By Author and Blogger Lorinda Newton
Homeschooling families have many educational options available to them. Some purchase curriculum in a box, and others piece together their lessons. A few mix in online classes or community courses. While some enjoy complete education independence, others may feel overwhelmed or tired and prefer to add other teachers to their educational team. One way of doing this is by joining a homeschool co-op.
Two basic kinds of co-ops exist: a small, informal gathering of families or a large, highly organized community co-op.
Small Co-ops
A group of six or seven families from my church formed a small co-op. In the beginning, they only did science. Over the years, the moms taught other subjects as well. As a group, they planned their yearly schedule and divided the costs among themselves.
Another example of a small co-op, which I participated in, was called the Homeschool Enrichment Program. Moms formed this program so they could continue attending the morning women’s Bible study after their children had aged out of the preschool childcare.
We hired two teachers, often moms or members of our church, to each teach one subject for an hour. For example, one year we had a French teacher and a drama teacher. All the children attended both classes. The program director negotiated the tuition cost with the teachers and collected checks from the parents to pay the teachers. This program was not a church ministry. We independently provided this service for homeschool moms who wanted to attend the Bible study. The church only supplied the classroom.
Formal Co-ops
In the Eastside suburbs of Seattle, the homeschool population supports three large co-ops that each serve over a hundred families and a few medium-sized ones. Over the years, my kids have attended each of the big ones (Homeschool Connections, Legacy Homeschool Center, and Heritage Homeschool Co-op) and one of the medium-sized ones.
These nonprofit organizations are run by volunteer boards that secure a facility (usually a church building), review teacher applications, create a master class schedule, and handle the finances and co-op policies.
All families pay a family fee in addition to each class fee and maintain a family job, such as vacuuming or facilitating a class. Co-ops aren’t schools. The parents remain responsible for their children and must stay on the grounds. They also must oversee their child’s education. The families hire the teachers for instruction but not to hound the children to get their assignments done. The classes meet once a week during the traditional school year.
Advantages of Co-ops
Using a co-op can reduce a mom’s workload, allow your children to interact with other students, and teach the children to be accountable to someone other than mom.
I originally joined a co-op so our then first-grade son could have a PE class with other kids. After a couple of years, I added other courses. I selected the classes either because a teacher offered an exciting subject or because I didn’t want to teach that topic, such as science.
Thus, being involved with a co-op can broaden your child’s exposure to different topics and relieve moms from having to teach certain subjects.
Co-ops create opportunities for friendships. My daughter met her two best friends at co-op when she was in the first grade. The small classes also provide audiences for oral reports and forums to discuss history, literature, and current events, activities difficult to duplicate in a home setting.
Also, many co-ops offer social events for the students, especially for teens. My daughter enjoys attending homeschool dances. Other activities include trips to a pumpkin patch, a rolling skating party, or a field trip to the science center.
Disadvantages of Co-ops
Co-ops cost time and money, allow your children to interact with other students, and reduce your control over your children’s education.
For some families, the cost is simply not in their budget. Having two or three children enrolled in two classes each can really add up. Moreover, the commute may take too much time for some families.
Mixing with other children can be a negative experience. The bigger co-ops suffer from some of the same social problems as regular schools do. The teens form cliques, and some kids, like my son, get bullied.
A broader spectrum of values will exist as the number of families involved grows. Some parents don’t supervise their children as well as they ought or refuse to follow the dress code. Like it or not, we all bring our sin nature to the Christian homeschool co-op setting.
Finally, when you enroll your children in a homeschool co-op, you have less control over your child’s education and family schedule. A teacher may introduce an idea that conflicts with your family’s beliefs. In regard to scheduling, your family may find that the regular class schedule interferes with your ability to take off-season vacations or mission trips.
As with all decisions, you, the parent, must weigh the pros and cons of supplementing your home-based education with homeschool co-op courses. My family has both benefited and struggled with attending these classes. But overall, the accountability and exposure to other teaching styles have made the co-op experience beneficial to my children’s education.
Lorinda K.F. Newton began homeschooling her children in 2004, and her family joined Academy Northwest in 2014. Her family lives on beautiful Whidbey Island north of Seattle, Washington. She writes about faith, culture, and governing from a biblical worldview at Lorinda’s Ponderings and Lorinda’s Ponderings on Facebook.
