Does your homeschool Group allow 4 year olds with out older siblings?

[cagirlintexas]

Curious what the norm.

[Soror]

Yes, we do but our group is VERY informal, park days and field trips and such. I could see having that rule for more formal classes and such.

[placeofgrace]

We do now.  Last year, I was on the board and we changed the by-laws of our group to include children younger than compulsory age and also alumni. 

[mom2att]

For our general membership (park days, field trips, etc) anyone can join.  For co-op membership in the same group (limited by the church where we meet to 200 children), we always have more apply than we have room for, so we limit our co-op families to those with school-aged children since our focus is on parent-taught classes for those ages.

[sassenach]

No. We don't even enroll kindergarteners without older sibs. Our physical space is limited and so many people around here "homeschool" preschool without the intention of continuing. We found that even enrolling oldest Kers added a certain level of drama to the group (parental expectations) and we created our co op to primarily serve the older kids. So now you must have an oldest who is in at least 1st grade.

 

ETA- We do have classes for all age groups for younger sibs. Also, the support group that we branch out of has no age limit.

[sassenach]

Realizing that I read that as co op instead of group. I'm changing my vote to reflect our support group rather than the co op.

[kwg]

I voted Yes now- but 2 years ago they did not.  The preK classes were full with children who had older siblings. 

[MotherOfBoys]

Ours doesn't allow and it isn't worth the conflicts it causes. We have the space and we need the extra moms help. It's not that academically rigorous either. There are a couple classes that they would not be able to do but I wouldn't be worried about the kids wanting in those classes anyways. They say it's because your not hsing at four, even though all that inquire about the group are, so it comes across as insulting. Then they don't come back the following year. The first year, four or whatever, is when parents need the support. Even if it's not a support group it is the closest thing our community has to one. Just being in the building with other moms is uplifting. 

 

By the way, I was really insulting last year, when they asked if I could sub for a mom after they told me my kids were to young to be in it. Why would I want to and what o would babysit my kids while I babysit yours!

[TrixieB]

Support group - yes.

 

Co-op (classes) - no.  There aren't any classes for 4 year olds anyway.

[Chelli]

No. Our co-op doesn't let kids begin participating until first grade.

 

The one homeschool group I'm in only lets preschool/kindy age kids participate if they have an older sibling in the group. We didn't want the group to become a general mom and kids play date group since formal schooling is not required until first grade here in Texas. We wanted to keep it strictly for those of us who are homeschooling.

[Crimson Wife]

Yes, if the family has the intention of HSing for elementary school. So did the one we joined when my oldest was 4 and I was preparing for her K year. I'm grateful that the veteran moms welcomed me with open arms, and generous donations of materials their kids had outgrown.

[ocelotmom]

Yes, if the family has the intention of HSing for elementary school. So did the one we joined when my oldest was 4 and I was preparing for her K year. I'm grateful that the veteran moms welcomed me with open arms, and generous donations of materials their kids had outgrown.

 

Same here. While we'd always planned to homeschool, when the actual time hit I started to get cold feet about it. I don't think I would have ended up homeschooling if we hadn't already been part of a homeschooling group. Another family initially did decide to send their kid to K, but rejoined us a year later.

 

So many families have younger siblings that I can't see why kids who aren't officially school-aged yet should be an issue for age-appropriate activities. I can see it being an issue if there are space issues and younger kids are taking places that could go to kids who are already homeschooling, trying to participate in activities aimed at older kids and being disruptive, or other such legitimate problems. But appropriate, open activities are good outreach.

[craftyerin]

Yes, and we even have a few 3yos with no older siblings which I find a little ridiculous, but they are moms who intend to homeschool and are eager to get to know the homeschooling community.  There's not much for the little ones to do with our group (PE and a PK-1st playgroup that meets 2x a month) but they join and come! 

[Dmmetler]

Yes, but more formal activities often have an age-range for enrolled children, and accept sibling tag-alongs if the parent is willing to supervise their child and manage their behavior (like taking a fussy preschooler out of the planetarium during a middle school Earth/Space science class). Activities planned for the 5-6 yr olds often are officially open to age 2-6 because so many of the parents have two kids in that age group anyway.  And park days, parties, and similar events are open to everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[musicianmom]

Yes, ours does. But our group is huge, several hundred families, and it is expected that you will pick and choose your activities based on appropriateness for your family.

 

I was one of those ridiculous moms who joined when my oldest was two. I wanted her to make friends with kids from hs families, so there wouldn't be the "all my friends are going off to K and I'm not!" drama later. It worked out well for us.

[mamamin]

yes, our youngers have a full range of "classes" to take including this semester: FIAR, Dinosaurs, lego, young inventors, P.E. In the past we have had ooey gooey science, music & movement and others. 

[Ivey]

Our homeschool group is small and focused on older children (8+), but we've never actually turned anyone away based on age. Our group is not connected with a co-op and doesn't offer regular classes, so parents of younger kids can choose to attend activities, workshops and field trips that are appropriate, without feeling like they're missing out on too much. One mother whose only child just turned 5 (but is very bright and enjoys activities geared toward older kids) always gives me a call before signing up for an activity to make sure Ds4 will be there so her son will have a little buddy. :)

[Tanikit]

We let anyone come and have had parents with much younger children - many of whom are looking to find out what homeschooling would be like once they reached formal schooling age. The group however is small and is more for support than anything else. Field trips do have age limits depending on where we are going and everyone knows to stick to those.

