Need some input on co-ops...

[honeymommy4]

If you do a co-op that is not a specialized one (ie: NOT CC or KONOS, etc.)

does this take the place of your subjects you have them signed up for?

 

If you have a 2nd grader taking co-op classes in Art, Rev. war and say, literature, does this cover it for you and do you NOT do these subjects at home, for example? Does this mean I don't do history at home? or do I need to find Rev. war history? Will it confuse the child to be doing say, Ancient Times history at home and this other class on the Rev. war?

 

i just need to know as I am planning this year. We are signing up for a co-op maybe 3 classes for each older boy.

 

thanks! ;)

[sassenach]

It really depends on the quality of the class and the importance of the subject. My kids to science and art at co-op. We do more science at home, but not more art. My kids are not confused by studying two different areas of science at once. History might be different because it's linear. In the end, it's totally up to you!

[mrs.m]

The co-op that we attend almost always has work to do at home in between meetings.

 

And it won't confuse a child to study two different time periods, in my own experience with my children above 1st grade. It's just different stories in a different setting.

[ZeldaRules]

We are doing geography, science and book club at co-op this semester. The geography has a lot of art...I wanted him to take art, but he wanted geography. We are doing our own science at home this year. This year we are doing chemistry, and I get with another mom and do experiments. I think she is going to do chemistry too, so we will do the experiments in the lesson.

 

Geography does take place in our history lessons, but I am using The Complete Book of Maps and Geography, as well as the co-op class. He will get detailed lessons about specific places in the co-op class. If he does art at co-op, I don't do it at home very much. We will do some things. My daughter will be taking music, art and cup stacking - she is K, my oldest is 3rd.

 

Last year I did not do much science at home. He got science at co-op, once a month class at the science museum, and a 3-hour once a month class at an observatory and I would get together with a friend a few times a month to do lessons. Science at home was done based on interest...I.e. if he wanted to learn about snakes, we learn about snakes. I just did not use a curriculum for science, although I have BFSU. This year I have a specific plan to follow with chemistry, so we will do it at home even though he gets it at the museum and co-op.

[2_girls_mommy]

It just depends on if I need it to or not. I usually do all courses at home, but sometimes not as much if they are doing a co-op class too.

 

For instance, we had an art curric last year. But the weeks we were busy and didn't get to it, i didn't worry, because they were having a once a week art class at co-op, and they did lots of free art and even art at girl scouts. As long as they are learning art skills and gettings lots of time to express themselves, I am ok with it. That is the point.

 

I have had my kids take different lit. and history classes at co-op that didn't always represent the time period we were studying at home. It didn't hurt our at home studies at all. In fact, it just gave them more info and pegs to hang things on when we got there in history.

 

As for science, we have been lucky enough to have our co-op generally offer science that corresponded to what we have been studying at home some years. Those years, I only did elem. science at home once a week, then they had it at co-op once a week, plus all of the interest led and scout nature stuff, and field trips and the like that we learned from during the year.

 

Now that my oldest is logic stage she is studying science almost daily at home, and will take a once a week class at co-op that doesn't correspond to our at home studies this year. Since she has covered all areas of science in grammar stage, it should just reinforce ideas we have covered already and keep her fresh. It won't replace our at home studies.

 

My grammar stage student is getting a class at co-op in the same area we are studying at home, thankfully.

[mschickie]

Sometimes yes and sometimes no. Most of the time I use the co-op classes to supplement what I am doing at home already. If the class has a significant amount of homework then I might use it in stead of doing something else too. We do some Apologia science classes and those tend to be the science for most folks. For the elementary history classes alot of times what people do is use the co-op class as the main work and then have the kids read some historical fiction or do some other things like that at home.

[Ruby Rose]

I use co-op as an add on to what we are already doing. I use it as an opportunity for the kids to get out and work together with their peers.

[kirstenhill]

It really depends on the quality of the class and the importance of the subject. My kids to science and art at co-op. We do more science at home, but not more art. My kids are not confused by studying two different areas of science at once. History might be different because it's linear. In the end, it's totally up to you!

 

:iagree:

 

We do art, PE and science at our co-op, but it only meets twice a month for 3.5 hrs each time and there is no homework outside of co-op. PE is not really a huge priority for me and in my mind any physical activity (sports, bike rides, active play) "counts" for PE anyway (I have thought a bit about it because PE is technically part of our state requirements). My kids do a ton of art on their own, and science is of too much importance to me for a couple hrs a month to be enough.

 

But if it's a co-op that meets every week, assigns homework etc, or it is a subject area you just are not super concerned about at this time, then sure, you could "count" your co-op as covering that subject.

[Farrar]

Yes for extra subjects (sports count as PE, art classes are fine for art, etc.) but no for academic subjects. However, I might go a little lighter on science if we're doing a lot at co-op, and when we did poetry in co-op, I know I eased off the language arts just slightly.

 

I could foresee a time in the future, especially high school, when it does replace. But at this young age, the co-op stuff is just extra - important extras - but still extras.

[honeymommy4]

that's kinda what i thought but this co-op only has 1 or 2 classes offered for each level at a time and some are history based, etc. but I don't thik there will be homework,e tc.