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herdingkittens
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A friend of mine is starting a Catholic Co-op this fall and we are meeting to get things planned out and ready to roll.  Super excited!!!
Here is the basic idea:
-Held at a centrally located parish on Fridays, so many HSers from the area can get there easily. The parish has a school, which closed down last year, so we will be able to use classrooms, gym, library, etc.
-Day starts with Mass
-Adoration 1x/month, and mothers/children can take turns going (i.e. small children can be in a class allowing mother to have adoration time).
-Classes for the younger set will be Bible Study (Jeff Cavin's children's one), Art or Science, Latin, Gym
-Offerings for older children (Latin, Bible Study?, electives? not sure what this will look like)
-Lunch hour and playtime, we may reconviene afterwards for those able to stay for more
So, I hear that starting one of these is a BIG undertaking, and we are ready for the challenge. It has been on my heart for a few years now, and we are really trying to build up our Catholic HSing community in our area. I am so excited someone with organizational skills is being called to spearhead this thing! 
I am in data collection mode, and wondering if anyone has taking this on, or participated and has advice, plans they could share, examples of the day's structure they have used, things to avoid, precautions to take, etc. etc. Advice, information, suggestions would be wonderful coming from any of you who have been here done this.
Oh, and prayers for the success of this would be appreciated, too!  Thanks all!
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my peeps: girl('02), boy('03), girl('05), twin boys ('07), boy ('11) and sweet baby boy ('13)
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guitarnan
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One thing you'll want to carefully consider is how to get at least one parent to volunteer/help. Our Co-op spells out this requirement every single semester. (We do make exceptions for pregnancy, illness, family crisis, etc., but we expect every mom to sign up for something.)
Jobs you might need to fill:
Teachers
Aides
Nursery moms
Snack moms/lunch monitors
Supply mom (brings commonly-used supplies to/from Co-op; if teachers need, say, chalk, they buy it, are reimbursed via end-of-term family payments, and all leftover chalk goes into the supply box for next year)
Treasurer
Parish Go-Between
As you can see, there's plenty of work to go around!
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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pumpkinmom
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It will be a big undertaking! I don't have any advice. We have done Christian co-ops twice in the past, but we just aren't co-op people. But, one of my favorites was a morning one, once a week. We did a potluck lunch and we just had to drop off our food (either ready to go or uncooked) and volunteers at the church would have lunch ready for us when the classes were over. We also started off with a music class for everyone. This was my favorite because of that! Good luck in this project!
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
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Marcia
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I'm going to pray for you. :)
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Marcia
Mom to six and wife to one
Homeschooling 10th, 7th, 5th, 2nd, PreK and a toddler in tow.
I wonder why
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stellamaris
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I have a lot of experience in this area. I've been really busy the last week or two, but in a few days, I think I'll be able to have time to put together a long post of ideas for you to consider. The co-op I directed had 100 children of all ages, about 20 families. We met weekly during the school year for about five years. It was a wonderful, but challenging, time.
Back soon with more details!
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mamaslearning
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Oh how I dream of this! We have no location to house all the home schoolers in our area, most parishes have schools.
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Lara
DD 11, DS 8, DS 6, DS 4
St. Francis de Sales Homeschool
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Amber-v
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I have tried to start a much smaller version of a homeschool coop and failed miserably. My biggest mistake? Not holding everyone to their promises to help. It isn't that the other moms didn't want to live up to what they had said they would do, but after a couple of weeks the moms stopped helping. It became a drop off and pick up event. They were busy and thankful I was doing this, but what it came down to was that I was much more interested in making this work than they were.
I would consider very carefully the work involved. In my experience, people offered to help and I thought they would continue to help, not just once or twice. I thought that everyone would see how great it was and would be willing to step up and help once it got going, but the opposite occurred. They were used to having it, used to not having to do anything for it, and when asked to do more they said they were too busy. I was tired of doing it all and my own homeschool and domestic church were suffering, so the coop folded.
