How to Run a Small Homeschool Co-op
Organizing a Social Learning Experience
The size of homeschool co-ops can range from several children of the same age to several dozen children of different age groups. The structure and organization that is necessary for any co-op to operate effectively is the same, but the number of people involved will be different. While a large co-op will require dozens of planning meetings and a detailed organizational chart to make sure all the chores of making such an enterprise work well, a small co-op of four to six families can function well by following a few simple steps.
Schedule a Planning Meeting
The first step in planning a successful co-op experience is to schedule a meeting with all the parents who will be participating in it, and at a time when the children are otherwise occupied. The meeting should last 2-3 hours, and the end result should be an annual calendar with co-op meeting dates, topics being presented for each date, and who is presenting them. At least one member of the planning committee should bring a laptop so the calendar can be constructed and edited easily during the meeting.
Pick a Regular Weekly Meeting Time and Place
The weekly meeting time and the location where the co-op will meet should be determined before the planning meeting takes place. Even if the location isn’t confirmed, however, the date can be discussed in advance and then confirmed and locked into everyone’s calendars at the planning meeting. This creates a sense of commitment from all parties and leaves no room for confusion once the co-op starts meeting.
Compare Curriculum and Create a List of Topics
All participating parents should bring their curriculum, or at least an overview of what they want their children to cover for the year, to the planning meeting. If the children involved are all of similar ages, it may become obvious that most are covering the same material.
Once it is determined what each parent wants to cover, a topic list can be created that includes those areas that parents want or need help to cover. Many subjects lend themselves to hands-on, social learning and this is the perfect time to discuss those topics and separate them from the topics parents can handle on their own.
This decision-making process will create the backbone of the co-op’s calendar. Subjects like writing and public speaking can be integrated into the co-op on a weekly basis or as a component of each parent’s presentation on specific topics.
Manage the Workload Equitably
One stumbling block of organizing a small homeschool co-op is an unequal sharing of the responsibility of presenting material. Perhaps one parent agrees to teach writing every week for 20 minutes. This parent shouldn’t rotate through the regular presentations quite as often, since he or she will be presenting every week already. The trick to running an effective co-op is to make sure that no parent ends up with the lion’s share of the work, thereby preventing burnout.
Plan a Game Day on a Regular Basis
Every calendar can run into speed bumps, whether a presenter gets ill or a family emergency prevents the group from meeting. If the group plans a Game Day every six to eight weeks, that day can be used to replace a day that gets sacrificed along the way. Game days can be fun and a great change of pace if they are not used to get a calendar back on track, so either way it’s a win for the kids.
Organizing and running a small homeschool co-op group can be rewarding and fun for both the children and the parents involved. It provides children with a venue for social learning as well as a great way for homeschooling parents to collaborate and feel productive in a more social setting. Planning the whole year in advance, agreeing on a topic calendar and an assignment of roles, and making sure that nobody has an unfair amount of work are the keys to success.
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