Our Little Co-Op

In this episode, you will learn how I got started in a co-op! 

Transcript

Our Little Co-Op

Welcome to Homeschool Horizons! I’m Yvette, your host. In last week’s Mother’s Day episode, I mentioned how important it is to get out there and make some friends! So, in the homeschooling world, how do we do that? The main way that a lot of us do that is through homeschool park days, especially when our kids are little. But you can also join a co-op, which is short for cooperatives or a learning pod. Co-ops and learning pods are basically the same thing. The difference is that learning pods began when Covid hit and kids were at home. Public school parents who didn’t’ know anything about homeschooling, starting getting together so that their kids could do their public-school work and still see each other. In my opinion, today a co-op and a learning pod are pretty much the same thing. 

When my oldest son was in kindergarten, our charter offered a kinder class called Little Lions Club. The class was held at a church facility twice a week, from 9am-12pm. They actually held many different classes for all grade levels there. I was completely new to the homeschool world, and it was there that I learned what a homeschool campus was. A homeschool campus is any facility that your charter rents in order to run various academic and extracurricular classes. You can use your charter funds to pay for any of the classes offered. You can also pick and choose which class you would like to enroll your child in. They can attend one class or as many classes as you would like. You can drop off your kids or stay on campus and wait for them to get out of class. That’s what I did when my son was enrolled there. 

The Little Lions Club class was a drop off. But that didn’t mean I wasn’t allowed to stay. I stayed because I wanted to make sure my son was ok. I would randomly pop into class for a bit, just to make sure that he was having fun and he always was! Then, I would wait in this little patio area that the church had along with other moms that would do the same. I’d love to tell you that I immediately made friends, but it didn’t happen that way. I’m an introvert and I don’t usually ever just start talking to people randomly. I would see other moms talking and that was awkward to me because I didn’t want to insert myself into their conversations. So, I just kept to myself. 

 By the end of October, my son had been in that class for almost 2 months. Halloween was approaching and I got this idea of hosting a Halloween party for his class at my home. I thought it would be a really cute and an easy way for me to be able to connect with the moms and for the kids to see each other outside of class for some fun. 

My son and I bought the invitations and he handed them out during his class time. I got no response from those invitations. So, a couple of days before the party, I decided it just wasn’t going to happen and, in my mind, it was canceled. But then, one of the moms approached me and asked me if I was still having the Halloween Party. I told her that I was probably canceling and she said, “oh no, my daughter was really looking forward to it and so was I because it would be the first Halloween party she’s ever been to.” Well, that just melted my heart, so I told her that in that case, the party was on! On the day of the party, she and her two daughters came and another mom showed up with her 3 children. The party was a hit! 

After that, those two moms and I became friends and we talked and got to know each other every week while our oldest kids were in class. When the schoolyear was over, we didn’t want to lose our friendship. So, we talked about meeting at one of our homes once or twice a week for the kids to keep learning together. My two friends each volunteered to teach a class. We had heard about co-ops and wondered if that is what we were starting ourselves. We didn’t know exactly what a co-op was, but we had heard that it was something like what we’re thinking of starting, so we called ourselves a co-op! 

We began meeting once a week at my house and sometimes at another mom’s house for years. One mom taught art and the other taught science. I didn’t teach because I didn’t feel that was my strength. But I was happy to host!  We would also do park days and field trips. It was amazing! Another mom joined our co-op too with her daughter. She was a single mom, so she would often drop her daughter off with us, while she went to work. She would try to make it as often as she could to our park days, because she told us she really enjoyed spending time with us moms. We all loved being together. We made so many memories!

I can’t even imagine what those early years would have been like if I didn’t have my little co-op. If you are at a place where you can’t find a co-op that you like, start your own like we did! All you need is one other mom and the two of you can get started.  The best thing about a co-op is that you can make it as relaxed or as structured as you choose. But if starting your own terrifies you, don’t worry! You can find a co-op through many different avenues. Many churches have them and the great thing about those are that you just show up and you don’t have to create it by yourself. Through your homeschool group pages on Facebook if you just ask, people will tell you where to find a co-op. You can also find one through your charter if you are with a charter. 

Right now, is a perfect time to begin looking! We are at the end of a school year and many of us homeschool families are wrapping it up and getting ready for summer!  You can utilize this time to find your co-op or classes that will resume in August or September. You can even join any summer activities that may be happening this summer so that you can begin meeting other families and finding your friends. I personally will be hosting activities this summer for homeschool families in my area.  We will also be working on math and writing this summer! I’ll be talking to you about that in next week’s episode. Have a wonderful week! Talk to you soon!