If I were to do it again, I would make sure everyone knew what help was needed and I would have people sign up to share the load. And if I couldn't get people to commit, I wouldn't do it. People are busy, and they have to make the decision that the coop is worth putting in the effort - they have to buy into the idea more than, "oh, that would be fun for the kids, maybe we should do that".
Also, make sure the families know what the participation requirements are. It is so frustrating to go through all the work to prepare lessons, the location, materials, etc, then have only handful of kids show up!
Make sure you keep your homeschool and your domestic church strong first and utmost.
This sounds really pessimistic, doesn't it! My apologies. I think I am writing what I wish I could have written to myself a couple of years ago!
I will pray for you. What you are thinking about doing sounds beautiful.
Amber
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Amber
Mom to dd (born 2002), ds (2005), ds (2008), ds (2011), dd (11/2013)
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JennGM
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Amber, I really appreciate your input. Your experience is similar to mine, and it helps to voice that.
Delegation is a weakness of mine, so it's good to make sure everyone is on the same page and you have written schedule and commitments. Of course, family dynamics can change suddenly and that is reasonable, but when it all falls on one it is very difficult.
Another aspect is have a plan for dealing with conduct issues. How will you deal with them? If there is a disruptive child, after so many corrections and discussions with parents, you may have to make the call that the child cannot participate. It's a tough situation that arises periodically.
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KackyK
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We are in the process of starting a co-op. First and foremost, our amazing leader mom set up a survey and sent it out to our whole homeschool group. From that she was able to see what subjects the majority of moms were looking for, did they want their kids to eat lunch there, etc.
Next we laid out what we were envisioning, one day per week, 8 week sessions, 3 sessions per year, 3 classes per day for each grade grouping (1st/2nd, 3rd/4th, 5th/6th). We have science, history and art. There will be a preK and K class each (they will stay in one room for the co-op time, no switching classes for them). There is a fee for each session so supplies are reimbursed, no profit making (we are talking $10)
Then a couple from our planning committee met with our parish's pastor. It was really important to all of us to have his stamp of approval. And he is for it and even offered some more ideas, asked about some concerns and so forth. This is really important as you'll be dealing with parish staff, great to know you have Father behind you 
We have a pretty detailed code of conduct for students and for volunteers. We will have a mom from our co-op admin team who will be there everyday strictly to just be the extra mom out of the class so that when there are any behaviors problems, or questions, other issues come up, someone is there for that sole purpose.
And exactly what Nancy said, there are a lot of jobs!!!! But that is what a co-op is, lots of work with lots of worker bees!
Currently we are finishing up teacher registrations and will be sending out a course catalog very soon! Registration will be first week of June! We are excited. Good luck with your endeavor! 
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KackyK
Mom to 8 - 3 dd, 5ds & 4 babes in heaven
Beginning With the Assumption
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HSMama
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we do an 8 week co-op 2 times per year. we have 1-2 planning meetings beforehand where everyone who wants to be involved meets to decide on what the classes will be and who will teach them. the co-op is divided into 3 1-hour blocks. each mom is required to teach or help out in 2 blocks. each mom gets a 1 hour break where she can do as she pleases- mostly hang out in the moms room where 2-3 people per week bring food/drinks to spoil the moms! there is no drop off. moms are required to teach or they do not participate. simple as that. having them participate in the planning really helps them realize that. every omce in a while there will be a mom who only does nursery or cleaning, etc. if they have just had a baby or are new to homeschooling we dont require too much out of them. they still have to do something!
so, we have one mom who handles paperwork, one who is the treasurer, one who handles scheduling and volunteering. those moms still teach, we just rotate through the group each year. we have sign up sheets to bring cleaning supplies, food and water for snack time, set up and clean up, the moms table.
be clear as to how the children will dress (I know one co-op that requires pants and a polo shirt for all students) and how the children are required to act. we had one student talking back to a teacher and mom was upset when she found out the teacher asked him to be respectful.
our age groups are:
nursery
2-3 yrs
k4-k5
grade 1-2
grades 3-5
middle school
high school
students stay in the same classroom. teachers come to them. much less chaos that way
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JennGM
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I thought the co-op information shared on Sage Parnassus was wonderful. This is for a Charlotte Mason style co-op.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to & ds1 '03 & ds2 '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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stellamaris
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Running a Co-op is a challenging undertaking, but can be such a fabulous experience and it is certainly one I look back on with fond memories. I think the number one thing you need is a person willing to be a leader, to sort of move everyone along to accomplish the goals the group has set, and to manage difficult situations of personal conflict or misbehavior that sometimes arise.