[HSmomof2]

Co-op- No

 

Support group- Yes

[msrift]

I've been a member of four groups and all required members to have children of mandatory reporting age (basically 6yrs old) and be actively homeschooling. All have allowed those with children younger than that and those just thinking about homeschooling to attend the more informal events, such as park days or support groups. One group even went as far as to start a 'future' homeschooler support group, so they could plan park days and the kids could get to know one another. 

[Ellie]

I guess you'd have to define "homeschool group."

 

In my experience, there were support groups, which were made up of families where at least one child was school age, because otherwise they wouldn't actually be homeschooling. Many had younger children; any field trips or other activities were planned with school-age children in mind, however, although we tried not to do very many which disallowed younger children. One of our leaders only had preschool-age children; she wanted homeschooling to be natural to her children, so that when they were school age they wouldn't even question the fact that they weren't getting on the big yellow bus. (As it turned out, when her older dc turned 5, she put him in the local public school. Go figure.) She's the only one I can remember who came with preschool-age children.

 

If you're talking about a co-op or other group teaching activity, then I would expect those to be specifically for school-age children; if I were in charge, I would not offer classes for children younger than 5, so, no, I wouldn't "allow" children younger than 4 at all.

 

Support group: sure, but activities will be planned with school-age children in mind, although preferably younger dc can come along on most outings.

 

Co-op/other teaching situation: No.

[Coco_Clark]

repeating what I've seen a few times while scrolling down,

 

Co-op classes- no.  

 

Support group- yes.  Although I will say that even the support group has split into a "K and younger" group and a "grades" group this year just because all of a sudden there was a huge influx of moms with 4's and younger and no older children wanting to attend. There is some cross over, obviously, but I like the separation for several reasons. I've attended both groups (since my oldest is in 1st, they are both applicable to me) and they are definitely different with different topics and needs.  

[regentrude]

Yes. Our group is mainly social, so kids from infant age on are welcome.

For the coop, there are activities that are appropriate for the younger children as well.

[SevenDaisies]

Generally no. Our group is limited to 200 families, and since space is limited, they like to make sure families with school-aged children are served first. If there are any remaining spots after those with school-aged children have joined (which there rarely are) those with preschool-aged children are allowed to join.

[T'smom]

We do Classical Conversations and you can enroll 4 year olds. I can think of at least one family whose oldest is in the 3-4 year old class.

I'm a part of another VERY informal group that just does get-togethers, park days, field trips and such. We wouldn't turn anyone away.

[Jennay]

Yes, there is a preschool class at our co-op.  Priority goes to siblings of older students but two weeks before classes start any open spots can be filled by families who only have younger children.  Preference goes to those who plan to continue homeschooling.

 

[NavyMommy]

I don't think that we currently have any families with only 4 year olds in our co-op now, but there is no rule that would eliminate them. My oldest is in K and she loves it and I have a younger child in the preschool class. Preschool is fun, letters, sounds, numbers, and colors and in K they start in the regular classes. History, science, PE, and a flex (which is usually an art project or something messy) are for the older kids (K-5/6) and then in middle school they start with other classes like government, algebra, and marine biology. 

 

I was actually nervous because of what I had read here about co-ops not allowing families whose oldest child is in K. Thankfully they've been awesome, They were actually kind of excited to have a newbie to help out and I've gotten all kinds of wonderful advice and guidance.

[Desert Strawberry]

I voted other. 

We are in one now that has strict qualifications( school age, currently homeschooling, mandatory attendance). None of our other groups are like that though. 

 

ETA: I am only including support-type groups, which include park days, field trips and community events. We've never taken part in any co-ops or academically oriented groups. The individual events may have age limits (my 11 yo is going on a tour of a vet's office today and a museum tour next week. I will drop him off and pick him up, or wait outside/in the lobby with the little ones)

 

I started a group in my town. I actively encourage parents of young children and those considering homeschooling to attend. Homeschooling is not terribly common in my parish. I want prospective home schoolers to see that we are not weird ( or maybe we are, but that's ok  :huh: ),and that our kids are nice, intelligent, happy, and well-adjusted. I want them to have exposure to how homeschooling works for real life families. I want them to have the benefit of hearing others work out their problems so that they won't have to reinvent the wheel when their own child reaches the same challenges. I want to build social networks for parents and children that can last past kindergarten, when they may find that suddenly all of their friends' children are enrolled in school, even though the default answer for many is "We will probably homeschool." 

[5LittleMonkeys]

By group I thought you meant co-op so I voted no.  The co-op that I'm director of is an academic co-op that is limited on space so we can't accept families that don't have at least 1 school age child.  We have a plethora of social groups in the area that do accept families that haven't officially\legally started homeschooling yet. 

