Start a Homeschool Co-Op
You Can Start a Homeschool Co-op! Homeschool Co-op: A cooperative of families who homeschool their children.
It provides an opportunity for children to learn from other parents who are more specialized in certain areas or subjects.
Co-ops also provide social interaction for homeschooled children (from Wikipedia.
com).
Homeschool co-ops seem to be very popular in homeschooling right now.
Perhaps you've heard about them, been a part of one, or really want to see more co-ops in your area.
Have you considered starting a co-op yourself? It's not difficult.
Here are some tips to help you make it simple and easy: Don't do it alone.
You cannot and should not run a co-op by yourself.
Gather people to help you carry the burden.
The role of a homeschool leader should be to delegate responsibilities so that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the group.
That's part of what defines a co-op.
Establish a Board of Directors or a leadership team.
This doesn't have to be formal.
Simply choose people who are organized and can make decisions.
Keep your board small, so decisions can be made easily.
Every board should have at least three members: a president, a secretary and a treasurer.
Approach a potential board member personally.
Emphasize their strengths and contributions to a co-op and ask if they would be willing to help in a leadership role.
They may feel honored to be chosen.
One leader knew my weakness for flattery when she approached me.
"I'm surrounding myself with the smartest, best people I know," she told me, "and I want you.
" She made me feel great and, naturally, I said I'd help! Who are you? Write a purpose statement.
A purpose statement for your homeschool co-op answers two questions: Who are you? Are you defined geographically, by religious affiliation, by age of students, by skills or styles or by curriculum choice? Who is your target audience? Why do you exist? Is it to offer academic classes, enrichment classes, a social outlet, or maybe all of the above? Tips for writing a purpose statement: Use words like: try, seek, influence, or encourage.
Keep your statement short.
Ideally one sentence or about 50 words.
Be accurate.
Do not make your purpose unattainable or sound loftier than you can accomplish.
Your organization cannot be all things to all people.
Put your purpose statement everywhere.
Put it on your website, emails to members, posters and on a sign at every board meeting.
It serves as a reminder to your members and leaders of why you exist and who you serve.
Here are some samples of purpose statements for a homeschool co-op: The purpose of this homeschool co-op is to provide affordable, quality, fun-filled academic classes to children in the homeschool community.
We exist to offer science classes to 7-12 grade students of Christian homeschool families.
Our mission is to offer classical education classes for homeschooled students taught by professional, experienced teachers.
Keep it simple and grow slowly I encourage new homeschool co-ops to start very small, perhaps only a few families and a trial period of perhaps 6 weeks is manageable.
After the trial period everyone can decide to continue for another six weeks.
Add a few more families as you can manage, but do not feel pressure to grow too quickly.
If too many people are begging to join your group, encourage them to form their own co-op.
There are several helpful resources available.
Do not attempt to meet everyone's needs or desires.
Your group cannot be all things to all people, nor should it try.
That is why a purpose statement is so important.
It helps you focus on doing a manageable task and not trying to be a full-service shop for all homeschoolers.
Have a Planning Meeting.
Decide on the 4 W's and 2 C's After you have gathered a few people to help you and crafted a purpose statement, schedule a planning meeting and hash out the details.
Here's what you'll need to cover: 4 W's Who: Who will come? What ages or grades? Will you all share religious affiliation or be open to everyone? What: What will you do? This may be covered in your purpose statement.
When: What day(s) and hours will the co-op meet? Where: Where will the co-op meet? Homes, parks, libraries and churches are common meeting places.
2 C's Cost: How much will you charge? Curriculum: What classes will you offer? Answering these questions will get you fairly far along in your planing.
After these major decisions are made, you can focus on the details and spread out the responsibilities.
Create a Budget Ideally, your co-op should have a budget before you start.
Some people think that budgets are only for tracking spending, but you must plan for income also.
Start by listing all your sources of revenue such as dues, class fees, and fundraisers.
Don't be too optimistic; conservative estimates will serve you best.
Next try to predict expenses such as postage, copying, building use fees, supplies.
On the expense side, it is better to include too much rather than too little.
Finally, compare revenue to expenses and adjust until you have a balanced budget or even a small surplus as protection for the unexpected.
If you cannot balance your budget, you have two choices: cut expenses or increase income.
Recalculate your income with higher co-op fees or cut some expenses.
Starting a homeschool co-op is not difficult.
Just gather interested, helpful people and discuss your purpose.
Have a meeting to cover some important decisions and set up a budget.
