I've had a couple of inquiries lately about pre-k co-ops. This article was originally posted in January of 2007. If you have additional ideas, questions or comments regarding co-ops, please leave your comments below. As always, I'd love to hear from you.
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Q: Can you tell me about the pre-k co-op you were in last year? What books did you use? Thanks, Shawnee
A: I'd love to tell you all about it! We had a lot of fun, and a co-op was the perfect way for our family to do pre-school economically as home schoolers. Here are the steps I took to get it together.
1. I decided to be the organizer and lead teacher. I chose the following books to use as our core: A Beka ABC-123, A Beka Little Books 1-10, and Stories and Language Skills by Jean Warren, published by Mailbox.
2. I invited two other families I trusted from our church to join us who had children the same age.
3. We met from 9am-noon once a week at our home. The pre-kindergarten students met with me in our "school room," while the other two moms took turns watching all the younger siblings in a play area in our basement (that means that mom #3 got a three hour break!). All the children came together for a snack in the middle of the morning. Occasionally, I read a story or did an activity with all the kids after snack time, especially during holiday seasons.
4. Each week, the pre-k students and I began with prayer and calendar activities. Then, I read the story of the month (selected from the Mailbox book listed above.) The students completed two pages from the A Beka ABC 123 book with me, then I sent "homework" with them each week to complete at home and bring back for a sticker. After snack, we did literary activities together inspired by the Mailbox book. I usually did extra activities to match the month or upcoming holiday as well.
Each child also took a turn reading to me each week from their Little Book while the other 2 played or worked; they also had reading "homework" assigned each week, and filled in an incentive sheet for a monthly prize for reading. (FYI: We did not complete the long vowel sound pages in the ABC 123 book, but did most of the rest of the book.)
5. Each family was responsible to pay for their own books, and they also paid a fee to me for photocopies and teaching supplies at the beginning of each semester (around $10 a semester, I think.) The other two moms also "paid me back" by babysitting my kids 2 additional hours a month. We took turns providing snacks.
I prepared a monthly 1-sheet newsletter that listed the childcare and snack rotation, the story of the month, skills we'd be covering, and any special field trips or upcoming activities. The other two families did give me a great, unexpected gift certificate to our local "teacher store" at the end of the year. I felt like the co-op system that gave me free babysitting was fair; one mom traded me for home-cooked meals occasionally because she had fewer hours to offer for babysitting. That was great with me!
My co-op experience was great! My kids had the chance to develop great friendships, and I found that I prepared above and beyond what I might normally when I had other kids coming to learn and play. There are several fun pre-k activities that are just more fun when you have a group of children instead of just one or two.
I enjoyed doing the teaching, and the other moms were glad for me to do it. I think they appreciated my organizing at home activities for them to do the other days they were home with their kids. I'd definitely do a co-op again under the right circumstances!
I hope you'll consider co-op teaching. It offers great benefits to both parents and children. I think that the key is to formally agree to expectations up front. Having a small group is also a plus.
There are lots of ways to trade time and talents, with many different ways to make co-op arrangements. If you have more questions, let me know.
Happy Home Schooling,
Mrs. Sherry
