Ever Started Your Own Co-Op?

[kolamum]

I'd love to hear from you if you did..

 

Rules you implemented

Classes you chose

If you'd do it again

etc.

[freesia]

I did! The best thing I did was read the book How to Start a Homeschool Co-op by Carole Topp.

 

I recommend: Start small with a planning board. Choose one person, share your vision, work on what you want (we wanted an enrichment program.) Then invite some other organized, energetic, healthy people to share your vision. That will be your board.

 

I thought it was important to flesh out w/ one person what we wanted bc if you get a group together you will have many different opinions and desires. While you need to be flexible, you can't be all things to all people.

 

As a board we came up with a vision statement, policy (complete with rules), etc. Then we shared w/ our whole group and invited them to join us. We have a lot of rules and are very clear on responsibilities (everyone must be willing to teach, do a service job, etc.). Our board has lots of folks w/ small children so we need everything spelled out so we aren't inventing the wheel w/ every crisis. Folks who don't like rules, don't join and that is okay with us. I've been part of a looser co-op and liked it but I can't run one like this w/ a 2 yo, iykwim.

 

Our first year the board did too much work. We hadn't realized how much the "little things" would add up. This year we've spread the responsibilities out better. It still seems strange to me that folks who are just assisting make a fuss when asked to lead a cookie decorating party at the Christmas party bc of the prep work. (Don't they realize the teachers prep at least an hour each week?) But, we just keep repeating, "This isn't a service provided--it's a co-op where we need everyone's talent." We are also committed not to gossip and to keep short accounts. We often need to remind each other of this.

 

I have an amazing group of talented teachers and we are having a great time.

 

Would I do it again? Yes, I would, because it is very good for my kids. I am very proud of what we, the board, have been able to pull together. (We have 22 families/65 kids) However, it has been a.lot.of.work. We fight against resentment when it feels like we are doing most of the work/shouldering the responsibility. At those times I pull back and think--would I join if I wasn't the director? Yes, I would.

 

So, start small (I recommend no more than 12-15 families the first year), be clear about rules/discipline/responsibilities, share the load and try to enjoy. :-)

 

Classes: Art, PE, Science Activities, Five in a Row. This year we added Speech for the olders.

[G5052]

Do it right, and your frustrations and problems will be more manageable. Do it wrong, and you'll have more problems and can even expose yourself legally and financially in ways that you don't intend.

[laughing lioness]

I've started 2. Be clear about the what and why of what you are doing.

[Bassoonaroo]

We're in our fifth year. Good ideas:

 

1. Delegate

2. Be clear about goals and expectations. Write a handbook of some sort.

3. Write things down.

4. Pray for each other.

5. Take care of each other. Moms in our co-op have gone through cancer (one lady pulled through, one probably won't), a scary miscarriage (mom in hospital for quite a while), and a stroke (she's still in the hospital). We need each other.

6. Consider a short semesters. We have no classes after Thanksgiving and none in May. Those are just very busy times of year.

7. Consider a small amount of dues to cover things like postage, etc. Quietly waive it for poor families. Trust them if they say they can't afford it. Even a small amount of dues give the feeling of commitment to families. Free co-ops are seen as "optional" by some families.

8. We also have a freebie box for kids' clothing and homeschool materials. It surely isn't necessary but I've gotten a lot of good feedback about it.

9. No glitter.

 

Bad ideas:

 

1. Being unclear on who you allow in. Decide that ahead of time and stick to it. Don't keep changing rules.

2. Allowing some moms to get away with not pulling their weight. We do "go easy" on moms who are pregnant, have a newborn, etc. but for the most part, we need all moms to make the co-op a priority and work hard at it. I roll my eyes at moms who announce, "I can't teach!" Then, I recommend other drop-and-pay classes in town.

 

We've got 3 dozen or so families (100 kids exactly, birth to 17). It mainly works but not always.

[black_midori]

Start small and by only inviting in people that you personally know are reliable and have similar ideas on what she wants out of the co-op group. Don't offer out to a big group of strangers - lots will take you up on it, many won't bother to show, many won't bother to show after showing a few times but won't bother to call, most won't bother to help out much.

[mom2att]

You've gotten some great tips here. Our co-op started as a support group 10 years ago. We are now a full co-op of nearly 200 children. We have a parent handbook that clearly communicates policies and procedures. It ensures that everybody knows the drill and that there are no surprises. I spent some time reviewing similar documents from other co-ops when I wrote it, and I'd be happy to share ours with you if you'd like to do similar investigations. Just PM me!

 

Oh, and the Carol Topp book was invaluable to me when planning. I highly recommend it, as well as her website.

[Candid]

I've done so twice, both started with only three families. We were all using Tapestry of Grace. The first one didn't last long because one of the three moms had an long term illness and had to drop out. The other big mistake there was a lack of cohesion on age range. If you start small a wide age range will make things more difficult (in that case we were left with a huge gap between the remaining two families ages and expectations based on those ages).

 

What I am doing now with just the three of us (new this year) works better. We have three teens around the same age, then a collection of early middle schoolers and older elementary students. The 3 teens do lit together while the rest of the group works on a hands on project. Then the whole group gets together and does history (mostly) together at the level of the middle schoolers. I work more with my teen at home and anything that doesn't get hit I do with my middle schooler as needed.

