The biggest question that we all anticipate when we take our kids out of the traditional school setting is; “but what about socialization?” While this question has been asked, usually by well-meaning family members or curious community members, or just plain nosy folks in the grocery store, over and over again in the last several decades, and even though homeschooling has proven itself to be overall a highly effective and successful way of educating children, people do still wonder; what are those kids doing every day and do they ever get out and see other children? The answer, of course, is that they are very busy learning and seeing other people, not just children, is a part of t hat process. They may even see other children in a social setting more than kids in a school setting do, since they are able to get their academic work done faster. Homeschooling really is, in addition to so many other beneficial factors, an incredibly efficient use of time. With most of the seat work finished in the morning, kids have the rest of the day to use as the family sees fit and this often involved interaction with other kids, both homeschoolers and not.
My children were involved with other kids from the very earliest ages. They were a part of their church community, they played in community sports like Little League, soccer, basketball and speed skating leagues, they sang in community choirs, played in community orchestras and were involved in scouting. These were all sufficient to introduce our kids to the concept of socializing in a group of kids that they didn’t otherwise have contact with; kids who maybe didn’t live in our community or area. It was a great way to get them used to working and cooperating in groups and provided them with the necessary skills for adapting to situations with unknown variables. Still, I felt that it might be beneficial for them to be in a group setting where the kids with whom they interacted were also homeschooling. In support of developmental milestones that are met through peer interaction, we felt that it was important for our kids, who were participating in something that is seen as “not normal” by larger society, to feel that they belonged somewhere and could relate to someone outside of our family, and this is where I sought the support of home school co-ops.
We belonged to several over the years; all of which met very specific needs at specific times. When the children were very little, it was more of a playgroup situation and a way for me to get to know other homeschooling moms and families. As they grew older we joined and helped to form groups that provided a more academic based setting with parents offering classes to groups of kids on a a regular schedule, thereby supplying a sense of continuity to the academic calendar. We were in groups as large as 50 families and as small as 7 or 8 families, and all of the groups brought something incredibly valuable to the table
While I recommend that you formulate a system by which you spend the bulk of your time teaching and learning together in your own home, I definitely think it’s critical to engage with others in the same position as your family, outside of your home based school. There are many different ways to approach this aspect of homeschooling. You can start by just asking around to find out who might be homeschooling in your community and connecting with them. You can check the social media outlets that are growing on a daily basis, to find like-minded families or groups to get together with. You can seek out an existing co-op in your area and you can form your own. Seeking out an existing co-op is as simple as using Google and searching for one in your area. Forming one takes a bit more effort, but is definitely worth the effort.
Whatever method you use for mass communication; social media, posters at the library, church bulletins, word-of-mouth, the most important thing is to have a location in which to meet on a regular basis. This can be your house. It can be a church basement, a library during closed hours, (we did this for years), a municipal building that agrees to allow your group to use it for your purposes or a town park. It really doesn’t matter as long it fits your needs, and as long as you are willing to abandon it and start anew somewhere else if it no longer works for your group. For instance, if you start out in a park in September, by December you may be looking for a new location to house your group for the winter.
Once you’ve determined how you’ll get the word out and where you’ll start meeting, you should schedule your first pre-school year gathering to get together and hash out how you’d like the co-op to run and what your school year will look like. Some questions to ask yourselves might be; is this a playgroup? Are we offering classes? If so, what kind and how often and who will teach? Will we meet every week on the same day at the same time? Will we be inside? Outside? Both? Will we have meals together? Will we have dues? Are we using public or private spaces? Are there fees involved? If so, how will we pay for those? Will we have structure or are we just getting together and hanging out? If we want structure, how much? What kind of structure; will we have officers and bylaws and all of that? Keep in mind that you don’t have to answer any of these questions right away, they can just be percolating in the backs of your minds as you move organically through the process of forming the group. I recommend keeping it very, very simple in the beginning as you get your footing. There will be plenty of time for group dynamics and all that it entails when and if your group prospers and grows.
Here is a list of some existing co-op style home school groups and support networks, secular and non-secular, in our region, for you to look over. Visiting these groups is a great way for you to get acquainted with how your own might look or might even turn out to be the one that you want to be a part of, eliminating the need for you to invent the wheel for your own family. This is always nice.
Homeschooling in NY Archives – NYHEN
Capital District NY Homeschoolers | Facebook
Home School Learning Center (wordpress.com)
NYS LEAH New York State Home Schooling Support Group | Christian Homeschooling
My experience in navigating co-ops is that, just like with any group of people, there must be room for negotiation, fair minded inquiry and, perhaps above all, a strong sense of open communication. I cannot stress enough that the adults must always be willing to communicate openly with each other about the group dynamics; how to handle problems as they come up, how to manage the sometimes very strong emotional lives of the children in their care and how best to support each other as you move along this path together.
You are on a journey of radical self and familial exploration and while it really is about you and your children, in the end, just like most journeys, it cannot be taken fully alone. Even the most solo of flights relies on a support group on the ground and the same is true of this journey.
For more information on the nuts and bolts of forming a home education cooperative including drafting bylaws and formulating processes by which the group can run and be successful, or for any other home school information, please don’t hesitate to contact me at hliscomb@yahoo.com.
– Heidi Liscomb
