Cooperative Homeschooling: Overview
Cooperatives work well for families who want to work together to establish a stable learning community that will also provide a social structure. Parents and children alike benefit from participating regularly in multi-generational learning communities. This model works well for adults who want to pool resources and expertise.
Families work together to create shared programs for children to learn different topics, both electives and primary academic requirements. Adults don’t need to be mathematicians to teach math, or writers to teach grammar.
A parent or guardian who loves to read can share their love of books through reading aloud, teaching literary analysis, or helping children write their own stories.
Adults who like to consider multiple points of view can teach critical thinking skills and lead Current Events discussions.
An adult who wants to learn more about 20th century history could lead a study of events such as the Cold War or the American Civil Rights movement through documentaries and primary sources.
Gardeners and nurses can both teach science – and cooks know a lot about chemistry!
Cooperatives can provide primary academic subjects, elective studies, and/or social opportunities. The topics studied can be traditionally organized or interdisciplinary. Leaders can purchase curricula or design their own based on their interests and the students’ interests.
Depending on the subject material and the students’ ages, abilities and interests, studies do not have to be limited to a single age or grade level. For example, Latin I can be taught to a mixed-age group and everyone can do the same work. In a European History course, everyone can read and discuss the same material, and then write papers or make presentations that are appropriate to their age and academic level. More advanced students have the option to study topics more in-depth, explore topics that aren’t covered in the primary curriculum, write about what they have learned, and even make presentations to other students.
Another advantage of this model is that students can also be leaders. Just as adults do, teens can design activities to teach topics that they love, both to their peers and to younger or older students as well. This is a wonderful leadership opportunity that many homeschooling teens have enjoyed.
Cooperatives can meet in person or online, and range in size. To find peers or students who love a particular uncommon subject area, it can be very helpful to search beyond your local region. During the pandemic when social distancing was required or preferred, many cooperatives met virtually. One homeschool group I co-founded began by meeting in the homes* of the first five families; the membership quickly grew to the point where we needed to rent multiple rooms one day a week. The Voyagers Homeschool Cooperative had 80-100 families each year. In 2020-21, many parents chose to form small cooperative groups with 2-4 other families who followed similar safety practices. (These groups were also often called pods.)
An educational consultant may be hired to design and/or oversee the chosen curriculum and be sure that the students’ studies meet the standards that will allow them to enter and have success in their next desired educational.
*Please note: Host families should check their homeowners’ or renters’ insurance policies with regard to accidents that may take place in their home, especially if a tutor or teacher has been hired to work there on a regular basis. Local regulations for childcare may also apply and must be considered.
The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, constitute legal advice; instead, all information, content, and materials available on this site are for general informational purposes only.
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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