Lux Et Veritas Academy Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? Do you live in a big city, small town etc? Is your choice more for academics or socialization? What has made your co-op great or terrible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillary in KS Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? Not currently. We have in the past, depending upon where we live. We move often, so co-ops are great ways of meeting people. In our current town, ds 13 attend a co-op class on economics, but my other sons do not. What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? It can be nice if it is well-run. But it's not a necessity. We're just as happy not belonging in a co-op. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? Small city? 25,000 people. Is your choice more for academics or socialization? Academics. When we move to a new town, we usually join a co-op for a few months to meet people and learn about the area. But once we get involved in different activities (sports, church, etc.) we get plenty of social opportunities. A co-op for socialization is very low priority then. What has made your co-op great or terrible? Great: Offers Serious, academic classes (Greek, Biology, etc.) or classes that I can't do at home (choir). Well-organized. High expectations for behavior and treatment of others. Terrible: Parents don't show up when they're supposed to participate. Chronic lateness. Wasted time. Chaotic atmosphere. A *focus* on social activity or playtime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TraceyS/FL Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I'd like the option of attending some of the co-ops i read about on here. Someone just mentioned a photography class - my DD would love that. I'm more than capable of teaching it to her, but we struggle with carving the time out for it. We don't seem to live in an area that organized things last a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tree House Academy Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) Do you attend a co-op? Yep What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? We really love the group. This was our first year with them and I got to know lots of other homeschool moms. More than that, though, my kids got to know some really great kids. :) Do you live in a big city, small town etc? We live in a small town but drive to a larger town/small city for co-op classes (about an hour from here, but so worth it). Is your choice more for academics or socialization? My kids don't really take "academic" classes. My older takes Tae-kwan-do, physical fitness, and Art. My younger takes Gymnastics, Music, and Art. We have lots of reasons for getting them involved and they includes "socialization" as well as just a break from the school week, something fun, and with Art, it is a Godsend because the teacher is wonderful and the kids have learned a TON (and I have no artistic bones in my body!). What has made your co-op great or terrible? Ours is GREAT: The kindness of the other parents, the kindness of the teachers, the affordability of the classes, the fact that the other parents are Christian like us (it is a Christian homeschool co-op with a statement of faith). ETA: For parents who do want more serious academics or even a classroom setting for the kids part of the time, we have this private school that offers things like math and science and you can send your children 1-2 days a week just for that hour or so. It is almost like taking college prep classes. Very cool! It can be pricey and thus far, we have not had a need or desire to do it...but the option is there if the need arises and that is good. Edited May 4, 2009 by Tree House Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirty ethel rackham Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? We tried one. It was OK, but felt a lot like school. Also, I felt that the level of instruction was pretty weak. Instead, I have formed lots of smaller club-type co-ops around subjects of interest (literature, science, history, art.) What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? I like belonging to a group. I love my support group (which is different than a co op.) I have met such a variety a families and have made life-long friends. I find families who want to form clubs and classes based around interests. I would find a traditional co-op restrictive. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? I live in a large suburb in a major metropolitan area. Is your choice more for academics or socialization? Our clubs (sort of mini-co ops) are for both academics and socialization. I expect a high level of academics or we wouldn't waste our time. But I also like that it is easier for my kids to find friendships in small groups (rather than trying to break into a large group.) What has made your co-op great or terrible? With our small club type co-ops, what makes them great is the group encouragement of high academic acheivement, plus the opportunity to discuss topics of interest. Also, like I mentioned, a small club makes it easier to make friends than a large group. Maybe this isn't what your poll is about, but I thought I'd throw out a different idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelli in TN Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? Yes, our church has one that started last year and we attend it. What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group?I love belonging to this particular grouponly. I am not usually a group person, but these are my dear friends. Our co-op is not open to the public, it is only for our church family. Do you live in a big city, small town etc?Small city or maybe a big town..... Is your choice more for academics or socialization?Enrichment and socialization What has made your co-op great or terrible?The people involved make it great, the lack of organization makes me a little tense. But I have been selected to head it up this upcoming year, so I hope to get things a wee bit more structured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCMom Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? Yes What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? We love it. This is the first academic co-op we have been to in years. Previously many of us tried every year to get the hs group here to beef up their co-op and every year we were disappointed. I let my kids waste too much time at these co-ops! :glare: Do you live in a big city, small town etc? Town of 300, co-op held in nearest larger town of 7000 Is your choice more for academics or socialization? When they were little, we did co-ops for socialization. Now we do them for academics but are finding that the socialization is actually better here, lol What has made your co-op great or terrible? Having parents all pretty much on the same wavelength academically has made a HUGE difference in our co-op experience. We also have had fewer discipline problems at this co-op (I had NONE in my class of nine 5-6th graders!!) possibly because of the good policies we have in place. :001_smile: hth, Georgia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in the Kootenays Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 I get together every Monday with my 2 dear friends and their boys for a day of Science, Socials, LA, French and PE. It's private - just the 3 boys - so we can do it however we want at any given time. Some days it's academically demanding. Other days, it's just fun. We're just finishing our second year. Prior to that, we went to a public one but it was more about play time than work so we created our own. We're in a small town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quiver0f10 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 My kids do belong to a co-op but I consider it enrichment and not part of their formal schooling. I live in a city of @ 48-50K. I love going because it gives my kids a chance to socialize. