Aubrey Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 When I started out hs'ing (a couple of yrs ago, lol), I'd get lonely. I had questions. I wanted to see more curriculum. I stumbled across a hs bookstore, & the ladies there were really friendly, but the other customers seemed to *know* them, ea other, etc. I was completely isolated, one of the few hs'ers in my city. I enjoyed hs'ing the dc at Starbucks, & this became more frequent when ds was in 1st g, because our house was on the market & we had to be out for showings. I wished there was a common place where hs moms could go to hs. Ea family would get its own big table to work at, & the walls would be lined w/ shelves of books--encyclopedias, curricula, living books, etc.--that you could "check out" & read/use at your table. There would be coffee, of course, & maybe childcare for the littles at certain times, depending on need. You could come & go or come & stay. You could chat w/ other moms while your dc were busy, or you could work w/ them in a more focused environment. The dc waiting their turn for instruction could play board games w/ peers instead of nagging that they're bored (ala preschool-well...when *does* that end? lol). You keep your house a little cleaner because you're not there all day. You save some on your energy bill for the same reason. You make friends, find support, etc. If you want. You have lower-cost childcare w/out the commitment & time-constraints of mother's day out type things. Maybe someone could make sandwiches & sell them or snacks, & you could skip the hardest part of the hs day: figuring out lunch. :lol: I imagine having different experts on different days. For ex, if you can help out w/ math, you could have your table for free or at a discount in exchange for helping out w/ math questions on Fridays. Maybe there would be a grammar expert on Tuesdays & science on Wed. Not to teach your kids, but for *you* to ask questions about concepts, curriculum, etc. I think it would be best for this to be an outbirth of or in conjunction w/ a hs support group. I've never been to a co-op, but from what I've read here, I think this would be pretty different. I know it would have to be pretty cheap, but what do you think? If something like that were available, would you be at all interested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Sounds like homeschool heaven to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovedtodeath Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I don't know... It is a great idea and I would be interested, but right now I wouldn't trust myself to use it regularly, and therefore wouldn't want to pay for it. I guess I would need to be convinced that going to your business would be better than going to the library. I imagine it would be hard to find very many homeschoolers in the area that would have enough in common. (There seem to be a lot of unschoolers and school in a boxers that wouldn't want many of the services offered.) I can't see being able to afford a separate place of business, so maybe it would work out better if it was set up in your basement or at least on your property. I could see establishing strict hours for the sibling care, etc, so that it does not have to be staffed at all times. If you offered tables for free I would see everyone wanted to help out and pay nothing. So did I pick it apart enough for you? :lol: I almost just deleted my response. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 I don't know... It is a great idea and I would be interested, but right now I wouldn't trust myself to use it regularly, and therefore wouldn't want to pay for it. I guess I would need to be convinced that going to your business would be better than going to the library. I imagine it would be hard to find very many homeschoolers in the area that would have enough in common. (There seem to be a lot of unschoolers and school in a boxers that wouldn't want many of the services offered.) I can't see being able to afford a separate place of business, so maybe it would work out better if it was set up in your basement or at least on your property. I could see establishing strict hours for the sibling care, etc, so that it does not have to be staffed at all times. If you offered tables for free I would see everyone wanted to help out and pay nothing. So did I pick it apart enough for you? :lol: I almost just deleted my response. No, these are all things I've thought about, too. The goal would really have to be more about building community than making $. The $ part is really just to pay for the basic cost of what we'd use & sort-of protect my own hs'ing time. Hopefully, a very wide range of hs'ers would be comfortable in this setting, since no one would be pushing any particular style. As far as location goes, I've never come anywhere near pursuing the idea because I figured that it would be more effort than it was worth for whoever put it together, but we could possibly be in a situation soon where we have access to a church building that could provide all of the things I'm describing. I'd be hs'ing there during the day anyway, &--if it's ok w/ the church--it'd be just as easy for me to keep my books there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaReese Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) Our parent partnership with the public school is almost exactly like you describe. We have a big commons room where you can work with your kids on there work, if they aren't in a class. There is usually a pot or two of coffee, a refrigerator and 3 microwaves. There are board games, puzzles, legos, toy for younger kids and older to play with. Moms sit around and visit or share ideas. There is also a toddler room for those with toddlers and babies. We have a library where there are many books, some curriculum (we are working on