Pros/Cons of hs co-ops

[threegreatkids]

We have participated in homeschool co-ops for the last few years, but I'm beginning to think about taking a year off this year. I must decide fast!!!! I'd really like to school 5 days a week for a change, since we are doing programs this year that are 5 days/week. I'd also love a break from planning lessons that are completely different than what we are doing at home.

So...anyone willing to share thoughts about why or why not you have chosen to participate in a co-op? I'm asking the Lord for guidance, but would love to hear from some of you what your thoughts are on the matter.

[playschool]

We participated in a Co-op a couple of years ago. While my children liked it, I felt like it made life a little more hectic for us. I knew too that the next session my family would attend I would be required to teach a course (parents whose children were attending the co-op for the first time were not required to teach a course, but in the future teaching or co-teaching was required). To me, just preparing and teaching my own children was overwhelming than to add teaching at a co-op as well. I also found that it ate up an almost full day of school for us and I had to sacrifice taking field trips with my children in order to accomodate the co-op. At that point, it just seemed like something to add more busyness to our already busy life. At first I joined the co-op to help my children socially with friends and such. I've come to realize that church serves that purpose in our lives. We are very actively involved in our church so to add something else to that serves to make life more hectic. Those are the reasons we have chosen not to participate in a co-op. If I did not have a good circle of homeschooling moms around me for support, I could totally understand why someone would want to be involved in a co-op. I know a decent number of people that homeschool and sometimes we informally get together once a quarter and do our own little unit study together with our kids. It provides a little way for our children to be involved with other homeschoolers but we are not committed to anything on a weekly basis. That' s just my take on co-ops.

[threegreatkids]

Thanks, playschool, for responding! It was helpful to hear your perspective and remember that there are other ways to meet the needs that our co-op has provided for us the past few years. This is going to be a particularly busy year for me (outside of homeschooling) so i think it might be wise to step back and take at least one thing off my plate. I love the idea of what you do with some other families on a less frequent basis.
Blessings,

[funkmomma71]

The co-op I'm in doesn't have a lot of organized classes, but it does have a monthly craft days and party days. These are on a month-to-month basis, so if it fits our schedule or meshes with what we are doing in school then we do it, otherwise we stay home. My contribution consists of being a helper or making, bringing something for the class or party. The parties are themed around academic areas such as history or science, the first one this year will focus on American History, so we'll go to that one and I plan on being on the planning commitee. I agree, though, that co-op and other outside classes can take away from school. I dropped my dd's ASL class, mainly because we'll be schooling in the early afternoon this year and the class is right in the middle of our day, so it has to go. With my work schedule, I prefer things that don't require a week-in week-out committment. My take on anything homeschool related be it the curriculum you use or classes, is that they are tools to be used by you and not something to enslave you. I hope this helps.