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cin Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? Yes we do. What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? We first started because dd was driving me crazy and we both needed a break from each other. We have formed some friendships, and despite some of the changes in leadership and changes in philosophy, we still attend because we like the courses that are offered. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? A suburb of a big city. Is your choice more for academics or socialization? Currently for academics (sort of). They both take art class and a very hands on science course that is alot of fun. What has made your co-op great or terrible? It was great when we started. The classes were small and fun. (12 kids) but it is losing some of that. It has become almost like school. And difficult to meet everyone's needs. The classes are now up to 20 kids, and the age range is getting ridiculous. One class my daughter was in last year had kids ranging from 4-9 yrs old. Because the textbook said it was appropriate for all those ages. That doesn't necessarily mean all at the same time!!! ANother thing that makes the co-op good or bad is the parents and their expectations. And when those who run the co-op choose to not listen to the teachers' input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snickerdoodle Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? No. What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? We are not interested in going. I think that people have many different ideas or practice and standards for their homeschool I can't see how these things work. My experience with more fun, one time educational events been that the teachers are spending a lot of time "herding cats". I can't imagine what it must be like for those groups that meet where they actually try to teach something to meet a core curriculum need. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? Large urban. Is your choice more for academics or socialization? Socialization for one time meet-ups. What has made your co-op great or terrible? N.A. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jugglin'5 Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group?I love belonging to this particular grouponly. I am not usually a group person, but these are my dear friends. Our co-op is not open to the public, it is only for our church family. Yes! I am a non-coop person except with the particular group I'm in which is a church group plus a few selected invites from outside the church. It is specifically a classical co-op, and we work very hard to make sure there are few surprises about expectations in each level. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeatherInWI Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? Yes, though not right now due to the swine flu. What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? We've done it some years and not others. It's a pleasant group and the children and I have made new friends. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? Small town/rural area. Our group has hsers from a ten or so mile radius. Is your choice more for academics or socialization? Socialization, definitely. The children in the group range from at grade level to highly gifted and homeschooling styles/curriculum choices are all over the map; The weekly classes are character and P.E. We're very grateful to have a large group P.E. class so that the children can play things like basketball, field hockey, volleyball, and the like, which are hard to do in a family setting. What has made your co-op great or terrible? I guess ours is probably pretty average or maybe slightly above. The mom running it has a lot of children and very little time, so notices don't always come out on time, but she's very much a people person and makes the monthly parents' meetings interesting! Something else nice about the group is that both moms and dads are involved, including in leading the classes, so the dc get good role models of both genders. Most families have one parent attending the once a week classes (and helping to keep order) and a few (the ones with dads with flexible schedules or who are currently out of work -- construction, mainly) have both parents attending. Any child attending who misbehaves can and will be asked to leave, so there's no real troublemaking, just occasional "high energy". It's a group of nice parents and nice kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impish Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? Nope What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? Online groups are better for me. I don't drive, and RSD makes just the thought of public transit have me wanting to hurl. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? City I don't really know much about co-ops to be honest. I'd be more than happy to host certain classes (ie biology), but the transportation issues, plus having my littles makes things difficult at best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in Neverland Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) Do you attend a co-op? Not currently but I have attended a couple of different ones in the past What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? I personally don't have problems with a mixed group as long as there is no religious teaching going on. If there are going to be religion topics then I want to be with like minded individuals. