Thursdays - Our Co-Op Day!
Thursday, February 10, 2011 at 5:30AM My children and I are blessed beyond measure to be involved in a large homeschool co-op. I've had several off-hand comments the past week about how "lonely" my kids must be because they are homeschooled, or that they don't get to exchange Valentines because they aren't in "school". I have to chuckle on the inside because nothing could be FURTHER from the truth. Thanks in large part to our wonderful co-op (Voyagers) and also being a part of a large homeschool association, we have so many opportunities for friendship, fellowship, and yes....... SOCIALIZATION.
PJ Day at Co-Op!Our co-op consists of just over 200 children. It runs for 2 1/2 hours once a week. We have a general assembly time and then two hours of classes. For moms, one hour is spent in fellowship (conversation, sharing, eating yummy food) and the other hour is spent either teaching or assisting in a class. This semester I am teaching a music and movement class for Kindergarten and First Graders. What fun!
Miss B and GMan pick their classes (there are so many wonderful classes to choose from) and they each have two. Currently Miss B is taking New Sew Blanket Fun and Hands On Projects. GMan is taking I Want Candy (a math class - awesome!) and Music and Movement. I cannot begin to describe the caliber of teaching in these classes. The teachers are dedicated to children and learning, and there is at most 10 children in a class, most often with two adults and a teen helper in the room as well.
To say we look forward to Thursdays is an understatement. Last week was PJ Day, and this week there will be exchanging of Valentines. Most of all, I love that we gather with like minded families who share our goals, frustrations, and joys. I also am getting to know other homeschool moms who are a wealth of information, and a great inspiration to me. Compared to some in our group, we are new homeschoolers and I have so much to learn.
Do you participate in a co-op? What's it like? I'd love to know, because I just know about what WE do.
Happy Thursday!
Reader Comments (8)
Co-ops are a wonderful blessing. Your co-op sounds like a great experience for fellowship and learning!
We are part of two co-op's.
One with 1 other family for Geography and 1 for History with 3 other famlies. We fully enjoy our time with our co-op's. It helps to keep you accountable to the lesson and each other.
Blessings
April
Co-ops are great! We have a fantastic one in Florida where we attended the Fall semester. Ours is large also, over 200 students. There are 5 periods, and I let my 6th graders pick which classes to take. My youngest was too young to participate, so I ended up paying an extra opt-out fee from volunteer jobs, but next year she can attend Kindergarten there. The classes are so incredible, they offer everything from (fun & cool) science to PE & crafts. We love it, and plan our own curriculum to be a 4-day week, so we can attend co-op.
Our Coop is small, about 50 families, but there is so much to do that we can't possibly do it all AND have school! It says it is primarily a social Coop, but they have IEW writing classes, art classes, PE and music and constant educational field trips. My daughter loves it. Our Valentine party is next Friday (our snow storm put it off) and then the next Friday is gymnastics at a local gym. FUN!
Wow! Those numbers are astounding :O! You would never feel isolated, unsupported or unconnected :D We have only begun to develop our homeschool group meetings into more structure, actually meeting regularly and we began yesterday :) We have a teeny tiny little group of almost thirty children and about ten families. I dream of an influx of homeschooling to the size you guys have the incredible pleasure of enjoying. One day hopefully :D!
JM:)
I live in the UK and I haven't found a coop but once we return to the states I hope to.
We have done a co op in the Fall which is an outside one. The kids loved it. It was an hour away though and hard with nap time...but fun!
I wish we had a big co-op like your describing to participate in. Lots of class choices would be nice. We belong to a small homeschool group and it is hard to get co-ops going. Next year holds some promising classes for Spanish and Music Appreciation.
Blessings
Diane