If you belong to a Co-op...

[shellbelle]

how much does it cost?

 

We are looking at one that averages out to be between $300-$350 a year. It meets on Fridays for a total of 5 months. It is parent led and moms are required to teach/assist for the full day.

 

It is something that I would love to be a part of, but can't afford right now. The biggest issue is that it is located an hour away and I would spend almost an equal amount in gas money. :auto:

 

I feel badly telling my children that we can't participate, but I really wonder how other single-income families do this. Maybe spend less on curriculum?

[TranquilMind]

how much does it cost?

 

We are looking at one that averages out to be between $300-$350 a year. It meets on Fridays for a total of 5 months. It is parent led and moms are required to teach/assist for the full day.

 

It is something that I would love to be a part of, but can't afford right now. The biggest issue is that it is located an hour away and I would spend almost an equal amount in gas money. :auto:

 

I feel badly telling my children that we can't participate, but I really wonder how other single-income families do this. Maybe spend less on curriculum?

Ours is more like a part time school, employing degreed teachers who want more flexibility, two days a week. Not cheap. Meets from August to May, and cost me around $2,500 for the year last year for one kid.

 

We spent many years in a different co-op that was geared more to younger children. Classes cost about $90 per year there, and you could take 1 or up to six. Met one or two days a week.

[rjand6more]

how much does it cost?

 

We are looking at one that averages out to be between $300-$350 a year. It meets on Fridays for a total of 5 months. It is parent led and moms are required to teach/assist for the full day.

 

It is something that I would love to be a part of, but can't afford right now. The biggest issue is that it is located an hour away and I would spend almost an equal amount in gas money. :auto:

 

I feel badly telling my children that we can't participate, but I really wonder how other single-income families do this. Maybe spend less on curriculum?

 

Ours is $85 a semester(12 weeks) for 1 day a week 8:30-12. The cost is per family regardless of size. Classes are enrichment and mom led and assisted.

 

The co op meets at a church about 20 min away. The church charges major $$$ for our use, but t works so well. I look at it as a more social thing and use money that I would have set aside for recreation type things. Our co op has scholarship money for partial and complete coverage of costs. Maybe this group has something similar?

[Mimm]

$80/year. Same situation. Moms all teach. We offer the classes we feel like teaching. We put together a supply list of things the kids should have with them but it's pretty basic stuff- markers, colored pencils, etc. Our building is free, so that might make a big difference.

[AimeeM]

I belong to a large Catholic co-op. We pay $20 registration and then material fees for whatever class(es) we participate in (usually between $5-$30, dependent on whether textbooks are needed or just art supplies). Co-op meets every other Friday for classes and frequently on other days for Mommy and Me gym classes, park dates, dancing, mom's craft nights, etc. Classes offered range from Latin and Science to art classes and music classes for the youngers.

 

I have heard that some co-ops charge *more* because of the space needed - if they have to rent space, that is. Our co-op is blessed in that a local parish allows us use of an empty school building so long as we pay the difference in insurance (or something like that; which is what our registration fee is for).

 

We are encouraged to teach a class, but it isn't required. If we do not teach, we help clean up at the end of the day.

[AimeeM]

... also, is this a church based group? Ours has several scholarships available for those who cannot afford the registration fee - and since we have such a low registration fee, many of us are able to pay double (which gives a "scholarship" to someone). Scholarships are kept completely confidential and only the group owner knows who is on "scholarship".

[jelbe5]

Ours costs $50.00 for family. We meet 2x per month Sept-April. We do not meet in Dec. Each family must have one parent who helps teach.

[momofkhm]

The co-op is $12 per person per semester plus fees for each class. The fees covered materials and supplies. I take out any classes that cost more than $50 and then ask the kids what they want to take. There are some that cost as little as $5.

 

Moms teach the classes - you are required to serve one hour and one hour to take a class or have personal time. Serving can be holding the babies in the nursery. Or it can be teaching a class. Or it can be as an assistant in a class. Then taking a class - usually a Bible study (Christian group). Sometimes there are books like Paul Tripps Age of Opportunity. Or a class called Homeschooling through High school. Or you have the option of a personal hour where you have to check in and stay at the church but that's more for if your kids need you.

[Lori D.]

I'll be teaching at our homeschool group's co-op this year. :)

 

Meets Monday mornings, 9am-2pm (about 12-15 times per semester). There is a family fee of $25 which is given to the church facility as rent. And then families are free to sign up for whichever classes they want individually with the teachers (mostly moms and a few older high school students or recent homeschool graduates).

