Moniksca Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I am considering joining a homeschool co-op in my area, however, the only thing holding me back is the idea of teaching a group of kids that are not my own terrifies me. My ds is 8 and it would be for elementary age children. I'm afraid it will look as though I don't know what I'm doing and I'll have mothers staring at me questioning why I am homeschooling. As if I don't doubt my homeschooling abilities already. What would I teach, I know it's suppose to be more fun at this age but I'm just lost thinking about what to teach to others? What have you taught at co-ops that the kids really enjoyed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I am considering joining a homeschool co-op in my area, however, the only thing holding me back is the idea of teaching a group of kids that are not my own terrifies me. My ds is 8 and it would be for elementary age children. I'm afraid it will look as though I don't know what I'm doing and I'll have mothers staring at me questioning why I am homeschooling. As if I don't doubt my homeschooling abilities already. What would I teach, I know it's suppose to be more fun at this age but I'm just lost thinking about what to teach to others? What have you taught at co-ops that the kids really enjoyed? :D isn't that the truth. I share your fear. I actually got stopped in the middle of teaching and was told by the other mom that it wasn't age appropriate. It was, but not all the kids in the class were working at grade level I discovered upon further investigation. That was a very "ah ha" moment for me. I've always known about teaching to the lowest common denomiator issue for PS and it's on my list of reasons why we homeschool. But I'd never experienced it before. Anyhoo. Those other moms (unless they're micro-managers by nature) will just be relieved it wasn't their turn that day to teach and all they had to do was pack lunches and get everyone there on time. You'll be nervous, but jump right in and try it out. Worse case scenario you'll get yelled at. Best case scenario no one will say anything at all. It gets easier as you go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I had great feedback when I put together a bunch of science experiments from a Janice Van Cleave book. The kids rotated from station to station. Might have been this book: http://www.amazon.com/VanCleaves-Awesome-Magical-Incredible-Experiments/dp/0471310115/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1259611121&sr=1-3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TechWife Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 I have used Evan-Moor literature pockets with that age group and it worked really well (Caldecott pockets, to be specfic). I have also used the Non-Fiction and Fiction literature pockets for slightly older kids in a book club. For that, each child selected their own book to read and completed their activities after they read the book. They shared their activites and talked about the book at the next meeting. Evan-Moor history pockets are fantastic and have been used in our co-op before. You just have to gather library books for them to use on the time period/subject and decide how much teaching you will do. There are good notes in the Evan-Moor books. The Evan-Moor "pocket" books are great. They require minimal teacher prep and are inexpensive because you can copy them. You will need to make copies, have construction paper, crayons, pencils, and other easily found craft materials on hand. One tip, instead of making the pockets out of construction paper, I made them out of file folders instead. They were much more durable than the one time I had the kids make them out of construction paper. Making them out of folders and using binder rings instead of yarn to keep them together worked great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom31257 Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 We just started a co-op this year. We met for 8 weeks to give it a try. We all enjoyed it and will meet for 10 weeks in Feb and March. I was nervous at first, but in no time I felt like I really knew the moms and none were judgmental or condescending in any way. I think the key is to make sure you have good families that want the same thing as you want. You can pm me and I'll send you the link to our website. Here's what we had the first go around: Around the World in 8 Weeks (all ages, but different times): studies geography, map skills, and "visited" a continent per week (food, games, or crafts), then had Christmas Around the World the last week Art (older did projects in the styles of artist's they studies) (younger just did seasonal projects for fun) GA History (older, studied different aspects each week) Pilgrims Rock (in depth study of the Pilgrims) Game Time (traditional games for younger, snack as well) Next time we're having these: Bill of Rights Class (studying court cases surrounding them) Lost in Space (in depth study of the Solar System) Natural Spa (girls making their own natural products) Drive Through History For younger: Science (Chemistry and Physics) Spanish Songs and Stories Math Game Time Show & Tell Five in a Row Play Time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosy Posted November 30, 2009 Share Posted November 30, 2009 In my co-op, the most popular classes are the ones parents can't or don't want to teach, or are best done in a group. Science experiments, art projects, etc. work because if you have to prep an art or science project for one kid, it's not that much more work to prep it for a group (and then only one mess is made, and the kids can all clean up together). PE/active games teach discipline and following rules as well as being fun for the kids. If you know a foreign language, you could teach that. Unit studies are great in a co-op class. The Evan-Moor books are great resources. I've thought many times that SOTW would make a great co-op class. Have fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted December 1, 2009 Share Posted December 1, 2009 Last year and this year I have taught Art to kids ages 6-9. I have used the Artistic Pursuits K-3 Book 1. It has been a blast and the kids have learned so much and progressed from the beginning of last year till this year. We took a field trip to the Art Museum (free!) and sometimes I throw in an artist study a la Charlotte Mason. At the end of year banquet, we hung up all the art work for an "art gallery." The kids were bursting with pride. Easy, easy, fun class. And I have NO art background :) The book is great. Just another idea for you.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moniksca Posted December 1, 2009 Author Share Posted December 1, 2009 Thank you ladies for the great replies, will definitely look into the suggestions here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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