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? pretty big Is your choice more for academics or socialization? socialization and extra-curriculars...things I can't or don't want to teach at home...like art.:D Neat classes that are fun to do in groups like science experiements, lego robotics, acting, etc. Academics is too touchy because everyone has a different idea about how it should go. BTDT What has made your co-op great or terrible? The only "great" co-op I was in wasn't really a co-op. It was an enrichment class situation with TONS of classes offered for all different ages. You could select which classes you wanted for your kids and then you paid a certain amount depending on the class. They hired teachers who did a great job. Meanwhile the moms socialized in the fellowship area, drank coffee, read, whatever. It was PERFECT...like a day off. Terrible was trying to lesson plan for a bunch of classes I had to teach every Monday, make sure my ds had his work done for HIS Monday classes (lots of homework) plus make sure we got the rest of our work done for the week. TOO MUCH. I don't want to teach. I just want to pay a fee and let my kid have fun. I'll handle academics myself. Just as an example of what I liked: http://www.mypalaestra.com Edited May 4, 2009 by Heather in NC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ferdie Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? -We attend a 24 week co-op on Friday mornings. The co-op runs from 8-12:30 and the students attend 4 classes. A parent must assist or teach 3 classes and then each parent gets an hour break in a teacher lounge. What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? -We love our co-op because my children have many friends that attend and the co-op board and moms that teach are talented and devoted. I loved the diversity of classes, too. Our co-op offers fun classes that require no homework as well as more demanding classes like writing, history and science. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? -I think our city population is about 50,000 people. Is your choice more for academics or socialization? -We go there for social reasons. My children have several friends that attend and I figured it was easier than setting up various play dates each week. However, we are going back next year for the classes. My kids have learned so much this year. What has made your co-op great or terrible? -Our co-op is great because of the dedication of the board and several teachers. They have gone above and beyond serving the hs community and our kids. I also love that the co-op does a fall and spring finale at the end of each semester. My children have had a chance to go on stage and perform music, drama, speeches and a mock debate in logic class. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosy Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op? Yes What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? I love it! Though I have to admit I'm pretty happy to be on summer break right now. :) My kids have gotten to have learning and social experiences that I have wanted for them but been unable to give them at home, and it is a good outlet for me too--I've been able to teach subjects that my kids aren't ready for or that I wouldn't put the time into teaching at home. We initially joined because I was feeling isolated and wanted to belong to a homeschooling community (so more for me than for them), now I would say we go more for the quality of classes and social opportunities. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? Seattle/Tacoma suburbs Is your choice more for academics or socialization? I wouldn't call our co-op an academic co-op in that we have few classes that could be used as a core class (or spine for a core class) in place of home learning, especially at the elementary level. So I guess it's more for socialization...I do think it's important that my kids learn to follow direction from someone other than me, function in a structured environment, work with their peers, etc. What has made your co-op great or terrible? It is very well-organized and well-run, there are high standards both for kids' behavior and parent participation. With few (if any) exceptions, every class my kids have taken has been thoughtfully planned out and implemented. They've taken many classes that I can't or won't teach, or don't teach as well as their co-op teachers have. It's also an easy and inexpensive way to get their extracurriculars done--we don't do many activities the rest of the week because we get them all done in one shot on Fridays. Also, they don't require teaching, which I think is good--everyone who teaches does so because they have chosen to, and they've chosen the classes they're teaching, so they're comfortable with what they're doing. The drawbacks--I do sometimes miss that extra day we give up every week. And I don't have much control over classes offered, there isn't a PE class available every semester for each kid, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wendi Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 Do you attend a co-op?Yes. It's an academic/fine arts one, with very qualified teachers. What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? I LOVE having the opportunity for ds. He gets the opportunity to experience a different teaching style, being in a class, working in a group (science), etc. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? Big city. Is your choice more for academics or socialization? Mostly academics, but since ds is a highly social only child, the socialization is important, too. What has made your co-op great or terrible? Highly organized. Very experienced and qualified teachers. Christian worldview. Wendi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted May 4, 2009 Share Posted May 4, 2009 (edited) Do you attend a co-op? Yes, once a week. What are your thoughts and feelings for belonging to the group? I love it. My dc love it. We have a nice supportive group of friends. Do you live in a big city, small town etc? Small City Is your choice more for academics or socialization? Socialization and large group skills What has made your co-op great or terrible? I like our co-op because we keep it small, decide on the topics together and divide up the work so that we can all do what is our strength. Our co-op is set up like this: we get together for 1 1/2 hours to do a topic, have a picnic lunch and play at the park for 2 hours. It is an all day event for us but it is great. Ours is a little different than most but it works well for us. Our children have been able to develop friendships, work through social interaction problems, do projects, speeches, experiments and such together as a group. We feel that what we do will help later in the workplace where people are often expected to work in teams and socially interact with other people. All the parents stay for our co-op. Some of the moms will amuse the little ones while the older ones work on things. Last week we "played" with microscopes and this took participation from all the moms. We have covered a wide range of topics from Stranger Danger to China to compost. The planning can be hard sometimes but the co-op is well worth it.:001_smile: Edited May 4, 2009 by Closeacademy wanted to add a little more info. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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