Pros and Cons of a Homeschool Co-op

Pros & Cons of Homeschooling Co-op

Co-ops can be a wonderful opportunity to enrich your homeschool, or they can be a needless distraction from the task at hand, HOMEschooling.

I think it really depends on your family and your season of homeschooling. Sometimes a co-op can be more of a benefit for mom than the children, a bit of a break for a short time or a time to focus on other children.

We have been involved in a couple of different co-ops both in Michigan and in Florida, both were drop off style co-ops. The drop off style worked best for our family because not all of the children were participating. The first co-op we were in was more for me, the worried type of homeschool decision that the kids needed to be in classes. The second time was more for my oldest and his desire to meet other homeschooled middle schoolers. Neither was a bad experience, but not necessarily vital either.

Co-ops can be both beneficial and detrimental to your homeschool day

Pro’s

Try different classes – art, sewing, movie-making are all kinds of classes that have been offered

Enroll your child in a class that is your weakness i.e. math or writing

Another avenue for making friends – for your children and yourself!

A way for children to do work for someone other than mom or to get feedback from another person

Con’s

Expensive for a big family – if you are enrolling 4, 5 or 6 kids that can add up!

Difficult if all the children don’t/can’t participate – running back and forth dropping off/picking up, entertaining the other kids who are not enrolled, it can make for a long day.

A permanent fixture on the schedule – takes away a bit of flexibility

For us we are opting not to participate in a co-op next fall. Is your family involved in a co-op?

Comments

  1. RealMom4Life says

    Well said. We are fortunate to live near 2 wonderful drop off type homeschool co-ops (1 – 5 min away, the other 15). With carpooling and a 17 year driver/student we are currently in the VERY HELPFUL stage of co-ops. So now? Yes, we are using co-ops some of the older ones, for all pros you mentioned. While I absolutely LOVE my kids and homeschooling, I admit, I also enjoy the slower more focused pace when the older ones are gone for a few hours once a week. We get a lot done then :)

  2. Emily says

    We have been involved, but we are sitting out this next year.
    What we did was create a twice monthly social group… we will meet at parks, bowling, movies, roller skating, putt putt, people’s homes…

    But we will not be doing school-ish Co-Ops.
    They aren’t very organized in our area.
    I remain hopeful.

    This is me, trying to be charitable. HA
    Blessings,
    Em

  3. Patty says

    Yes! Couldn’t agree more, especially with the costly part and schedule. We were thrilled this year to finally be through with the art class (co op), but so pleased with how much they learned and by another teacher.

    • says

      We had a great art class this year too and since I’m not a crafty mom it was great :) BTW, my auto correct tried to switch “crafty” to “crazy” ;)

  4. Misty says

    I have a love/hate relationship with homeschool co-ops. I love the socialization and the ability to try new things. I hate the commitment and being tied down! We have done a co-op the last few years, but are planning on a break next year as well.

  5. Heather says

    I’m still stuck in the 80’s/90’s when co-op meant getting together with 1-3 families to do learning activities together. We also had “Elective Classes” at a local church which is similar to today’s co-ops where you drop your kids off or help in a non-academic way.

    I’m not sure what to call the old-school idea of co-ops as I’ve confused people when I mention my co-op and they ask to join.

    This is a great list to help way to the pro’s and con’s…
    Heather recently posted…Jesus and Jell-O: A Sky Jell-O TutorialMy Profile

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