Here are my ideas for you based on my own experience:
*Set a realistic schedule.
It’s nice to think you can meet for a full day every week, but believe me, that is an enormous commitment. We found that having half days one week alternating with full days every other week worked well. If you start smaller, you can always add more if it is comfortable for everyone. On the full days, we all gathered for lunch.
*Determine your purpose.
We decided before we started planning classes that we wanted some classes that supplemented academic courses being taught at home, and we also wanted some classes that were purely enrichment/fun. The academic courses we offered in the more for greater consistency. The enrichment courses we scheduled for the every other week afternoon session. For the academic courses, we were all working from the same text at home. For example, we used a Bob Jones Biology text and then we offered a weekly morning class as well as an afternoon dissection lab based on this material.
*Group children by age loosely.
We had four main groups in addition to a nursery,: 4-6, 8-10, 11-13, 13+ For each group, we had something planned for each class time. We offered two classes in the morning sessions (after Mass), and then we offered two more in the afternoon sessions. Some of the afternoon classes combined groups, such as dancing, music, or plays.
*Require parents to work.
I emphasized that this was a co-operative when people asked to join. Moms were required to commit to working 3 out of the four hours we offered classes. This meant that some Moms didn’t have a break on the half days. We also had lunch set up and lunch clean up and hall monitor (this person helped with taking kids to the bathroom, keeping everyone quiet if they were outside the classrooms, generally just supervising). Everyone family was required to sign up twice a semester for after session clean up duty (our parish doesn’t have anyone to clean the hall, so we had to clean it). We tried to have two adults or at least one adult and one older (like 17-18) year old assigned to each class for each hour. That way, if someone was sick, there was a back-up person to take over. We asked the back-up person to have a lesson prepared and ready to go in case they had to fill in at the last minute. No one was excused from this duty. I put new moms in the nursery, and nursing moms usually were back-up or lunch set up people so they had more flexibility.
We did try to offer one hour off one the full days for each mom so she could go to adoration. We had a sign-out sheet so we knew where the moms were in case there was any kind of accident.
We also had a lot of dads volunteer to teach, which was wonderful. More problematic were adults that offered to help who had never home schooled. You really need discernment, because most of them were thinking of classrooms in traditional schools and, frankly, this was much less structured and rigorous, since we only met once a week. So just be aware of the personality of the volunteer, and I would have them come and spend a few sessions with you first before they commit to helping.
*Plan community lunches.
This sounds like a small thing, but it really contributed to our sense of community. Instead of having everyone pack their own lunch, we had a sign-up sheet divided into breads, meat/fillings, drinks, sides. Each mom signed up to bring one kind of food. So, for example, we had 3 sign-up spaces under “bread-2 loaves” and three moms would sign up, each bringing 2 loaves or the equivalent (tortillas, rolls, wraps, whatever they liked). We asked people to sign up for different items throughout the semester so that one family wasn’t stuck always bringing an expensive item like meat or cheese. They were very good about this. The lunch set up people would lay everything out and after grace we would all help ourselves to lunch. Moms went first with littler ones, teaching the older children both patience and graciousness.
Something about making the meal a community event was very bonding. We sometimes had special lunches (at Christmas or All Saint’s Day, for example) and then we had folks bringing hot dishes and desserts.
*Plan a whole year in advance in the spring.
