Courtney in Va Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Do you worry about your logic-aged child not having academic interactions (debates, discussions, questioning sessions) with their peers? If you use on-line classes, do you feel they fill that role? The logic-aged class in our co-op (which serves as our history, science, Latin and art spine) may be whittled down to just two students next year, and I am wondering if I need to "switch gears" to provide my daughter more academic interaction with other logic-aged students. Any words of wisdom? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 I have talked to several people in my area who do co-ops, and honestly, the academic level just doesn't seem very high. I'll keep mine at home. Maybe he'll find a chat room or something where he can discuss stuff... or find a like-minded friend some day. But the lowered expectations and sticking to a schedule don't seem like good trade offs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hedgehog Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 We're from the UK, and I've yet to find a local homeschool group which is really academic; they all seem to be social, with some craft activities and fun stuff thrown in occasionally. And we've moved 8 times in 13 years so we've been to a few groups ;) Co-ops like you have in the US just aren't available here. My kids aren't doing any online classes either - they're expensive and the timing isn't good for us. But I don't worry about it - my kids will ask and discuss whatever they're thinking about or studying, with whoever happens to be available at the time - family, friends, neighbours, church members - people of all ages and varying backgrounds. If you don't have access to co-ops and online classes, I don't think it's a disaster; just encourage them to talk to people from when they're very young and I think it grows from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jibaker103 Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We bypass co-ops because I can teach them more effectively than anyone else. I use a homeschool basketball team to cover P.E. and a social outlet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We're from the UK, and I've yet to find a local homeschool group which is really academic; they all seem to be social, with some craft activities and fun stuff thrown in occasionally. And we've moved 8 times in 13 years so we've been to a few groups ;) Co-ops like you have in the US just aren't available here. My kids aren't doing any online classes either - they're expensive and the timing isn't good for us. But I don't worry about it - my kids will ask and discuss whatever they're thinking about or studying, with whoever happens to be available at the time - family, friends, neighbours, church members - people of all ages and varying backgrounds. If you don't have access to co-ops and online classes, I don't think it's a disaster; just encourage them to talk to people from when they're very young and I think it grows from there. :iagree:Only we are in the US! But every co-op we've tried has been more artsy craftsy and social networking rather than anything academic. I figure having discussions with everyone and anyone makes a good stand in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted February 23, 2012 Share Posted February 23, 2012 We are not involved in co-ops. For discussions, debates, etc we do that at home. We have discussion time with most of our subjects. I often throw out questions to round out the discussions, different points of view type thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coffeefreak Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 :iagree: I have talked to several people in my area who do co-ops, and honestly, the academic level just doesn't seem very high. I'll keep mine at home. Maybe he'll find a chat room or something where he can discuss stuff... or find a like-minded friend some day. But the lowered expectations and sticking to a schedule don't seem like good trade offs. :iagree: Don't get me started on the local co-ops:glare: We are making the switch to Veritas Press Scholar's Academy. My dd is in their History Transitions class this semester, and the results have been phenomenal! She is writing better, discussing better, and processing material better! I see where the interaction of a peer group is making a huge difference. Next year, she's taking Omnibus and Latin. She's looking forward to it, and I'm relieved to have those subjects taken off my plate. Blessings! Dorinda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom in High Heels Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Any co-op we've ever looked at has been mostly artsy stuff or things that simply don't fit our schooling needs/style. We are involved with the hs group on a minimal level though. We've done field trips because if there's a group we can get them done in English. Always a plus. Beyond that..eh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I have been contemplating the idea of starting a socratic circle group for my sons in a couple years. I have this book on my wishlist, which would hopefully give me the background and tools to coordinate such a group. Unfortunately, our local homeschool group has very few kids in the middle school age group (logic stage), so I'm not sure we would get enough kids to make it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
masaki Posted February 26, 2012 Share Posted February 26, 2012 Do you worry about your logic-aged child not having academic interactions (debates, discussions, questioning sessions) with their peers? If you use on-line classes, do you feel they fill that role? The logic-aged class in our co-op (which serves as our history, science, Latin and art spine) may be whittled down to just two students next year, and I am wondering if I need to "switch gears" to provide my daughter more academic interaction with other logic-aged students. Any words of wisdom? The issues our favorite co-op has faced in the past were its relatively small size and being multi-age. The kids love doing things together, but because of the wide range of ages, the differences between the their skills and maturity levels became glaring when we tried to do certain subjects. For arts & crafts, field trips, foreign language practice, fencing, or mini-sessions on basic geography or cooking, the co-op's been a blast. For science or other more "serious" subjects, the number of activities and topics the kids were able to engage in together eventually dwindled, even with some very creative planning and multi-level activities. At this age, the logic stage years, my dream co-op would be a small group of kids with similiar abilities and a few shared interests that would enjoy working on projects or taking an academic class or two together. On the other hand, I'm also finding that we need more time for studying, reading, and discussion at home at this age. So, as with most things, it's about finding the right balance. What do you think your daughter would like to do? Looking at the curriculum you have laid for the rest of this year and possibly next year, (I know hive members are an industrious bunch :D), how much time would she have for co-op actvities? For us, co-op means all day, even if actvitities are only scheduled for 3 hours. There's travel time back and forth, chatting with friends before and after, lunch, and hey-since-we're-already-out-might-as-well-stop-by-the_______. It's so hard finding/maintaining that balance:tongue_smilie:. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted February 27, 2012 Share Posted February 27, 2012 (edited) We've been involved in a local group for some time, but have mostly found that the at-home discussion is better than the classroom experience with the exception of one teacher. The others don't know how to do it. This is my oldest's last year that way, and he is switching online classes that I know will have the right environment. When we got involved locally, I didn't even think about not reading the books, articles for debate, mock trial case, etc. etc. myself and talking through things at home. So when mine go to write or discuss in class, it isn't a big deal. They're ready. Oops. I'm almost only mom that does that, and most of the kids really aren't that prepared. And most of the teachers don't do anything but have them read what they did at home. There's not much real discussion or pushing them to think and discuss the next level. Sigh. Edited February 27, 2012 by GVA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jengjohnson Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 I've had the same experience as others. We participated in co-ops 6 different semesters. As my oldest approached middle school I didn't see the offerings getting anymore academically challenging. I just couldn't continue to give up a day each week for fluff. I'm currently looking into a co-op that may meet my criteria. I could actually go for a less challenging co-op if they met in the afternoon rather than the morning. My kids must get their hard stuff done in the morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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