Do you belong to a homeschool group or co-op?

[Medieval Mom]

Do you belong to a homeschool group or co-op?

 

P.S. IRL, not cyberspace...;)

Edited July 2, 2010 by Medieval Mom

[Mom2J112903]

Yes. It is the local groups 2nd year and the group is REALLY growing, so I hope to have a lot of fun times with them.

 

There are other groups here locally, but they are affiliated with another cover school that we chose not to use because of the restrictions/rules placed upon the homeschoolers. We live in a very un-regulated state, so we wanted a cover school that only required the bare minimums.

[Parrothead]

We belong to a diverse homeschool support group. The group does field trips once a month, a geography fair, a science fair, a year end barbecue and has a parents meeting once a month.

[Ellie]

Yes....back when we were still hsing. But it was a support group, not a co-op. We started hsing before co-ops were invented, lol. I would not be interested in a co-op, but I would probably always belong to a support group (if there were any good ones in my community).

[Satori]

I joined an AMAZING group. They are super super nice and welcoming. They do fun stuff everyday of the week. For those of you in the Colorado Boulder/Longmont area, check out Colorado NICHE.

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I voted yes. We haven't in the past, but I've just signed up the boys for Classical Conversations for the fall.

[coffeegal]

Yes, it's a local support group. They offer monthly meetings, field trips, newsletter, standardized testing, and more. We can be as invoved or not involved as we wish. I love it. :001_smile:

[homeschooltoone]

Yes. Mine is the same as Coffeegal.

[Medieval Mom]

Thank you all for responding!

:)

[Pamela H in Texas]

Had I answered when my kids were little, I probably would have put "no, and probably won't." However, we did, for a time, but aren't any longer. It was fine, but we don't generally need/want it.

[Nakia]

We used to, but not anymore. It was a support group, but there was too much cattiness and arguing, and that was the moms. :glare:

 

I would love love love to find an active and diverse homeschooling support group, but it's probably not going to happen around here. Most of the homeschoolers in my area are very conservative Christian homeschoolers, and while I am a Christian, we just don't seem to fit in. :(

 

The only co-op in our area is very exclusive and expensive. We have been invited to join, but we can't afford it.

[Ellie]

We used to, but not anymore. It was a support group, but there was too much cattiness and arguing, and that was the moms. :glare:

Cattiness? arguing? No--say it isn't true!:tongue_smilie::lol:

[Firestar Academy]

I voted no but i'd like to.....

 

more like no but MY KIDS would like to. we visited with a hs co-op freind last year and they adored it. but it was christian and we are not practicing any religion. and it is 2 hours away.

 

The kids liked interacting with other hs'ers and so did I.

 

It just doesn't seem to want to work at the moment, but I am open if the situation were different

 

Robin in NJ

[Daisy]

I'm not sure how you are defining the word. We are part of a homeschool group but we just get together for park day, field trips, and a yearly homeschool fair. No weekly classes and co-op type stuff.

[3littlekeets]

Yes, and I love, love, love ours :-). It isn't petty or catty. It is very field-trip and child-socialization centered. It does not require any religious affiliation or statement of faith and many of our field trips are about exploring other cultures and faiths. Next stop..Japanese Buddhism.

[Mommamia]

We belonged to a co-op last year, but have chosed to take this year off. I'm doing the happy dance.....excited not to have the commitment and stress that was involved.

 

We do belong to a homeschool yahoo group, but not anything that meets regularly. This is our fun and fancy free year:001_smile:

 

I could possibly see us joing a co-op during our highschool years.

[Sebastian (a lady)]

Do you belong to a homeschool group or co-op?

 

P.S. IRL, not cyberspace...;)

 

Yes, very low key. A couple group organized field trips each year that I love to go on (rice planting and rice harvesting, plus a trip to a car factory and citrus picking).

 

The group is very geographically diverse with families up to an hour each way from the main base. But they are mostly very sweet families. We tend to get together mostly for social times (bowling, pool party) but have been adding some group classes as people feel led to organize them.

 

I think that people's impression of a group is very subjective. You always want it to be what you want for support. Sometimes it is very hard to take it for what it is and not be unhappy that it's not something else.

 

We've had a couple people who were very discontented that the group wasn't their image of a great group. But they were the same people who always said no when asked to organize something. So when they say that they don't see what they would get out of the group for their dues I just nod and agree with them.

 

The irony is that we've gotten just as much out of this group as out of other groups that had mandatory family participation/leadership rules.

[Medieval Mom]

I'm not sure how you are defining the word. We are part of a homeschool group but we just get together for park day, field trips, and a yearly homeschool fair. No weekly classes and co-op type stuff.

 

Yep, that counts! Sounds like fun! :) I mean just *any* group that gets together, for play or schooling or support.

[Mynyel]

I do not and I (more than likely) never will.