Planning in the spring helps parents work their book purchases around the classes being offered. Planning for the whole year makes sure everyone is volunteering to do different things and someone isn’t just hanging out all year being a hall monitor! Sometimes, people need to be encouraged to be willing to take over a class, but if they work as a back up the fall semester then they are more confident that they can teach something the spring semester.
*Don’t be afraid to let people teach what they love, but keep your focus.
We had so many wonderful people share their talents. We were able to do Shakespeare productions, write and perform original plays about saints, produce a year book, develop a dance performance group (waltzes, quadrilles, etc), offer language lessons, science labs, and so much more. The only thing we had to watch out for was the tendency to have every class be enrichment. Since we wanted some academic subjects to support our home teaching, we always had to think, “Do the 8-10’s have something that requires writing?” or “Are the high school students being challenged by a science/philosophy/math course?” Then, depending on who was available to teach and what they could teach, we’d try to plan at least two serious classes and two fun classes for each age group. If you just want enrichment, you wouldn’t need to worry about this problem.
*Keep personal problems personal.
If there are personal problems/conflicts that arise between either adults or children in the group, I found it best to take those involved aside and work through the problem quietly. I found it was not helpful to involve the entire group.
If a child was acting out (and we did have one or two cases of really bad behavior), I spoke first directly to the child and told him/her that his/her behavior was not allowed at co-op. Then, I spoke to the parent and informed them of the problem. If it continued, I did on one occasion tell the parent that if they couldn’t stop the negative behavior, I would not be able to allow that child to participate in the co-op. Fortunately, this only happened once with one child who just would not stop using foul language.
One peacekeeping tool I used was “the survey”. Sometimes, a parent would voice a concern about dress codes or other discretionary type behaviors. We had a real range of families from very traditional to much more relaxed, as well as some Protestant families. In these cases, I just told them I would put their concern before the group on the annual survey. So, for example, one year a parent voiced a concern about some girls wearing pants. On the survey, I asked, “Should we establish a dress code?” Only one parent voted yes…the one who complained! I was able to tell her, “Most of the families do not want to have a dress code.” Then, it was up to that family to decide whether or not they could continue with the co-op (they did), and it wasn’t me personally having to tell her personally, “No.” The anonymity of the survey was a big help for everyone.
*If you want a Catholic environment, keep at least 80% of your families Catholic.
When I directed our co-op, I did allow non-Catholic families to join us. I did, however, keep a general limit to the percentage of non-Catholic families in the group. I also spoke very frankly with non-Catholics before they joined the group and explained to them that we were a strongly Catholic group and we incorporated our Faith into our teaching and our day in general (through prayers, meatless meals during Lent, etc.). I told them that if they were uncomfortable with that, they would not be comfortable in our co-op. We had few problems with this approach (I won’t say none). After I had to stop leading the group due to bed rest with my twins, more Protestants were allowed to join and it just did not work out too well. If you want it to stay Catholic, you need to be clear about focusing mainly on having Catholic families. You can’t serve everyone or you’ll end up serving no one.
*Start small and then add if you can.
Let me just repeat what I said above. Start small and do a good job at organizing and planning. Then, as you get your feet under you, you can add more classes, more families, field trips, etc. Don’t try to do everything in the beginning.
*Rely on the Lord.
Last, but not least, begin each semester with pray (I prayed a Novena to the Holy Spirit before each semester), begin each day of co-op with prayer, say grace and the Angelus at lunch, and close with prayer. There is nothing more necessary than prayer in this vocation.
I could give you lots more ideas about individual classes and activities, but that really is dependent upon the gifts and talents you have available to you in your families and in your parishes. I was amazed at the wonderful talent we had in our little parish. The families, the classes, the friendships, and the activities of our co-op are all special memories that I will always cherish.
