When people think of homeschooling, they might think of parents and children isolated at home. Ma Ingalls of The Little House on the Prairie comes to mind. Homesteading far from other people, Ma drills her daughters on their Scripture memorization and arithmetic without any help. What many people forget is that throughout the book series, a fictionalized account of the frontier childhood of Laura Ingalls Wilder, her mother’s goal was to see the family settled in a town near other families. And that is just what they did.
Once the family put down roots in Dakota Territory, Laura’s education was enhanced by tutoring at the one-room schoolhouse (which sounds a lot like many homeschoolers’ home classrooms), Sunday school, lively spelling competitions and trivia nights with the whole town, and all the other social support that come from seeing other people on a regular basis. As we have previously discussed, homeschooling in community is a key to making the lifestyle a good fit for most families. Whether for sports and other extracurriculars or for core academic subjects, finding homeschool cooperatives in your area can enrich your family life.
What is a homeschool co-op? Co-ops are formal groups of like-minded homeschoolers who meet regularly for instruction. As the Texas Homeschool Coalition explains, these are not just play groups or casual meetups. Co-ops offer formal structure and regularly scheduled learning, whether weekly, monthly, or a few times a year. That said, there are a wide range of co-ops already established. Some of them will charge tuition and be run by professional teachers. Others are completely volunteer driven with other homeschool parents organizing meetings and facilitating field trips and lessons. Some are highly structured, and others are much more easygoing.
Below, we’ll share a few of the most common homeschool co-op types and how they might benefit you and your family.
Hybrid schools The most structured type of homeschool co-op is the hybrid school model. In these groups, families usually pay tuition in order to hire teachers and secure classroom space for weekly instruction. School might meet two or three days a week and look a lot like a traditional brick-and-mortar school setting. Many hybrid schools even have uniforms, sports teams, and school dances. What makes these co-ops different from school is that parents are responsible for homeschooling the rest of the week. Some hybrid schools will provide a preselected curriculum that parents follow on homeschooling days. Others will focus solely on subjects like history, science, and art, leaving parents to cover core subjects with their own chosen curriculum at home. We discussed some of the pros and cons of these set-ups in our article on choosing a curriculum. Hybrid schools can be a great way for families to begin homeschooling with a lot of support, structure, and guidance. Catholics should be aware that many Christian hybrid schools require a statement of faith that may or may not be compatible with Catholicism. Careful discernment may be needed. Like many private schools, there is often an annual application and enrollment process beginning in the fall or early in the new year.
Co-ops for specific educational philosophies Some co-ops form based on a shared educational philosophy, such as Charlotte Mason or a classical model of education. Popular groups like Classical Conversations, or a specifically Catholic alternative like Classically Catholic Memory and Catholic Schoolhouse, meet weekly to provide support in memorization and mastery of core subjects. The Charlotte Mason educational approach has inspired co-ops that meet for nature study, art education, and afternoon tea. Though not specifically following Charlotte Mason’s philosophy, groups like Wild and Free or different forest schools align well with Mason’s emphasis on the outdoors and cultivating wonder.
Because these groups often only meet weekly or monthly, they can attract families from rural areas who will make the drive for co-op day. Packing picnic lunch and dinner and adding social time can make for a beneficial family outing that breaks up the at-home schedule. Many of these co-ops have low-cost tuition and rely heavily on parent volunteers to facilitate lessons. If you have toddlers and cannot imagine volunteering, you are not alone; many co-ops offer a nursery for children not yet school-aged. For co-ops like these, there is often a formal application process that follows the school year timeline. Other groups are solely structured by word-of-mouth with Catholic parents working together to offer weekly lessons or field trips on educational topics. For these types of groups, there is no application or tuition, you just need to meet the active homeschoolers in your area to learn more.
Hobby groups As we have previously noted, one of the great joys of homeschooling is the ability to pursue students’ interests and talents in greater depth than would be possible with a traditional school schedule. This is not limited to academic subjects. Homeschool families have created league sports teams, robotics competition teams, ballet groups, instrumental ensembles and more based on shared interests. If your child has an interest in fiddle, dance, math, or sports, keep an eye out for homeschool groups formed around that interest. Hobby-based co-ops usually do not have costs associated beyond the fees required for the sport or activity. Because these groups are so varied and unique, you generally have to find information in-person.
How to find co-ops where you live As always, the best way to find out more about resources in your area is to meet other homeschoolers and ask. There are also, however, many high-quality online resources that can assist you in finding local groups you may want to learn more about. If you are in Texas, the Texas Homeschool Coalition offers a tool for finding local homeschool groups. For specifically Catholic-based co-ops, check your parish bulletin and visit nearby parishes to see if they have co-ops or offer information about where you can find one. If you are in a major metropolitan area like Houston, there are excellent resources like the newly established Catholic Home Educators Collective Houston (CHECH), which provides the ability for smaller local homeschool groups to participate in homeschool conferences, spelling bees, graduation ceremonies, and more. Connecting with an umbrella group like this can help you find the smaller groups geographically close to you. As you determine the homeschool philosophy and schedule that works best for your family, finding like-minded co-ops, whether structured or laid back, can help you and your children thrive academically and socially.