bobbeym Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 We're visiting a local co-op tomorrow morning. It's our first experience with co-ops so please tell me pros and cons of what I should be looking for, what questions I should ask, etc. All I know about them is that it is a small group with only 7 families this semester, and they are inclusive with no statement of faith. Some of the academic and enrichment classes they're offering in the fall semester sound like they might work well for DD and DS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coco_Clark Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 I've been to a few open houses for the first time this Spring. I know, for me, the important things to look for are: What is expected of me as a participating parent? (Teaching a class? Staying on campus?) Are the classes offered interesting? Is there any cost? How much? Do I "fit in"? (Are these people I will enjoy inevitably spending quite a bit of time with?) Are the children inclusive and friendly? Is a wide range of beliefs, parenting styles, and teaching techniques represented? (Important to me, as I rarely fit into a mold) I'm looking forward to learning what more experienced parents have to say. I'm honestly having a very hard time finding anything I like :(. Many of my local co-ops are either Catholic (which I wouldn't personally mind if they didn't insist I sign their statement of faith and seem very cliquish), very expensive, or require me to be on campus teaching once a week (which is reasonable but undoable as I have little ones and no child care). I may end up at the local public school funded homeschool co-op, which isn't something I thought I'd be interested in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SebastianCat Posted May 22, 2013 Share Posted May 22, 2013 How many kids per class? What is the teacher-child ratio? What are you expected to do during class? Drop off? Stay and help? Teach a class? Costs, and what that covers? Any extra expenses for field trips, service projects, etc? What do toddlers or younger children do during class time? Are classes a la carte, or are you expected to come and stay for the entire day? How are class offerings decided? How much work/homework is required outside of class? I am part of a co-op that is parent led, includes a statement of faith, with childcare for younger children/babies/toddlers provided. But every parent is expected to actively help in a class every time we meet. New parents aren't expected to lead or teach a class until their 2nd year, but they are expected to help the lead teachers. Our focus is on Bible teaching and memory, fellowship, and exposure to a variety of skills. Other co-ops I know of tend to be much more academic or rigorous. I would make sure I felt 100% comfortable before joining any co-op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 Thanks for your insight! DH is the one that would go with the kids, not me. Thankfully he's on board with checking it out and will be going with us tomorrow a.m. I wouldn't bother going if he wasn't! LOL The cost is reasonable I think. It's $50 per family and $10 per class, with 3 class options available each week. I think they said they have (had?) a study hall option available if a kid didn't want to be in a particular class. That would be good for DD, since the only thing I can see signing her up for is their Eco class. I have no idea what curriculum they'd be using though, although I don't really have a preference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted May 22, 2013 Author Share Posted May 22, 2013 How many kids per class? What is the teacher-child ratio? What are you expected to do during class? Drop off? Stay and help? Teach a class? Costs, and what that covers? Any extra expenses for field trips, service projects, etc? What do toddlers or younger children do during class time? Are classes a la carte, or are you expected to come and stay for the entire day? How are class offerings decided? How much work/homework is required outside of class? I am part of a co-op that is parent led, includes a statement of faith, with childcare for younger children/babies/toddlers provided. But every parent is expected to actively help in a class every time we meet. New parents aren't expected to lead or teach a class until their 2nd year, but they are expected to help the lead teachers. Our focus is on Bible teaching and memory, fellowship, and exposure to a variety of skills. Other co-ops I know of tend to be much more academic or rigorous. I would make sure I felt 100% comfortable before joining any co-op. These are good things to think about! I admit that I hadn't even considered the thought of homework created by the co-op class. That definitively will be a factor b/c the kids already have 6.5 credits of classes scheduled in the fall, all of which are fairly time intensive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanvan Posted May 23, 2013 Share Posted May 23, 2013 Is the focus of the co-op social or academic? How are class disruptions or misbehaviors handled? What is the procedure if a child misbehaves or bullies another child? If it is academic, do the students actually respect the teacher/parent by taking the class seriously, or do they routinely play with ipods or phones or talk to one another instead of listening to the teacher? (This one you can tell just by observing) Sadly, some of the same problems within public schools also affect homeschool co-ops, and often the parents running them have not thought through how to handle such issues. I'm not a lover of non-academic co-ops. They don't work for us. If I sign my Dc up for a class I want them to be learning, taking the teacher seriously and completing homework in a timely way--not saving up all their energy for socializing during class. I don't want them learning poor habits by going to something called a class and then being able to do whatever they want. The local co-op isn't quite that bad--but on it's way there from what I've heard from a friend who still teaches there. I stopped teaching there b/c to many kids & parents were there to socialize. I didn't want to spend a lot of time planning lessons for people who didn't really want to participate in them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbeym Posted May 24, 2013 Author Share Posted May 24, 2013 Well, the co-op is a bust I think. There are about 10 or so other teens of various ages - mostly girls, and the parents and kids all seemed nice enough. I like the smallness of it, but it lacked any real defined structure, probably b/c it is so small. Grades may or may not be given for a class depending on the teacher's preference to do so. Homework, or even how much class participation is required, is entirely the parent's responsiblity. DH and I couldn't figure out how much actual teaching would be done by the lead teachers, none of whom had even settled on what currics they would be using. I couldn't help but keep thinking they should at least have a list of final options to be able to discuss it at an open house. DH felt he was probably too constitutional for them; his thoughts often sound radical and conspiracy-theorist-like to outsiders. I left feeling like we'd be doing nothing more than paying someone to babysit our 15 and 19 yr old DC while DH sat there with them. True outsourced classes these would not be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilaclady Posted May 24, 2013 Share Posted May 24, 2013 To be honest, for that price, that is what I will expect. Our coop is also like that, the kids do pe and some class but generally, no homework and the classes are more fun class that you do in a group like drama, etiquette etc. for actual classes at the high school level here, they run between $200-400 Per semester, AP classes are between $600-750 for the yr. so for $50 plus $10 per class, it will just be a social thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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