getting more, it's a fairly new program). The library is also a nice quiet place to go and work with your children too. We currently have someone coming in once a week and helping teach or go over the IEW TWSS. The teachers are all willing to help with anything we need too. I feel very blessed to have this program even though there are some against parent partnership programs, it exactly what our family needs, we love it! Edited February 2, 2009 by MamaReese Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Aubrey, I was thinking of doing something like this too at one time but it was in conjunction with a homeschool/ children's consignment shop. The consignment shop would pay the bills. The library/schooling area would bring in the customers. At least that was my idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 We went to a "kid friendly" cafe once upon a time. I thought the idea was great, but not implemented well enough. They did have a glassed in children's area in the middle where they could be easily seen. That's where you'd put your toddlers, with toys that are too babyish for the school aged kids to want to play with. The cafe we went to naturally had video games... They had kid friendly menus divided into age group, including infants. What they didn't have was adult food that could be eaten one handed by nursing mothers. What an oversight!! Maybe you need to go into business with a hospitality person. :) Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I'm not sure we'd get anything done with other kids around. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted February 2, 2009 Author Share Posted February 2, 2009 I'm not sure we'd get anything done with other kids around. :) Yes, & so many other wonderful hs'ing moms. That, honestly, is my biggest concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Our parent partnership with the public school is almost exactly like you describe. We have a big commons room where you can work with your kids on there work, if they aren't in a class. There is usually a pot or two of coffee, a refrigerator and 3 microwaves. There are board games, puzzles, legos, toy for younger kids and older to play with. Moms sit around and visit or share ideas. There is also a toddler room for those with toddlers and babies. We have a library where there are many books, some curriculum (we are working on getting more, it's a fairly new program). The library is also a nice quiet place to go and work with your children too. We currently have someone coming in once a week and helping teach or go over the IEW TWSS. The teachers are all willing to help with anything we need too. I feel very blessed to have this program even though there are some against parent partnership programs, it exactly what our family needs, we love it! This is incredible! What state is this in? I think that this would work with the school set-up of having a spot for littles....and tables and such for other kids and moms... The schools with a middle pod and then classes around it....and a library off to one side....seem like they would be best. And, I love the whole writing class idea! Don't forget the insurance part, if you're putting it together....Expensive! I was just thinking about the play place that's in town. I bet we could do this at a place like this. One side has tables and such...and the other area is a big playplace to run around in.... Never thought of taking school for my older while my little one plays...Good idea...and I would love a play place/ resource center (with a laminator, comb binder....copy machine etc...) You should move here! Carrie:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy loves Bud Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Aubrey, I think MARCH - McKinney Area Christian Homeschoolers is opening a facility something like this. From what I know - which isn't much - they are a coop oriented group, so the facility would help with that. But my understanding is that they would open it up to other homeschoolers/ groups for various things. You might follow what they are doing and see how it plays out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 We loosely had something like this. It unfortunately lasted about 2 years and then it was forced in to non-existence. We had a common area with a dozen tables in our home school consortium. Kids were able to do work at tables while parents helped in classrooms, chatted or worked with other kids. We also had a toddler area. This ended up going away. The adults chatting got too loud for anyone to work, the staff in charge of the area (me for a year) had to Constantly remind them that they needed to whisper or talk quietly. They would have inappropriate conversations for kids to overhear. Conversations that were appropriate for teens, were not appropriate for young-ins. Common talks like about marriage, family and friends was fine..but gossip ran thick with some. Kids weren't able to concentrate and felt left out/distracted by the adults chatting. Kids who weren't occupied, got loud and tried to play with the kids who were working or distracted them. Kids who were working felt left out by the kids who got done early and were playing games. Cliques formed among adults and kids...the typical feelings of being left out were obvious. People left messes for the staff to clean (me) even if there were kind notes and reminders. At first we had emergency snacks, people started depending on them, we stopped, kids went hungry, we started selling snacks/water for basically cost..that worked better. People would ask another adult to watch their kids while they ran an errand and that caused an issue with 'who was responsible for the kids' while the parent was gone.' The staff (me) was often expected to step in if the parent was absent instead of the parent in charge. People