[rzberrymom]

so many people around here "homeschool" preschool without the intention of continuing.

This is rampant where I am too. Over the years, it became so discouraging to my kiddo to watch one after another of her homeschooled friends head off to public kindergarten and 1st grade that we asked for no one under 6 years old in our science co-op.

[Targhee]

They do, but the "classes" for the kids that young are just play time, circle time, and occasionally PE

[Farrar]

The support group I'm in is specifically for elementary age kids.  It was a spin off from a preschool homeschool group many of us were a part of.  So, no, but that's because such a group already exists, if that makes sense.  Sometimes the two groups have shared events.  All kids are welcome.  Or, if a field trip is posted to both groups, the rules of whatever the field trip is are applied.

 

The co-op I'm in is to small for this to be an issue.  We're set with who we have and not inviting anyone else, regardless of age.  All the large listservs welcome all posters, as far as I know.

 

I dislike when groups are closed off to finding ways to let preschool homeschool parents participate in appropriate ways.  In areas like mine where everyone sends their child to preschool, then you're simply closed out and at sea, and less likely to homeschool down the road if the community is closed off.  But I can totally understand why some co-ops and classes and field trips need age guidelines and also dislike when people want there to be special exceptions made.

[abacus2]

I voted no, but not because our small group is exclusive, rather that I've never run across anyone in my area who considered themselves to be homeschooling before having a school age child. Preschool is popular here, but not expected like it is some places. 

[coffeegal]

Yes. One group is an informative group that encourages members of the community and grandparents, as well as homeschoolers to join. The second is an informal park group that errors towards the inclusive rather than exclusive side. :001_smile:

 

 

[JenneinCA]

Sure. However, we only do park days. No academic classes of any kind at all.

 

Since we meet at various public parks it makes no sense to try to limit to any particular age group. In actual fact right now, we have an abundance of teenagers and a major lack of kids under the age of 10. We would love it if you came to our park day with kids of any age. Especially younger elementary school age ones.

[HS Mom in NC]

No.

Art Class with Larry is for ages 6 and up.  No exceptions. Younger siblings have indoor and outdoor areas to play in while the moms visit and supervise their own littles.

 

Yes.

Homeschool PE is at a public park.  Children 6 and up can participate in the PE class.  There are several moms whose kids aren't school aged yet who bring theirs along to play with the younger siblings in parts of the park where moms can sit and visit and littles can play.  We pack a lunch and play for an hour or so after class.

 

 

[Camelfeet]

Our homeschool group is large and does a variety of activities.  Some of the activities/field trips welcome 3/4 year olds, some don't.  

[happypamama]

Sure, we welcome preschoolers without older siblings. Many of our activities are open to anyone, although sometimes there will be a special teen activity. Park day, bowling, parties, etc. are open to anyone in the group, and if you're considering homeschooling as your child gets older, you're welcome to join. I think the only exception would be the co-op aspect of our group -- if the preschool classes were tight, we would give priority to those children who had older siblings in the upper classes, but that hasn't been an issue. We haven't had a problem fitting in any child whose parent is willing to pitch in and help or teach.

 

And we definitely don't limit our enrollment to those of compulsory age -- here, that is age eight. We joined when my oldest was seven, and we were glad for the friendship and support we found. Half of our co-op enrolled, I think, are under eight.

[kirstenhill]

Yes -- Support group and co-op.   Support group welcomes parents of children of any ages, because it is encouraged for the younger moms to learn from the older moms, even if their kids are still very young (this is a support group for monthly support meetings only (prayer, discussion, guest speakers) -- no field trips or group activities that include the kids.

 

Our co-op welcomes families with their oldest still in preschool since we have a preschool class anyway.  Our co-op has "room for growth" so to speak (we have had a number of families leave the group in the past year due to moves, no longer homeschooling, etc), so it seems like a path toward growth to have new families join while still in preschool. Sure, some may not continue to homeschool, but that is true of families with older kids too.  i think there were 4-6 families who were in our group last year who had mid-elementary age kids or older who just decided to switch to public or private school. 

[LMD]

Yes, but we're pretty relaxed and don't have a co-op.  If an excursion or activity is age based that is made clear beforehand.

 

We actually have a 'spin-off' homeschool group primarily for pre-schoolers as the group was getting huge and overwhelming for the little ones.  I have a foot in both worlds so to speak, there is not strict cut-offs, just suggested age suitability iykwim!

[Danielle1746]

Realizing that I read that as co op instead of group. I'm changing my vote to reflect our support group rather than the co op.

Same here.

[Lisa in the UP of MI]

Our youngest class is for 4-6 year-olds who are not yet in first grade.  Siblings of older students are supposed to get preference.

[Wabi Sabi]

We just had a family join our homeschool group whose oldest child is only 10 MONTHS old! I don't think that our group really has anything at all to offer to this family, but they were approved since the group is open to all homeschoolers.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Not anymore. We had a couple of bad experiences, and it kept turning out that those members whose oldest kids were that young were our flakier members. Since everyone has a job to do at our co-op, having people flake out really affected the workload. We've found that people who are homeschooling school-age kids tend to be more committed and reliable.