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Co-ops! The Best Way To HomeSchool

Updated: Jan 31, 2021

With a plethora of umbrella programs, you can take classes anywhere. Consider co-ops!

I am going to talk about coops. If you've never heard of coops then hang in there. If you tried a coop and hated the politics/rules/limitations/etc then hang in there. If you are in a coop that you love then stay there and email us the contact info so we can add them to this list and let others in or your massive win!

Coops are simply a group of individuals who get together year after year to offer classes to families who are willing to either help teach the classes or pay to have someone else teach the classes.

I love coops. Well, not most of them actually. But I love the idea. And in some cases, I actually loved the coop itself. Here's why. When I started homeschooling, I needed a place for my kids to "REGULARLY" have fun, learn things that I wasn't going to teach them, like knitting or robotics, and to have accountability under a 3-party adult. I just described a coop!

No, I did not like the first one we tried. The third was pretty good and the fourth one was amazing. We stayed through 12th grade and made life long friends. We attended prom twice, ordered mums for the homecoming, cheered at ball games, and took part in every senior year activity from whirl y-ball to spelunking. When it was all over, we were part of the most heart-felt and memorable graduation imaginable. Did I mention that I love coops?

If you are going to either custom or home school, you should have three things:

Dual Credit for core classes
Weekly community service & exploration
A coop to pick and choose just the parts that work for you

Here is the secret. Don't sign up for 'The Program'. Look over the list of classes, loosely fill up 1-2 days per week with classes that you are not going to do at home or in dual credit, then either pay a fee and take the day off, or volunteer in a class where you don't have a student. Do not take all your core classes at coop! Do take baking, sewing, volleyball, or any other 'odd' class that will motivate your student. Then treat that class as if it matters. This will save you from having an 11th grader who is burned out, demotivated, and ready to quit school.