Cooperative Homeschooling: Once a Week

Homeschooling cooperatives have taken a variety of forms over the years. This article is about those that meet once a week for a full day, dividing the time into several study/class blocks and a meal/social time. When families all gather in this way, several adults or older kids can lead activities at the same time, while others have free time. The social bonds formed between families strengthen and enrich the homeschooling experience for everyone. It is also a huge advantage for families with multiple children since all of them would have activities at the same time in the community. Students in this model work on projects and studies between sessions, and often have additional classes or private study on other topics.

A large cooperative (e.g. 20 families) that meets for six hours once a week allows several classes to be offered during each time block, allowing more choices for students. Leaders of each group can provide options for books and resources so the more advanced students can study more deeply than those who are not at that same level.  

A sample schedule for 12- to 17-year-olds that was designed so each block has multiple options within a particular academic area:

9am

• Sci Fi Book Group

• Austin & Bronte

• Great Essays (Theirs & Yours)

10am

• Optics

• Forensic Science

• Biochemistry

11am

• 19th Century Cooking

• Digital Photography

• Adv. Drawing

12

• Lunch & Club time 

1:30

• Current Events

• Japanese

• Revolutions: American & French

Another option is to mix types of academic subjects with electives & activities from the arts, and allow students to choose from a range of options, such as in this sample schedule for 9- to 13-year-olds: 

9am

• Girls in Books

• Figure Drawing

• Improv

10am

• Adventure Novels

• Weaving 

• Writing Workshop

11am

• Spanish I

• Latin I

• Intro to Programming

12

• Lunch & Club time 

1:30

• Historical Simulation

• Carbon Chemistry

• Logic through Minecraft

One advantage of the once-a-week model is that it allows students to take other courses on other days; this is particularly helpful for students who take music lessons, participate in sports, or take community college courses. 

During 2020-21, some cooperatives that previously followed the once-a-week model in person still met remotely. One option I recommended during that time was to spread the meetings over multiple days to avoid video conference fatigue. The “9 am” groups above could all meet on Mondays, “10 am” studies on Tuesdays, etc. This alternative allowed students to maintain connections and spread out their interactions over a week instead of one day during that challenging year.

Michele Evard is a veteran homeschooling parent and an independent educational consultant who specializes in working with homeschoolers. She can be contacted by email to michele@evardconsulting.com or through Evard Educational Consulting.

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