 

The class fees run anywhere from $10/student for one semester, to $75/student for one semester, depending on the teacher and supply needs. Most teachers prefer full payment up front, but some allow "payment plans" (i.e. a portion of the class fee each month) to make it easier for families with several children taking several classes. Last year, a family with 4 students spent about $400/semester for all 4 children to take 3-4 classes each.

 

Parents are required to do some work for the co-op (there is a sign-up schedule), but do not have to stay at the co-op if not assigned to do your volunteer work that week.

 

From what I see, many of the the classes in this semester's co-op will be:

- skills (sewing, jewelry-making, massage, guitar, how to study the Bible)

- enrichment (kindergarten, geography, history, calligraphy, creative writing)

- actual coursework (Physical Science (with labs), Spanish, French)

 

I am leading 2 classes, for grades 7-12, with a $35/student price for "audit", or $50/student price for high school transcript credit (additional reading/writing and I grade it). Each class is 2 hours long, and if taken for credit, each will be worth 0.25 credit per semester, plus additional work outside of class.

 

I intend to be a terror and very demanding of my classes in order to award credit. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

For me, at young ages, co-ops are just for enrichment -- because I'm cheap and not willing to spend too much for just enrichment, unless I *know* it's a super teacher. At that age, we just got together with several other families and had some great FREE mini-co-op times (field trips, presentation days, science experiment day, etc.)

 

And, again, for ME, for the older ages, co-ops have to be able to take over part of the teaching load -- and for high school they must be worth partial transcript credit -- and few classes are. So, at the high school level, I figured we might as well spend the money on dual enrollment at the local community college, and *know* we were getting both high school AND college credit, getting classroom experience, and probably a teacher who specializes in that subject area and is experienced AS a teacher. (Most co-op classes tend to be taught by people like myself -- parents with a love or interest in a topic, but not trained to teach a class.)

 

 

Just my take on co-ops, in case it is of any help! BEST of luck in deciding what's best for your family! Warmest regards, Lori D.

Edited July 26, 2012 by Lori D.

[Dmmetler]

Ours meets once morning a week. It costs $10/semester/child, plus teaching/providing materials for the group 1x/semester and assisting 2x/semester. We also do a workday a year that we fix, clean and generally do whatever needs to be done at the church that lets us use their space.

 

This year each family is taking a country and we're doing geography, cultures, music, food, and so on. We'll see how it goes.

[Bassoonaroo]

Cost of our co-op:

 

$15 per family per semester, $10 for those who take on substantial volunteer jobs. Financial aid available, just ask. Yes, we've had people have free semesters. We usually quietly ask them to do some sort of job for us if they are not already volunteering.

 

Cost of individual parent-led classes:

 

Usually free. But we've got exceptions. For a few semesters we had a professional art teacher whose kids were grown (so she really didn't need to be there...) and I think we charged $20 per student per semester. A semester is about 11 weeks, give or take, depending on the calendar.

 

Some teen classes require textbooks, such as high school physics or Latin, or a lab fee such as chemistry, so we try to keep these fees down by using first edition books (often you can use more than one edition of a book in a class with little effort), sharing lab equipment, and borrowing things.

 

Whenever we offer a fee class, we make sure there are no-fee options for the same age group available. It might just be a study hall for the teens not doing chemistry, but when we had the art class for elementary aged kids, we had some sort of history or music at the same time that was free, so that the parents didn't feel forced into the art class.

 

We are big on using "recycled" materials so that individual teachers don't strain their budgets with craft materials, etc. For example, if a teacher knows she needs a dozen sheets of blue construction paper, she'll do a Yahoo shout-out a month in advance and usually a dozen sheets (maybe of slightly different colors) will show up.

 

Also, we have a freebie box of kids clothes and used curriculum that anyone can take home.

 

We don't take many field trips but the ones we take are close to home and free or cheap. You know, tours of companies and free museums, etc.

 

Our dues go to scholarships, office materials, and giving the church some money to pay for electricity and toilet paper, etc.

Edited July 27, 2012 by Bassoonaroo

[sassenach]

Currently ours is $20 per family and $10 per child, per semester. That will probably have to change though.

