Homeschool Co op - No Thank You!
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- Should you join a homeschool co-op?
Here's why I vote no on participating in co-ops.
Read about our homeschool adventures: lextineclectic....
And check out these posts:
• You can read why I gave up on homeschool co-ops: bit.ly/2uDPQfQ
• And you can also read my co-op confessions: bit.ly/2ufp3ph
Thanks for watching!
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I've never been in a co-op. Thank you for giving me an inside look. You've made me more confident in my choice to not take part in one. 😊
I'm a kid who goes to one and it really helps and I keep these good memories for live just try it
I advise people to be careful about who they homeschool with. Co-ops run by inexperienced leaders or power hungry people are the worst. We've had some good and some bad... and some indifferent as well.
That stinks that you had a bad experience. We are in our first year of homeschooling 4 of our 5 kids and our co-op has been what saves me! For anyone that has watched this and finds it discouraging, please know that this is not what every co-op is. Look for one that works for you. I have found SO much encouragement and advice from the other co-op moms. Most seem to let you "visit" before actually becoming members.
+jbvon YES! We're in our 3rd year, and I probably wouldn't have made it through our first if we hadn't had a co-op! So many amazing, encouraging moms I have met through it. Our kids LOVE it. Never in a million years would they not want to go. I knew there had to be other good ones out there!
+jbvon I know there are great co-ops out there. My friend is in one that she really enjoys. Our experience wasn't great so we're taking a break from co-ops for a while. But I know they can be wonderful for many homeschoolers. For us, we're doing ok without a co-op. I'm thankful that as a homeschooler I have the freedom to choose what works best.
This pretty much just sounds like a very unorganized public school. That's one of the reason home school is such a blessing, because we can tailor our kid's learning to their individual needs.
lol
I get together twice a month with two families for a science co-op of sorts. We do one of the elementary apologia books. So each time one of the moms teaches(reviews and does experiments), another mom provides snack and the other mom hosts it in her home. This works well and gives me a chance to get together and makes me stay caught up in science. And the kids get to play when we're done-win win.
I am the organizer of a family co-op. Parents must stay with their child, bring their own snacks and drinks, and bring their own materials for the classes. We hold the classes at parks and sometimes we get rooms at the library or a local church. I would never do a regular co-op and my fears on a regular co-op have been confirmed by your vlog and by others too.
I had a similar experience this past year with a co-op🙃🙃🙃. I wasn’t an assistant, but I sat in the foyer and watched all that went on with other moms/families. I felt like it was a waste of my time, as most of the activities my kids did, they already experience here at home. Most of the other mothers waiting talked among themselves and turned out to be very insecure in their own abilities to homeschool 🤭🤭🤭🤔. So me, coming into this thing very settled in my calling to homeschool and God’s provisions through me for what my children need, began seeing that my settled peace in homeschooling was running rigid against their grain. This event took too much time out of my day to come join chaos. The whole concept of co-oping wasn’t my cup of tea.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and your insights. I think we feel like we have to do co-ops as homeschooling families and it is not the case. You have to find the right fit and make sure it fills a need and not an obligation.
Thank you for taking the time to graciously explain this topic. You explained your reasons very well without blaming anyone or being negative. It sounds like you learned a lot from this experience and have plans to take these lessons with you moving forward. I am an overseas missionary and have never had the chance to homeschool where there might be a co-op... and this is something that I've been sad about over the years. However, we have made it work just fine without one, and now that I have heard more about your experience, I think it's really quite okay that we haven't been able to join one afterall. :) Blessings.
Truth! We were in a co op and ours was very popular. Very organized and at a great church. It's still unorganized because there's a lot of kids and life happens. With all those positives it still was a horrible experience. Mostly moms teaching and feeling great about themselves, lots of running around, lots of gossip, lots of being bossed around, the moms who did teach well were very very organized women. I'm not so it was hard. I will never do a coop again.
My experience with a monthly co-op was a little more positive, but I'm all for keeping it simple ;) There seems to be a tendency towards trying to recreate the conventional school model in our homescchools, and I believe that is just too much to expect out of ourselves. We ended up leaving our homeschooling group about 8 years ago and we haven't looled back. Find some like-minded families with whom you can do some enrichment activities and enjoy your free Mondays :)
There are some great co-ops out there. I just haven't found one that was a great fit for our family. I agree that we often try to re-create a school setting in our homeschool. For many people, that's all they know. It can be hard to do something different. We have found lots of other homeschoolers who feel like we do and we meet up for other activities. And we enjoy lots of extra field trips and things like that as well since we have so much flexibility.
That sneeze or whatever it was scared the crap out of me.lol.
