class and resources that would be effective for a group of 12-15 1st and 2nd graders who are primarily not CM educated at home.  Thank you.

    February 22, 2012 at 12:14 am
    Sara B.
    Participant

    I belong to a CM co-op, and we do nature study, picture study, artist study, and music study, along with folksong and hymn, plus Spanish and speech.  It’s all day long…  🙂

    The leaders of the classes except for Spanish and speech follow Ambleside’s suggestions for that year, and then we do it exactly how we’d do it at home, except we bring stuff in for nature study and have them draw that particular thing (one day we brought in pussy willows, for example).

    I am not creative enough to help you with a name, sorry!  LOL

    HTH a little!

    February 22, 2012 at 12:27 am
    missceegee
    Participant

    We do all of those things and hymn/folk song study minus the nature study in the CM co-op I lead. All are CM families and we call it Family Fine Arts. Sorry, I have no catchy name for you. Smile

    February 23, 2012 at 4:49 pm
    danceandbeglad
    Participant

    missceegee, how long does your co-op last when you get together?  Is it weekly?  I really like the idea of getting together and sharing our “Friday arts day” plan with others, incorporating most of the things you mentioned.  How do you do your hymn study..just sing the hymn? This really has me inspired for next year when dd starts kindergarden 🙂 

    February 23, 2012 at 5:24 pm
    missceegee
    Participant

    Hi there. I’ve led this group since January 2009 and we began co-op classes in Sept. 2009. We meet 3 weeks per month for classes and have every 4th week off.

    Here is our current schedule…

    9:00 – 9:30 FamilyFine Arts is 1/2 hour and we do simple picture study, composer study, folk song, hymn and poetry. Sort of a quick and to the point, but it’s working great. Everyone is together in one room (all ages.)

    We sing the songs, listen to composer as we arrive and leave, do the picture study, read a poem. Each week we share a bit of biographical info about one or the other artist, composer, poet, etc. We spend 6 weeks per composer/poet/hymn/artist and 12 weeks per folk song. 

    9:30 – 10:30 Class Hour 1. Then we move to the next classes and it’s sort of organized chaos. Moms fellowship in the break room during their off hour. Nursery is wee ones up to 2. Monkeys is 2s/3s. Seasonal Adventures is 4s/5s/young 6s. Writing is 6 girls 9+, but boys are welcome 🙂  Ancient Weapons is mostly boys and they LOVE IT. Tools and Techniques is all kinds of handicrafts, ages 6+.

    10:40 – 11:40 Class Hour 2. Create N Play is low key art and playtime for 3s/4s/5s/young 6s. Art Through the World is art related to cultures and is ages 9/10+. PE is all ages from 6+. 

    After classes, we typically go to a local Park for picnic or drive-through lunch and lots of playtime, otherwise known as Masterly Inactivity. We’re usually there til around 2 PM. Once per month, we have a history movie offered after co-op instead of or before the park. 

    We have field trips, mom’s night out, a great forum, etc. It’s really been a blessing to lead the group. This year is by far the best! 

    Our co-op has been a HUGE blessing to my family and to others involved. 

    HTH,

    Christie

    ETA: for some basic info on how we structure our co-op, you can look at our prospective member FAQ page on our website @ http://www.rchajax.com

    February 23, 2012 at 11:51 pm
    danceandbeglad
    Participant

    Christie,

    WOW, sounds amazing!! I am definitely going to your site to explore further.  Thanks for taking the time to share 🙂

    February 24, 2012 at 12:15 am
    missceegee
    Participant

    Yes, our group is amazing! My vision for our group was to meet the needs of CM families specifically and that has become more specific each of the 3 years until it is set in stone now. Smile Some of our families don’t homeschool all CM style, but most do. All new members must be CM homeschoolers to be considered. 

    We’ve had some great classes in our 3 years and we’ve learned a lot. We stay away from history classes as everyone is in a different time period/schedule and who needs to duplicate efforts. We also avoid core type classes – math, language arts. The exception may come when we have enough kids in high school math and moms who want a class to help (calculus, anyone?), perhaps with a hired teacher. We did this last year with Apologia Chemistry with labs and it worked well. 

    Classes that have been a big hit: Jr. EMT (a dad who was an EMT taught it), 101 Things Kids Need to Know, Sew Much Fun (machine sewing) – we’ve done this twice, Made by Hand – misc handicrafts for younger kids (similar to our Tools and Techniques), Art classes, Science classes with experiments, PE and SHAKESPEARE! A lot depends not on what classes parents want, but what they’re willing to teach. 

    Co-ops can be a great blessing in all their forms, but having a group of like-minded moms is very wonderful, indeed. 

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