 

I have looked into a few and all of them have outlandish views or rules (to me) and I won't join them.

[Mynyel]

We used to, but not anymore. It was a support group, but there was too much cattiness and arguing, and that was the moms. :glare:

 

I would love love love to find an active and diverse homeschooling support group, but it's probably not going to happen around here. Most of the homeschoolers in my area are very conservative Christian homeschoolers, and while I am a Christian, we just don't seem to fit in. :(

 

The only co-op in our area is very exclusive and expensive. We have been invited to join, but we can't afford it.

 

We should get together Nikia :) I live in your neck of the woods :) I feel the same way!

 

We could each bring a jar of Nutella!

[Crimson Wife]

We're officially members of 3 HS support groups. The one we do the most stuff with is the local inclusive group.

 

I haven't yet found any co-ops within a reasonable commuting distance that fit our budget, values, and educational needs. A big problem is that we're too religious and not "crunchy" enough for many of the secular co-ops but we're not Evangelical Protestants so we can't in good conscience sign the SOF of the "Christian" co-ops.

[texasmama]

Yes, we are part of a co op. This will be our second year. It is pretty large, well-run, inexpensive, close by, and they teach things that I am interested in outsourcing (this year, this is science). Love it.:001_smile:

[leseve]

YES! We have been in one every year. We were in a social one the first two years and joined CC last year and LOVE it!

[SilverMoon]

Nope. We're not very likely to this year either. ;) Three of my kids were very active in scouts last year, and a fourth will start scouts this year. Between all the activities those provide (all three scouts were in different troops/packs), church, and homeschooling, anything more would max us out. We really like our relaxed homeschool days with scout stuff in the evenings and wouldn't want to change it. :001_smile:

[Heidi]

I belong to a home school group. They do two activities a month, which is perfect for us. It's great!

[Food4Thought]

I don't, mostly because my kids are still little. I may start my own in another year or two, but there are no local groups that I feel compelled to join.

[mama2cntrykids]

We just moved in June. So far we've been put on TWO HS Co-Op mailing lists, lol. I have meet very few ppl from either one though, but the ones that I have met seem nice.

 

We were part of two groups at our previous house too. One was WAY more active than the other.

[justamouse]

I would love to but the ones by me are very fundamentalist Christian (not that there's anything wrong with that, but just not for me) and I can't school and go somewhere once a week-it's just too much time, so I need something low demand. I can't find it, so I just dance by myself. :001_smile:

[JenneinCA]

Sort of.

 

We go to a weekly Park Day. But there are no rules, no bylaws, no anything, except a list of parks on a web site. That said, I love the people we see weekly. My kids think park day is the best part about living in California. It isn't an official support group, it is better!

[hsm6kids]

Technically we do because I pay my dues and have attended a few events, we also can get cheaper tickets to different theatrical events, but we do not attend park day anymore, as much as we tried to make friends and fit in it just didn't work, everyone already had their "clicks" and they weren't very welcoming to new comers. As much as I wish my kids had more social activities I can't see taking them to a group that is so closed off to new comers. I am on the hunt for family activities that we can do with other families so that the kids can get out with friends regularly...so far no luck. Also the home school group is almost an hour drive. :auto:

[Nakia]

We should get together Nikia :) I live in your neck of the woods :) I feel the same way!

 

We could each bring a jar of Nutella!

 

I love it! Don't forget your giant spoon!

 

Where do you live again? I am in Maggie Valley.

[katemary63]

Yes and we LOVE it!

[nutmeg]

Two very different things, in my book, but we participate in both.

 

Our homeschool group is about 100 families, loosely joined by a basic statement of faith. We have a Yahoo group for chatting, monthly meetings for moms, and lots of field trips and activities initiated by all members.

 

From within that group, I found half a dozen moms who are teaching a particular Apologia science book next year. We will be meeting weekly to do the experiments, reviews, and tests as a co-op.

[TKDmom]

I'd love to be a part of a co-op where I could drop off dc for art, state history, or maybe science. There's one just down the street from me that offers those things. But I'd have to sign a very specific statement of faith. I can't do it. It annoys me that I have to hold a certain view of the Bible in order to have dc take an art class. So I'll probably never join any of the local co-ops.

 

It's just as well. I don't care to b tied to someone else's schedule during the school day.

Edited August 16, 2010 by bonniebeth4

[Karen in CO]

I used to, but quit. I just couldn't picture those kids as my kids' peers for the rest of their school days.

 

I made an IRL friend who left the same year I did. We both put our kids in a ps enrichment school one day a week. So the kids have something like a co-op, but its ps. The mom and I get together a couple of times a month, but more informal. It meets our needs for social connection as well as enriching our kids with things we couldn't offer.

[Kidlit]

Our group meets 3 Fridays each month Sep.- April. It's smallish by design and the other moms are amazing--so loving and supportive.