Our homeschool met at a park once a week, parents brought their own food unless it was a holiday or special event. It was all ages, but mostly upper elementary and middle school. Parents could help children as needed, and paretns take turns teaching and preparing classes or lessons. Sometimes it could be stressful if there was any conflict between moms, but we almost always worked it out, and realized the benefits of working together were worth it. The leader of the co-op decided to end it this year, and no one wants to step up to lead the group, so it has ended, for now. Some of our kids are now entering high school, so some of us are going to meet weekly for chemisty this week and others are meeting for history/literature. Need to be flexible from year to year!
This was so informative! Thank you for sharing! I feel like I'm equipped to go out and find the right fit for our family now.
I have heard so many horror stories about co ops so I decided not to do it. It's just an unorganized public school
the coop I've checked out in my area, and debating as to whether I sold go to our not, had classes you could choose for your kiddos with suggested age groups, you bright your own lunch for the kids, and it was for Christan's.
One of the moms from the nursery had a horribly disciplined little girl that would throw a tantrum when anyone other than her mom spoke to her, and would purposely be ride to our kids and stare you down insolently. my toddler just started at her and her mother, he was just as shocked as I was. constant tantrums.
when I realized I was allowed to bring my toddler with me to my daughter's class, it was a game class and was disorganized, but kind. kids were handled well.
for me I want the music, PE, games and friends. I want good examples around my kids. so I'm torn... it would be hard to give up a day for us too...
We have tried a co-op and ended up feeling like it was a bust. We now homeschool through a charter to get all the social benefits. The classes are super organized and fun. I have been watching your channel for some time now. I can't tell you how much motivation and ideas I have found on RUclips. I myself am at stay at home mom who also does homeschool. I have recently started a youtube channel and would love for you to check it out. Keep up the amazing videos!
Thank you for making this video. I thought I was the only one who struggled to find a co-op. Where I live it is very difficult to find an enrichment based or social co-op they tend to be very academic. Then we tried to just start a social co-op where the kids can just get together once a week for parties and holiday art but I found that most of the families were not interested unless they could receive homeschool credit for the day. Even the bowling and skating days dried up. It was so disappointing.
+Sincerely Ressia That is too bad.
We are part of a co-op that is nothing short of amazing. It's fairly large and somehow we all just work together so well and make it work. We look forward to it every friday :)
Look into Classical Conversations. It is not a co-op, but a community of like minded homeschool moms using the classical model. Very academic and classes are led by moms who are trained contracted by CC. The classes are very structured and there are definite disciplinary plans in place. I think it would be a better fit for your family.
I'm so sorry you had such a negative experience with this co-op! We joined a co-op last year and a lot of prayer went into deciding to join since I had a 4th baby due. After learning their vision for it and meeting some of the moms I didn't know yet, I felt it was a good fit. Last year was the first year of this co-op. We had a great experience and are doing it again this next school year. I hope you are able to find one that is a better fit that is more organized. You should maybe dabble in the idea of finding some like minded moms and start one! I think you would do a great job coordinating a team of moms to organize one together. Just a thought! Heidi St. John is an author and speaker. I heard her teach at a convention and now I listen to her podcasts and follow her on instagram. She has experience starting co-ops, maybe her blog would have some ideas for you. You could always contact her with questions. I have thought of doing this just to sharpen our co-op with a few ideas to implement. Blessings on your journey♡
You didn't have to organize snacks. You could have just refused to do snacks. The kids can bring their own or just drink water.
I joined one this year. It was only once a month. My sons loved it but my daughter did not. She would say hi to the girls and they would ignore her and she felt left out. I told her thats what public school is like you have different cliques. We quit going and don’t plan on going back. We can just get together with people who like and enjoy getting together with us once in awhile;)
Sounds so much like school :(
Well to be fair, what she described she initially wanted sounded like school: different teachers and different teaching methods.
I am currently debating whether to continue the co-op we are in next year or not. I have public speaking anxiety and don't really want to teach large groups, I enjoy my 1:1 time with my son more
Thanks for sharing you experience! Hearing what you will now be looking into and asking is good to know...there's a coop here but I've decided not to join this year as it's our first year homeschooling 4 kids and I didn't want to overwhelm myself or them. So it's good to have an idea of things that I should maybe look into in order to not have an experience like this. It does sound very disorganized and I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it either.
You should start one your own!
I came across your blog when reviewing a curriculum. Sad to hear it did not work for you. My son was badly bullied at a cop op we joined. It took six weeks for me to put the pieces together of bruises on his arms and over his ribs. The insistence that I tie his pants tighter. The fearful look when we stopped there. I was a teacher in the toddler class so missed all the happenings outside my class. When I confronted the mom who's son was responsible she said "I know my son is bullying your son but he does not want to be friends with him'. My son was two years younger than hers. WHAT!! Yes, this homeschool mom knew what was going on but did nothing! We left but it took my confident happy outgoing boy more than a year to go to a playground without being fearful that someone will hurt him. You do have awesome kids in co ops but you also have kids that are there because of behavioral problems and did not fit in a school setting. Moral of the story... listen to your kids. There is ALWAYS a reason for them saying what they say or feeling what they feel.