weren't dependable if they were on the volunteer list. Very. not. dependable. Our volunteer list was just for washing tables, being an adult assigned to stay in a room for a specific hour (so there wasn't an unexpected instance of kids alone in a classroom), and putting away chairs before/after lunch. It was a 30 minute obligation, usually 1 of 3 would show up....leaving it all for the staff (me) to do. Our program had teachers that the parents could ask questions of....that was great and remains. We have monthly consultations with an assigned teacher, and those are great for new hsers, and at the times of transitions, especially to high school. Group field trips resulted in low interest. Too many people had different ideas, interest was low on common topics as most had already been (zoo, science museum, historical events), interest was low on uncommon topics (ballet, theatre, art). We had 3000 misc. library books. Not a huge number but definitely a lot more than most home libraries. Books were strewn by kids, the parents didn't realize that their kid got books out, the books were always left for the staff (me) to reshelve. I would avoid this and only (!) have classics or books that go to particular curriculum like LLATL, Sonlight, Veritas etc. Games were left out and guess who got to put them away :0). One child would get it out, another would sit down, the first child's parent would leave, no other person wanted to put them away because....they weren't the one who got it out. This was a daily occurrence. The toddlers area was always left a mess. Toys were filthy and had to be washed weekly....by me. Puzzles were the worst. My suggestion....have a moms coop where parents and kids can play and get together. Have specific programs 'of the day' and have experienced parents present what they like/don't like about it. Uncommon programs would be nice like Winters Promise, Teaching Textbooks...etc. Partner these with a non academics like "what are Boys Scouts about" etc. Buy and sell or better yet, set up a consignment program for used curriculum to personally to make a profit. Have classes for a fee. Sell snacks for a small profit. Consider offering a Scholastic Book Club is you want to do the work. It is fun for the families to get inexpensive books but time consuming for the person in charge. If you do consignment, consider a video program as well. A unit study box rental system would be a thought but would be expensive to set up and may be expensive if you lost product (maybe a deposit would off set this.). I don't want to discourage you, I do think you have a great idea, and I am certain you could find a great group of mom's who could really benefit from your idea. It is a great idea. The problem lies with the mom's who are a little louder, the kids were a little messier, and the more free willed families vs. the strict families. You would just really have to want to babysit adults, babysit their kids, and spend you time cleaning up :0) The tables are still available at the consortium, and parents sit and chat, and a child or two (who isn't easily distracted) can still sit and do work. But even last week, a mom complained to me (I used to be a staff member 4 years ago/ but they still think I work there) about the inappropriate conversation going on between a group of women. The library is gone, the toys/games are gone, I picked up crayons left out by a child after the parent left, and washed the table I sat at. I glanced at the bulletin board and saw fliers for discount tickets, and piano lessons, sports classes and "kittens for free to good home". I did get information about upcoming state testing, and double checked the community sports classes announcement. It was a good day, and I shared some information with another parent and offered support. I know I helped someone, just by being there. Someone helped me by posting information...it was a success. Just very, very different that the original format. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Maybe I'm jaded from having homeschooled awhile and been a support group leader, but homeschoolers are a diverse crew and unless you pre-select your members, are frankly somewhat unreliable IMHO. They'll agree and agree that they want something, and then not show up after awhile. We're in a co-op now that IMHO is working because it requires a lot of committment and attracts a somewhat narrow band of homeschoolers. You also need to consider insurance, which a big issue with any kind of homeschool activity these days. Some church policies do not cover groups that are not church-run and primarily for church members. If a child is seriously hurt at a church, their insurance will indeed look for any pocket that they can, trust me. After looking into this issue several years ago, I came to the conclusion that I would never be a leader in a group that didn't have insurance to protect both the group and me as a leader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trivium Academy Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Yes. It allows us to maintain our independence while still being a part of a group. The only thing that may not be very attractive to our situation is a set time of hours, it takes the flexibility out of hsling to some degree. I'm assuming there would be a fee to join this group to help pay for the space? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 I've pondered this myself.... But we have a couple of families here in town that use are library like this. It kinda gets old when their kids have taken over the library during the day every. single. day. (it's small for right now, they are going to add on and the new children's area will be the whole old library). I'm tempted to start doing the same thing though - gee, i could use the cut in my electric bill. Anyway, i keep seeing problems like i just read about happening..