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In Christ,
Caroline
Wife to  dh 30+ yrs,ds's 83,85,89,dd's 91,95,ds's 01,01,02,grammy to 4
Flowing Streams
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herdingkittens
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guitarnan wrote:
| One thing you'll want to carefully consider is how to get at least one parent to volunteer/help. Our Co-op spells out this requirement every single semester. (We do make exceptions for pregnancy, illness, family crisis, etc., but we expect every mom to sign up for something.) |
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Agreed! We plan on having each parent assigned to a particular room/duty, so that everyone knows what they are doing and when. A co-op we did once, had a form to fill out when you registered which gave you a choice of duties that you could rank in order of importance, and then they tried to place you where you needed to be (i.e. if you have a toddler, you can be in with the little ones).
pumpkinmom wrote:
| We have done Christian co-ops twice in the past, but we just aren't co-op people. But, one of my favorites was a morning one, once a week. |
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Honestly, I am not a co-opy gal myself, but we have done "Enrichment Days", where it is a half day and we do "non core" subjects (art, gym, problem solving games, etc.). This works for me because I want to do our core stuff at home (at least in this season of my life). This one we are starting seems to be heading in the direction of more of an Enrichment Day, which I am thankful for.
Amber-v wrote:
Make sure you keep your homeschool and your domestic church strong first and utmost.
Amber |
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Amber, this is wise advice - thank you! And I totally agree. I will keep your words in mind as we plan this whole thing out.
JennGM wrote:
Another aspect is have a plan for dealing with conduct issues. How will you deal with them? If there is a disruptive child, after so many corrections and discussions with parents, you may have to make the call that the child cannot participate. It's a tough situation that arises periodically. |
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Yeah, Jenn - great point. We'll be sure to include a plan for that.
KackyK and HSMama, thank you for the great tips. And thanks for sharing Caroline. I am excited to bring this all to our meeting! My friend who is spearheading this has such a great spirit - she is totally letting God handle all of this, and that combined with her amazing organizational skills gives me great hope.
Our community has a HUGE Christian (mostly Protestant) group that is hyper organized and very impressive, and we have always desired something that we can take our children to, and not have be on the lookout for anti-Catholic teachings/influences, especially as the children are still learning their faith (heck, so am I!  ). Plus, we have so many Catholic HSers out here, and the need to connect is growing.
Caroline, when you mentioned about "keeping it Catholic" I had to laugh. Since our co-op will begin with Mass and include Adoration and a Catholic Bible study, I am not sure any Protestants would want to join, and if they did, they should probably be Catholic anyway. All joking aside, you make a great point, and it is well taken. 
Thanks for the prayers, ladies! If anyone is interested, I can keep you posted on the plans. One thing I want to avoid is reinventing the wheel and helping others likewise, as we have this great forum to share and help! God bless!
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my peeps: girl('02), boy('03), girl('05), twin boys ('07), boy ('11) and sweet baby boy ('13)
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guitarnan
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Caroline's advice is thorough and matches most of my experience as a teacher in two Co-ops.
We did set up a Yahoo Group for our Co-op this year to facilitate emails and announcements. So far it has been extremely helpful and easy to use.
Quote:
| More problematic were adults that offered to help who had never home schooled. You really need discernment, because most of them were thinking of classrooms in traditional schools and, frankly, this was much less structured and rigorous, since we only met once a week. |
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This comment of Caroline's is so true! We had one new family quit after a semester because neither mom nor children could cope with the typical classroom behavior of our Co-op students - which I would characterize as engaged, involved, vocal and polite. Both mom and children were used to silent classrooms with hands raised for every type of permission, and they had difficulties with our "classroom model.")
I admit that I was no help, because my father taught me about the Socratic method and I routinely use it when I teach. (For example, "Why do you think that the Germans were so confident that their Enigma machines were secure?" "If you broke your enemy's code, what would you do with that knowledge, and how would you prevent him from knowing that you know what he will do?" - two big questions from my Cryptology class this semester!) I want my students to think and discuss. I'm not worried about hand-raising, so I guess I'm part of the problem.
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Nancy in MD. Mom of ds (24) & dd (18); 31-year Navy wife, move coordinator and keeper of home fires. Writer and dance mom.
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Advice/Input needed -starting a new Co-op
