I’m just going to start this blog post off by saying I’m a huge fan of homeschool co-ops! I’m like the homeschool co-op cheerleader. Seriously. Maintaining enthusiasm for “socialized learning” doesn’t mean there aren’t times that belonging to a co-op may have to be placed on the backburner for a season. Here are a few reasons why you may need to take a breather from a homeschool co-op.
You Need To Trim The Fat
This is may just be my opinion, but I have yet to meet a homeschool mom who isn’t uber busy! It’s a miracle homeschool moms, are able to sync their busy schedules up on a specific day, at a specific time, in order for their kids to learn together.
Even if a homeschool mom only homeschools multiple kids, with multiple needs and does nothing else outside the home, it spells busy. Tack onto that sports, church activities, music lessons, clubs, volunteerism, and all the myriad things homeschool families can get themselves involved in and you have a recipe for overload, burnout, and one overwhelmed mom!
We haven’t even factored in homeschool co-op and the extra work it involves, preparing for classes, teaching a class, and doing it week after week on top of everything else. How’s an overwhelmed, on the verge of burnout, survival mode mama to get some relief? Unfortunately, co-op may be on the chopping block.
Instructional Time Is A Premium
With all the myriad activities homeschoolers can participate in, ensuring that daily, consistent instructional time happens is critical. I love field trips, music lessons, and yes, homeschool co-ops, but what I love even more is my kids and I having the time we need each week to explore, study, read, practice, and process.
After all the prepping, planning, and actually participating in co-op is done, you may be looking at either a day, to a day and a half of instructional time lost. Now, granted, if your particular group offers academic classes, this may not be a big deal, but if the classes are more enrichment-related, the benefit of gaining that extra day at home may outweigh the benefit of co-op—especially for older kids, whose schedules become a little more rigid as they seek to gain credit hours for college.
You Can't Commit To The "Extras"
The term “Homeschool Co-op” is short for “Homeschool Cooperative”. The keyword being “cooperative”. A cooperative is unique in that homeschool families shoulder the load of holding classes for their children together. Everyone has to cooperate and work together. It’s typically not a situation where you can drop the kids off for a few hours while you catch a break and a latte. Cooperating also means more than just attending classes. It may mean stepping up and out of your comfort zone to teach a class. It may mean cleaning up before and after, or even serving as a leader. The “extra stuff” is what keeps things running smoothly. It will definitely mean dealing with other people’s kids and other adults who may or may not see eye to eye with you on everything. If any of these “extras” sound like a no-go to you, it may be better NOT to participate in a co-op. Keep in mind though that working together cooperatively also means working through limitations and in my humble opinion, homeschool co-op is an excellent place to grow in humility, patience, and servanthood.
Too Much Drama
Now you know I just had to go there. Any time we deal with other people there is bound to be a little drama at times. Even if you think you’ve found the perfect homeschool co-op, it won’t be perfect once you arrive. Why? Because everyone, you and I, come with our flaws to homeschool co-op! God’s grace is needed to deal with each other, but I do believe that there can come a point where there’s more drama than peace and you might have to dust your feet. When participating in a co-op equals more stress and bad feelings than benefits, it’s probably time to step back. Maybe it means finding a different co-op, or going solo and getting positive interactions from other avenues.
Goodbye Doesn't Have to Mean Forever
As parents we have to seek balance to our schedules and prioritize what’s most important—especially if the actual day-to-day business of homeschool is lost among all our busyness. That may mean some changes, including saying goodbye to homeschool co-op. The good news is that goodbye doesn’t have to mean forever!
Even if you leave a homeschool co-op because you’ve had a negative experience with one, don’t let one bad experience discourage you from ever involving yourself with a co-op again. It’s tempting to do just that, I might even say it’s easier to throw in the towel, but the truth is sometimes doing the hard things reap greater rewards in the long run.
I am an introvert, believe it or not, and I had all of these fears and hang-ups about joining a homeschool co-op. I especially had fears that as a minority, my kids and I would be ostracized. I’m so glad, however, that I didn’t let fear or even a few disappointments here and there stop me from joining the co-op we belong to. Overall, we’ve had a wonderful experience and I wish the same for other homeschool families because we’re stronger together than apart.