 

We've found each of us has a different skill set so each mom is mostly doing one of those three things: one does lit, one does history, and one does crafts. The lit mom has stayed the same, but the crafts and history moms switched after the first quarter. Quite honestly they were both better at their first job and they've switched back. Now, obviously that could vary depending on the group of moms.

 

We also made a decision to meet all the time at the house of the mom who has very young children (two and newborn). That may sound like a burden, but it meant she can put each of them down for a nap and not have to worry over child care or moving napping children around to get to coop.

 

The nice thing about having a focus like TOG is that it gives us a clear plan of action each week. Obviously coops can have different focuses so having everything tied together like we do might not be the way to go.

 

I really, really like a talk Marcia Somerville gives called "Co-ops Worthy of the Name." This spring I was able to track down an audio recording from a HEAV conference, but since then the recording company has changed names and the recording is not to be found. There is still a pretty good outline up: http://www.heav.org/assets/files/Convention%202006/Co-ops%20Worthy%20of%20the%20Name.pdf

 

Somerville is a Christian so you'll get that in the outline and some points may not work for secular home educators. However I agree with much of what she says even though a lot seems strict. I've seen over the years many, many folks hurt by not having clear expectations and rules up front in these sorts of activities. I also think starting small is the way to go and then grow steadily. This way you work out some of the kinks while the group is still able to work together.

[SonshineLearner]

I did :) We have one that is fairly large :) After Christmas I'd be happy to email with you or talk on the phone. I'll be able to figure out if I'd do it again.... say.... as soon as we see how last year will turn out.

[Tina in WA]

I would encourage you to check out First Class Homeschool Ministries. We started a co-op 4 years ago and it has been a HUGE blessing to our family. FCHM offers lots of help/support to their leaders. Explore the co-op link and view what other co-ops offer. It is amazing!

 

Most import thing to do: Deligate! Deligate! Deligate!!!! you won't always be there and you will need a break! :-)

 

Have fun!

[SonshineLearner]

I would encourage you to check out First Class Homeschool Ministries. We started a co-op 4 years ago and it has been a HUGE blessing to our family. FCHM offers lots of help/support to their leaders. Explore the co-op link and view what other co-ops offer. It is amazing! .....

Have fun!

 

I looked at going with them, but wanted to make decisions by myself. I didn't want a larger person deciding what our group would do..... I really hate "big government" and didn't want to go through that again.... sounded good except for that, though! :)

[Bang!Zoom!]

Carrie, we share some of the same thinking. Long story short, I've been battling with this idea for perhaps 2 months now.

 

And honestly- I don't have any answers, not a title to recommend or even a proper way to express my thoughts on it.

 

So, in the end, we go on alone.

 

This is not a bad thing, but it is a lonely thing.

 

I'm glad some of you out there have success and fruitfulness. It gives me some hope.

[Jay3fer]

One idea we've taken on this year: a "co-op" doesn't have to be every single week. I've wanted to do one for Jewish homeschoolers here, but there aren't many of us. Plus, the others are younger, less experienced, and one is an unschooler, making for a totally different educational approach.

 

We were all overwhelmed at the thought of every single week, so we decided that part of "starting small," which is good advice, was also that "less is more" in terms of how often to meet. We are now meeting every OTHER Friday morning, rotating through each of our homes, and it is turning into something really good that my kids are looking forward to more and more.

 

I am hoping it will become intellectually more rigourous as the kids get older (and feel like less of a "playdate"), and I hope we can keep rolling with the educational differences. It was funny: when we met at the unschooler's home, her daughter led the prayers, picking and choosing whatever she wanted to say (while I insist they be done in the right order!). Her son just ran around without pants. That was one of our less-structured gatherings... :-)))

 

Still, since there are so few of us, but Jewish programming is so important to all of us, it's worth overlooking even big differences, and because it's not a major time drain (two hours of program, plus travel time, every 2 weeks), I can smile and shrug if it's not exactly what and how I want my own kids learning.

[Tina in WA]

I looked at going with them, but wanted to make decisions by myself. I didn't want a larger person deciding what our group would do..... I really hate "big government" and didn't want to go through that again.... sounded good except for that, though! :)

 

 

 

Oh believe me, we are very independent and like to do our own thing too. I completely understand.

 

But then again, there is something nice about being linked together with other likeminded people and having support and to ask questions from those that have been there and done that, as well as helping when you can. They do have a few guidelines and offer lots of help in many ways. I don't view them as an organization in control of us, but rather a mentoring organization. For example, normally they (first class co-ops) run two sessions: 1-8 weeks and 1-10 weeks, but we run our co-op for 30 days/30 weeks. We are a more academic co-op with a touch of enrichment classes.

 

But I understand what you're saying too. :-) Really I dislike control and wanted to get away from that from my previous experience too. I had several phone calls with them before deciding this was something we wanted to be a part of; and they were so patience, helpful and understanding.

 

With that said though, there “may†be things in the works for future years that will be required... That may benefit others, and would deter others as well. I completely understand that. :-)

 

~Tina