In general, I’m not a big fan of Homeschool Coops. It sounds like such a good idea: fun classes and socialization for both the kids and mom. It seems especially good for teens. Especially one who needs a government or economics class. On top of all that, it seems like everyone is doing it!

I went to registration day for three different coops, but in the end I left every one without having signed up. At the last one, I remember standing in a corner on the cell phone with my husband. “This just doesn’t seem right to me,” I told him. “I don’t feel good about it.”

So, here’s why:

1. The three coops I visited required mom’s to work 2 out of 3 hours in a class, and strongly suggested the 3rd hour be spent in the mom-room for socialization. That was one of the things I was looking forward to after all. The problem was, that when I put it on paper it occurred to me that I would be separated from each of my children for 2-3 hours.
2. While I’m separated from each of my children for those hours, they are in classes with 20 other kids their general age. Frankly, I don’t want my child socializing with 20 kids their age without my being around. Sounds like school to me.
3. In one instance, I found that the whole coop was scheduled to focus on US History, but we were studying World History at home. A “theme” sounded like a nice idea, but if the classes your child takes, do not supplement the course of study you are following, is it worth losing a day of school?
4. I can’t go without mentioning that I don’t want to get up at 7:00 AM to go to coop once a week. I know, that sounds like a lame reason, but I had to mention it, because it occurred to me that after 13 weeks I might really feel like flaking.
5. There are a lot of people who homeschool, with a lot of different beliefs, attitudes, and parenting styles. We do not have any kind of video game system in our house, but I found that was a common theme among the kids at coop. It seemed very worldly to me.
6. Of course, I have heard of some wonderful classes coop classes. A friend of mine teaches one that I know is great, but you can’t go for just one class. It’s an all or nothing deal.

In the end, it just seemed a little too much like “school” to me – kids sitting in desks, with their peers, teachers at the front teaching, and changing classes on the hour.

That said, I LOVE our coop!

I bet you didn’t see that coming. I can’t really recommend that you find a coop like the one we participate in, because I don’t know of any others like it, but I can recommend you start one yourself.

• Our coop is made up of 8 families who all utilize a Charlotte Mason method of homeschooling, so we all share some foundational beliefs on educating our children as well as simply raising them.
• We only meet for traditional coop once a month, and all mom’s and the 35 kids stay together for every lesson.
• The subjects are things like hymn, artist study, folk song, drawing, handicraft, and recitation by various children. These are all part of a Charlotte Mason education, so it supplements all of our course of study.
• The other 3 weeks of the month we use to take field trips to various places or to do a Nature Study together.

There are ways to make it work; they just are not the standard. If you want a healthy coop that is a benefit, rather than a hindrance to your family, you might think about getting a group of like minded friends together and making a plan. You are welcome to visit my coop’s blog for some ideas or ask any questions you might have.