Thank you everyone for your input. It helps to get some other perspectives on all of this and thus give me new ways to think about all of it. Hope everyone has a great time planning their next school year!

Hello Everyone, My kids are in their early teens. We have been part of a great co-op that has disbanded. We have tried other social opportunities that have not worked out. Thus we have decided to join a co-op next year as that has always been the best opportunity for my kids to interact with other kids in this area. My question is which co-op to join? Co-op A) Small, closed community very academically focused and meets at a home. This co-op is in the morning with three academic based classes for the MS/HS age. It is classically minded with homework heavy classes that would drive our curriculum choices for the year. It is a small group of very committed mothers and kids learning through hands on experience and discussion using great books and living book choices at a high level pace. Co-op B) Medium sized open community social/enrichment focused that meets at a church. This co-op is full day with four social/enrichment/very light academic classes for the MS/HS age. It is enrichment so would not affect our curriculum choices for the year. It is an open and fluid group that changes from year to year as far as who attends thus the classes change depending on who the teachers are. They are two polar opposites as far as their focus. I like the idea of the academic as the kids are spending their time focusing on academic skills. My concern is that it will drive our year and there is no scaling it downward, you must achieve and work at that level which is very ambitious. The enrichment co-op appeals as it gives my kids more social time, yet on the downside it does not help us with any of our academic skills. Those of you with older kids, what have you found has worked for you during these years as far as committing your time and energy to a co-op? Have you preferred academic based or enrichment based for your older kids? Note: At this time I am not interested in trying to start my own group. Thank you!

Thank you for the replies. I was looking for a guide that would break a book up into chapters and have a single question for each chapter that requires some thought and a several sentence response. I do not want a guide that is full of endless comprehension questions, just something that stimulates them to write a paragraph a day in response to their reading.

Hello, In planning for next year, I would like to find a literature curriculum that has daily journaling or narration work instead of questions for each days assignment. Is there a high school level curriculum out there that has this? I don't mind if it is a literature book with excerpts or a guide for whole books. I would really just like a curriculum that is based on the student giving a thoughtful journal entry about their reading, rather than just answering rote questions about the work/excerpt. Thank you!