What Is A Home (school) Co-Op & How To Make One

BY LARISSA MARULLIPUBLISHED JAN 06, 2022 in MOMs

Homeschool co-ops are essentially when multiple homeschooling families get together and share what school work they have been learning and socialize.

Via Pexels

Homeschool co-ops are essentially when multiple homeschooling families get together and share what school work they have been learning, possibly do lessons together, and socialize. They’re small school-like settings where homeschooled kids can learn together and be around each other. Co-ops are really beneficial to homeschooled children and can make up for the social aspects missed by not going to a brick-and-mortar school with their peers.These meetings aren’t usually just unorganized playdates for kids unless that’s the type of co-op you want to start. Co-ops do aim to educate and parents bounce ideas off of each other and socialize as well. Parents will even take turns teaching subjects they’re more passionate about or more educated in themselves. They can be like mini-schools or just weekly meetings for presentations on certain subjects or just some activities. Arts and crafts can be done as well as some music time or putting on plays. A homeschool co-op is really what you make it.

What Are You Looking For?

When deciding to homeschool their kids, each family has its own goal, mindset, and mission in regards to education so finding the right co-op for you can be a challenge. That is why starting your own co-op would be one of the better ways to find an organization that works for you. That may sound really intimidating but this doesn’t need to be a complicated process or anything to make you stressed. Organized Homeschooler has started multiple co-ops of her own and shares that it should all come together easily after deciding on what is the purpose of your co-op.

Basically, the first thing you need to do is decide all of the details and what you’re looking for personally. How many times per week do you want to meet? And for how many hours? What age groups and grades should be included? Are you looking to share lessons and teach in a group? Or is this group more for fun or socialization? How many families should be included and with how many kids? Do you have a vision with the co-op or are you open to ideas from other families?

Maybe you aren’t as strong in some subjects and you’re looking for another person who is better in that area. Or maybe you have some skills you’d like to offer to trade off with other parents. Or maybe you want a small group to make a small school? Something else to consider is if you will require a parent from every family to participate in giving lessons and if co-op families should contribute a fee for either location or supplies. Whatever you want, get those ideas down on paper and get them organized. Decide on some concrete days and times so you have something to offer other families when you start looking for them.

Find A Location & Spread The Word

Once you’ve done that, it’s time to find some families to join and to secure a location. You can start scoping out a location before securing families because that may be your biggest challenge and what determines how many families you can have in the co-op and if you’ll need to charge a fee. If you don’t have the space at home or if you’re just unwilling to host, you’ll need to find somewhere to host your homeschool co-op.

Some places to look for location would be churches or libraries. Each has meeting spaces, available for free or cheap, and are usually very hospitable for groups of kids. If you can’t find a place, reach out to your local school district or the city for some ideas. When the weather is nice, feel free to meet at a park or in someone’s backyard. Sonlight advises any mom looking to start a homeschooling co-op to promise any location they’ll leave the location in even better condition than they found it.

Find other families to join you by advertising on Facebook, Instagram, or by word of mouth. Once you get some interest, host a welcome meeting to make sure all the families are on the same page. Once you have your families and location, meet as much or as little as you would like. It would be good for at least twice a week minimum for a few hours each time. This way everyone can get to know each other and the homeschool co-op can really thrive.

Starting a homeschool co-op is a great idea for any homeschool family. Kids will love learning together and you’ll love sharing this experience with other like-minded families

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