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how important is a co-op?
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In our city, the only co-op available is Classical Conversation style, and I don’t see how that style is going to mesh well with Charlotte Mason style homeschooling, which is what I prefer. I’m wondering how vital a co-op is. I don’t have the time/energy to start one (I have three kids under four years old); not sure if I should just give classical a try and put aside my charlotte mason ideals, or go on our own and have playdates/church playgroups as much as we can. Do any of you teach without co ops? My oldest is only 4, so we are doing very casual things right now– reading lots of good books, playing, painting, etc.
We are not in any coops, and I feel that we do not miss anything 🙂
I grew up being HS’ed and we were never in coops.
There are so many activities and ways to get involved in what you and your family are interested in that I do not feel coops are necessary.
My friend did CC for 4 years, she liked the community but not being “locked” into certain things. This is her first year out of CC and she is really enjoying her year.
Co-ops are not essential. Some families thrive with them. Others don’t. For my family it has never been a good fit (but I will tell what IS in just a moment). The reason it hasn’t been a good fit is similar to yours – so many little ones! I didn’t want a co-op that was super rigid, but more than that, in my area none encouraged you to bring younger children to the activities. Well I have 9 children so I’ve had younger siblings, babies, and toddlers every year of our over a decade of homeschooling. 😉 A lot of that time it was simply too exhausting to consider dragging several little ones along to a class/activity just for one or two oldest kids.
So what has worked well instead? I started a homeschool book club. We have met anywhere from once a month to every other week, done picture books, chapter books, poetry, art, etc. It has been a wonderful way to deepen some relationships with a few families. The key? We have always included all ages. Babies and toddlers are welcome right alongside the high schoolers, middle schoolers, and elementary ages. We love it and it’s been going strong for several years now.
I have been homeschooling for nearly 14 years and I’ve never been involved in a co-op. They aren’t necessary at all. 🙂
Many homeschoolers live in areas where co-ops are unavailable and they do just fine.
I know that many families have been blessed by participating in a co-op but I also know many families have had bad experiences with co-ops. All co-ops are not created equal. lol.
I think if I didn’t have my co-op or if CC co-op was the only choice I would try to find other ways to get together w/other homeschool families. Not only for my kids but also for myself. I just cannot be w/my kids only all the time, after a while I go a little crazy.
I organized a homeschool group at our nature center which was great. My kids love soccer so I organized indoor soccer one winter. Your kids are still small, I did playgroups and library programs when they were that age. They really enjoyed the crafts.
For my kids, being around other people is important. If they are only with me all the time, some of their bad habits are things I’m used to and I don’t notice. Being around others helps bring those things to our attention. 🙂
A co-op has worked for that (and we did CC for 2 years) but other things would work, too. AWANA, Sunday School, a large extended family. 🙂
Scripture talks about parents putting their children under tutors. It’s something we do when we feel like it’s a good fit or when they need a skill we can’t teach. It’s not necessary for every child all the time. Just my 2 cents. 🙂
We love co-ops, but they are not necessary. I have many friends whose children are in co-ops for maybe one year, or semester, then take a break, and then come back again at a later time. Other friends/families who enjoy them every year (we are one of those families).
It can depend on the co-op itself, the area you live in, etc., that makes them worth the effort, or not.
that is helpful to know! I was not homeschooled, so this is a new world to me, and I assumed Co-ops were necessary for socialization (my parents are worried that their kids will turn out to be weird social outcasts haha).
I’m really relieved to hear that library storytime and playgroups are good enough for socialization! we are very involved in our church–sunday morning and AWANA, plus a weekly playgroup, and we go to library storytime each week. My mother is a preschool teacher at a private school and has been very concerned that my oldest (4 years old) is not getting the social activity she needs, so she has discouraged me from homeschooling.
Ah the old “socialization” fear 😉 I think many times people think that when you homeschool you never leave your house, LOL. If they only knew all the different things that I do with the kids because we have time with out homework and being at school for 6-7 hours/day.
Library and other activities are fantastic for getting out and meeting other families and kids.
Your kids will be around so many different people of different ages, do not even worry about it. In school kids are around other kids but they are so busy, they don’t have time to be social. My friend who’s kids are in PS are always sad that they don’t have time to actually visit with their friends because during school they are so busy and then evenings have homework. It is hard to actually connect with their friends.
My kids go to church, Bible study (similar to AWANA), Swim Team… they are around kids all the time it seems, LOL. Growing up we were HS’ed and had so many friends at church and in our athletic groups. We actually had more time for social activities because school didn’t take all day and we didn’t have evening homework 🙂
We do a CC-style co-op, although much more relaxed and less expensive. It has been such a blessing to our family. I find it very helpful for my older kids to have a “teacher” other than me sometimes.
That said, if I only had young children, I would just look for playgroups and other social activities. When my kids were younger we went to open gym at our local rec dept each week.
I would personally avoid a CC co-op, even if it was the only option. Not only is there a heavy cost, but much time is required. Also, my understanding is that you are pretty much linked into studying at home what is covered through the co-op.
There are probably many other possibilities for your child. Many nature centers or museums have programs. Not to mention library programs and classes. Many have a story time with crafts…we loved going when I just had little ones. Swimming lessons and other community sports can be good too. If you look beyond homeschooling, I’m sure you can find plenty to do. Just make sure you aren’t getting into too many activities! That can be incredibly overwhelming with multiple children involved in multiple events.
We’ve homeschooled both with and without a co-op. It can be a great place to meet other homeschoolers, but it’s certainly not a requirement to homeschool.
I did want to clarify that our family has always been a part of a homeschool group for social opportunities and educational ones. We kept things informal and had once a week park days and once a month educational activities along with the occasional field trip.
Social opportunities are very important but co-ops are not the only way to provide that for our kids.
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