This, while is your valid experience, in no way dictates how any other co-op experience might, or might not be for anyone else. You could possibly go to a different co-op and have a completely different outlook. It seems that your review should have been entitled "Why I didn't care for this _______ (name of co-op)" rather than co-ops in general. So, for example, if you went out to eat a particular restaurant chain and didn't like the service, or the food, cleanliness of the bathroom, etc. you could put together a vlog on why you didn't like that particular restaurant... or you could vlog about how you didn't like that chain of restaurants... or you could vlog about how you didn't like going out to eat at restaurants in general based on that experience. However, generalizing that eating out at restaurants in general is not a good idea based on one encounter, or even a series of encounters, neither validates nor invalidates why anyone else should eat out at restaurants. So basically the conclusion of the matter is: this co-op didn't work for you. It all boils down to whether or not it is a good fit on both sides. There are plenty of well organized, friendly, and efficient co-ops, though. I hope you find your "happy place" in your homeschooling career.
We love our Catholic coop ... about 30 moms who all pull their weight and we make sure our expectations are realistic for each other and for the kids. It's not easy for me to teach Creative Writing to grades 5-8 at the same time but we make it work. Same for Drama and PE. I can see how it would be really hard for teaching things like Math ... just like at a regular school, I'm sure. Definitely no unschoolers at our coop though so that might make a difference ;-)
I belonged to a great co-op. Sad your first experience was bad.
In our coop everyone brings their own snacks.
Though this Co op had issues, I think the title and people are generalizing that this is the way they all are... I would have quit this Co op as well. Co ops correctly done motivate and provide accountability for the kids and parents. They also give the opportunity for community service.
Science/lap booking for a boy. Probably (I say probably because there's always the atypical boy) not gonna work.
That said, I've homeschooled for about sevenish years and never wanted to join a co-op. Co-op moms seem so dang pushy, it works for them so it must be something everyone "has to do". Also, I'm not the "click" type of person. It's one of the reasons I homeschool, because I find clicks to be small minded. When I've gotten together with co-op moms, they seem severely clicky, as do their children. I want my kids to avoid that silliness & immaturity. That sort of thing lasts until well past "adulthood", I've seen it in churches all too often & I'd like to avoid my kids picking up such a gross trait.
I taught dance. Another mom taught art and a couple of mom's took turns teaching science and cooking. to the first and second graders. each group and subject has a different teacher.
I go to a co-op and I wanna change schools but my mom won’t let me 🥺
i live in indiana and i definitely DO NOT want to come off as a creepy stalker so here's my " kinda " question, i live in jasper county Roselawn is within driving distance of me they have a co-op there once a week, for my area theres not alot of co-op options. was ur experience there i know its a needle in a haystack but i DONT want to go wherever u went & had a negative experience. I have a 6 & 8 year old that I'll be homeschooling but thats for next year not this year, so they'll be 7 & almost 9. I had NIGHTMARISH experiences with our public school with my 18 yro & I'm NOT HAPPY with our private school experience theyre more concerned with complying witb Indiana state standards to qualify for accreditation rather than quality of curriculum I held out for 2 years waiting to see what some new curriculum choices would be only to be GREATLY disappointed & if I wanted my kids to experience quality education I would have to supply that curriculum because apparently Indiana state standards are deeply rooted in Common Core with no end in sight. Officiallly our state did away with the federal common core mandate but the roots of the philosophy behind common core teaching is VERY PRESENT & ACTIVE in our schools which is really heartbreaking ive seen my kids " change " due to this curriculum exposure and its SCARY. Temperamental behavioral issues, defying authority cuz they're taught to sit down be quiet we know u dont understand what were teaching u theres no joy in real discovery cuz they JUST DONT GET IT math is a NIGHTMARE. Ive had public school teachers admit they threw in the towel if we could contact legislators to change the rules teachers follow that would be GREAT. the private school teachers are " proud " of state accreditation my experience with the teachers there is they seek to uphold a standard of excellence and they defend their use of current curriculum which to me is defending the indefensible its definitely NOT the way i was taught by nuns with books from the 70's while i was attending classes in the 90's. i was hoping for a rigorous educational bootcamp of sorts and now i find educational activity books at dollar tree to exceed the schools current philosophy towards academic excellence. I NEED HELP INSPIRATION & STRUCTURE while we go thru our homeschool adventure.
The co-op that I was in is no longer operating. There were some other issues and it didn't continue after the year I left. There are many wonderful co-ops and the co-op I was in did have many positive things about it. I just simply learned that I am not a co-op mom. I prefer to do my own thing and work on my own schedule and I don't enjoy preparing lessons for a co-op class.
Co-ops are a great option for many people. It's great to have the support and encouragement.
The excess background noise.....
Good video in 2019 helps me
Moms should have just brought snacks for their own families. The snacks are going to undo that co-op! Sounds like great potential, but too fussy.
skip to 4:15
Thanks😂
Sounds horrible!