[mereminerals]

Our co-op has recently moved away from shared teaching for the younger students. There is a $20/per student building fee that is due each semester. We offer classes on Mondays and Thursdays, but each class is only one day a week. The classes vary in cost. We have a book discussion class for high schoolers that is free and meets once a month.

Other classes range from $50/semster for elementary (3rd-5th) to $100/semester plus supply fees. Some sign up for just one class and some for several classes. It is open to each family to make the decision on what is appropriate for them individually. This year my ds15 will only be taking 2 classes, whereas my dd11 will be taking 5 classes.

 

On top of the financial aspect, each parent is expected to be a mom helper in the class. The frequency depends on the number of students in the class. Each of the classes are taught by either a mom or a certified teacher or someone with a degree in the area they are teaching. We also require that anyone who participates in the co-op has been a member of our support group for a year prior to taking classes.

[Jenny in Florida]

The one my son and I are joining this fall charges per class, per quarter. They run year-round, with four 13-week sessions.

 

Each class meets for an hour per week for at least 10 out of 13 weeks. (That provides some flexibility in case someone needs to skip a week.)

 

Each class is $50 per quarter. My son will be taking three classes in the fall session. Assuming he continues with those same classes for three out of four quarters (we take summer off), it will cost me $450 for the year. We'll be on a payment plan of $50 a month for at least the fall session.

 

I feel badly telling my children that we can't participate, but I really wonder how other single-income families do this. Maybe spend less on curriculum?

 

For what it's worth, I don't spend a lot on curriculum. I have a high schooler this year and will spend under $300 on our curricula and materials for the year.

[mschickie]

Our hs group has membership fee of $50 for the year. Our co-op is just one part of the group.

 

The co-op meets 1x a week for two 10 week sessions. The classes are ala cart so folks can sign up for 1 or stay all day and do 5 periods. The classes are mainly taught by parents although we do have the occassional class taught by a professional. The classes range from free to around $90 (professional art class or possibly a science lab), we also charge a $1 per class building use fee. Most sessions I end up spending around $150 if dd does art.

[Rebel Yell]

It really varies.

 

I have 3 kids in a 10 week co-op this fall, and our total bill is $226. ($50 for registration = insurance & donation to the hosting facility) Costs vary by class choices- Diamond's Science class is $50 for 1 hour, Study Hall AND Spanish III are FREE!

[kricau]

Ours is a day a week three hours a day. Costs $55 for each family registration fee. And then there is a per class fee, usually not more than $20 a class. The moms teach the classes (I teach Keepers at Home). It lasts for 12 week session two times a year, fall & spring.

[hsmamainva]

$10 to join the group.

 

Art (taught by a professional artist) is $55 per year & Science (taught by a homeschool mom w/ a PhD in Chemistry) is $60 per year.

 

They meet once a month during the school year and it's 10 minutes away from my house.

 

I love it. :)

[chepyl]

Ours is $20 to join the support group, then for co-op we pay and insurance fee per child, a facility fee per family, and then fees per class. Last year I paid less than $100 for the year total. Some classes have higher materials fees. The fees don't pay teachers, just cover supplies.

[BakersDozen]

 

We are looking at one that averages out to be between $300-$350 a year.

Wow. I'm offering a 2-class co-op on Wednesdays and am not charging a dime. I cannot imagine charging families like that! I would only charge if we were using art supplies or something but just to participate???

[Caitilin]

Ours costs $50 per child, but tops out at $200. It is an enrichment co-op, mom-run and mom-taught. To belong to our *group* you pay $25 per family per year, but that is different and separate from the co-op--entirely optional, and many of our families don't participate in it.

[GoVanGogh]

We do a lot of outside classes, but no co-op. For starters, I am not interested in teaching other children. But I also thought the one by us was horribly expensive.

Registration fee: $150 per family

Application fee: $40 per family

Class fee: $10-35 per class (x 5 classes, so $50 to 175 / art classes were $110 range, so much more if you wanted art)

[blessed3x]

Ours is a Fine Arts co-op.

 

The registration cost is $50 per child.

The student can sign up up to 3 classes for $65 per month. They also offer private music lessons, but they are an additional cost.

 

Parents help out throughout the year (in classrooms, monitoring the halls, with activities, etc). Classes are taught by paid instructors.

 

DS10 will be taking an art class and piano lessons.

They also offer drama, a large variety of music classes and advanced art classes. There is probably more, but we just moved into the area last March and are just learning it all. ;)