You're on your way to running a successful homeschool co-op!
It provides an opportunity for children to learn from other parents who are more specialized in certain areas or subjects.
Co-ops also provide social interaction for homeschooled children (from Wikipedia.
com).
Homeschool co-ops seem to be very popular in homeschooling right now.
Perhaps you've heard about them, been a part of one, or really want to see more co-ops in your area.
Have you considered starting a co-op yourself? It's not difficult.
Here are some tips to help you make it simple and easy: Don't do it alone.
You cannot and should not run a co-op by yourself.
Gather people to help you carry the burden.
The role of a homeschool leader should be to delegate responsibilities so that everyone has an opportunity to contribute to the group.
That's part of what defines a co-op.
Establish a Board of Directors or a leadership team.
This doesn't have to be formal.
Simply choose people who are organized and can make decisions.
Keep your board small, so decisions can be made easily.
Every board should have at least three members: a president, a secretary and a treasurer.
Approach a potential board member personally.
Emphasize their strengths and contributions to a co-op and ask if they would be willing to help in a leadership role.
They may feel honored to be chosen.
One leader knew my weakness for flattery when she approached me.
"I'm surrounding myself with the smartest, best people I know," she told me, "and I want you.
" She made me feel great and, naturally, I said I'd help! Who are you? Write a purpose statement.
A purpose statement for your homeschool co-op answers two questions: Who are you? Are you defined geographically, by religious affiliation, by age of students, by skills or styles or by curriculum choice? Who is your target audience? Why do you exist? Is it to offer academic classes, enrichment classes, a social outlet, or maybe all of the above? Tips for writing a purpose statement: Use words like: try, seek, influence, or encourage.
Keep your statement short.
Ideally one sentence or about 50 words.
Be accurate.
Do not make your purpose unattainable or sound loftier than you can accomplish.
Your organization cannot be all things to all people.
Put your purpose statement everywhere.
Put it on your website, emails to members, posters and on a sign at every board meeting.
It serves as a reminder to your members and leaders of why you exist and who you serve.
Here are some samples of purpose statements for a homeschool co-op: The purpose of this homeschool co-op is to provide affordable, quality, fun-filled academic classes to children in the homeschool community.
We exist to offer science classes to 7-12 grade students of Christian homeschool families.
Our mission is to offer classical education classes for homeschooled students taught by professional, experienced teachers.
Keep it simple and grow slowly I encourage new homeschool co-ops to start very small, perhaps only a few families and a trial period of perhaps 6 weeks is manageable.
After the trial period everyone can decide to continue for another six weeks.
Add a few more families as you can manage, but do not feel pressure to grow too quickly.
If too many people are begging to join your group, encourage them to form their own co-op.
There are several helpful resources available.
Do not attempt to meet everyone's needs or desires.
Your group cannot be all things to all people, nor should it try.
That is why a purpose statement is so important.
It helps you focus on doing a manageable task and not trying to be a full-service shop for all homeschoolers.
Have a Planning Meeting.
Decide on the 4 W's and 2 C's After you have gathered a few people to help you and crafted a purpose statement, schedule a planning meeting and hash out the details.
Here's what you'll need to cover: 4 W's Who: Who will come? What ages or grades? Will you all share religious affiliation or be open to everyone? What: What will you do? This may be covered in your purpose statement.
When: What day(s) and hours will the co-op meet? Where: Where will the co-op meet? Homes, parks, libraries and churches are common meeting places.
2 C's Cost: How much will you charge? Curriculum: What classes will you offer? Answering these questions will get you fairly far along in your planing.
After these major decisions are made, you can focus on the details and spread out the responsibilities.
Create a Budget Ideally, your co-op should have a budget before you start.
Some people think that budgets are only for tracking spending, but you must plan for income also.
Start by listing all your sources of revenue such as dues, class fees, and fundraisers.
Don't be too optimistic; conservative estimates will serve you best.
Next try to predict expenses such as postage, copying, building use fees, supplies.
On the expense side, it is better to include too much rather than too little.
Finally, compare revenue to expenses and adjust until you have a balanced budget or even a small surplus as protection for the unexpected.
If you cannot balance your budget, you have two choices: cut expenses or increase income.
Recalculate your income with higher co-op fees or cut some expenses.
Starting a homeschool co-op is not difficult.
Just gather interested, helpful people and discuss your purpose.
Have a meeting to cover some important decisions and set up a budget.
You're on your way to running a successful homeschool co-op!
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