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 (edited) There was a place like this in Denver for a little while called the Hangout Learning Center. It was situated in an old school, and you could join as a member or pay a low daily fee per child for use of a gym, art studio, library/game room with materials available for checkout, and other activities. Classes were also available free or for a fee. They couldn't afford to keep it open because there weren't enough memberships, but it would have been nice if it had been sustainable. What made it nicest for homeschoolers--that you could just drop in and didn't have to commit to going regularly--is ultimately why it wasn't financially feasible to continue it. Edited February 2, 2009 by WordGirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 Our parent partnership with the public school is almost exactly like you describe. We have a big commons room where you can work with your kids on there work, if they aren't in a class. There is usually a pot or two of coffee, a refrigerator and 3 microwaves. There are board games, puzzles, legos, toy for younger kids and older to play with. Moms sit around and visit or share ideas. There is also a toddler room for those with toddlers and babies. We have a library where there are many books, some curriculum (we are working on getting more, it's a fairly new program). The library is also a nice quiet place to go and work with your children too. We currently have someone coming in once a week and helping teach or go over the IEW TWSS. The teachers are all willing to help with anything we need too. I feel very blessed to have this program even though there are some against parent partnership programs, it exactly what our family needs, we love it! MamaReese - do you have a link or any more details about this program. I would love to forward this information to my ps contacts. THanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 No, I can't imagine myself every using it. I'm not interested in packing up our homeschool to go somewhere and have the distraction of other people. It doesn't interest me in the slightest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jami Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 No, I can't imagine myself every using it. I'm not interested in packing up our homeschool to go somewhere and have the distraction of other people. It doesn't interest me in the slightest. :iagree: I have to say I'm of the JudoMom mindset on this one. Moving stuff, small people, myself (lol) out of the house to homeschool where *I'll* be tempted to chat and my children even more so if not just gawk around at others just wouldn't work for us. I have enough trouble ignoring the social appeal of online friends and my kids have enough distractions here in their own home. But if there are people for whom such a set up would work, then go for it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted February 2, 2009 Share Posted February 2, 2009 It wouldn't work our lessons. My kids are older and we do our lessons here at home. I can't imagine getting anything done except for fun there:D. Kwim? We do do enjoy hanging out in our local home school library once a week for classes.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaReese Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 Originally Posted by MamaReese Our parent partnership with the public school is almost exactly like you describe. We have a big commons room where you can work with your kids on there work, if they aren't in a class. There is usually a pot or two of coffee, a refrigerator and 3 microwaves. There are board games, puzzles, legos, toy for younger kids and older to play with. Moms sit around and visit or share ideas. There is also a toddler room for those with toddlers and babies. We have a library where there are many books, some curriculum (we are working on getting more, it's a fairly new program). The library is also a nice quiet place to go and work with your children too. We currently have someone coming in once a week and helping teach or go over the IEW TWSS. The teachers are all willing to help with anything we need too. I feel very blessed to have this program even though there are some against parent partnership programs, it exactly what our family needs, we love it! This is incredible! What state is this in? Carrie:D We live in WA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 [/i] We live in WA The one I described, that didn't work out so well.....is also in Washington :0) LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaReese Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 MamaReese - do you have a link or any more details about this program. I would love to forward this information to my ps contacts. THanks! Unfortunately, they have a website, but it doesn't tell you much of anything. I know there are quite a few ps that have this program in WA. The site is http://www.wingsnw.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MamaReese Posted February 3, 2009 Share Posted February 3, 2009 The one I described, that didn't work out so well.....is also in Washington :0) LOL I am sorry to hear that it didn't work out so well for you. I do see some of what you talked about. The cliques and such, as I am sure this would happen anywhere when you get a big group of people, they tend to congregate towards those that have the same like/dislike, lifestyles and religion. This is a frustration of mine, since I think we are all adults and should act like it! As far as the clean up, it does seem to get left by some, but at the end of the day, it gets cleaned up. I know that I often clean up things left by someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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