How to Start a Homeschool Co-op

The following is a post from contributing writer Tiffany Manley.

For many of us, the homeschool year has been over for a while. We’re now relaxing in that fun time called summer, where we spend tons of time playing and learning and enjoying ourselves.

It’s also the fun time when many homeschool parents look forward to their next year and all the possibility it holds. Planning, curricula purchases, social options: we consider it all.

Often it’s a time for folks to start thinking about creating a homeschool co-op as well. Maybe the ones currently available aren’t meeting your family’s needs. Maybe you don’t have one available at all.

Starting a co-op can be both a rewarding and trying experience. Here are a few links to help you get through that process and come out on the other side with a wonderful co-op!

Community Question: Recommendations for Starting a Homeschool Co-op – This post is a community question posted at The Pioneer Woman. There are over 20 answers to the question, and tons of great info contained therein.

Show Me How: Starting a Homeschool Co-op – I like this post because the author speaks specifically about her experiences with a co-op and what they’ve found works well. She also contains a few links to items that are great to use in a co-op.

How to Start a Homeschool Co-op – This is a very in-depth article about the nuts and bolts of starting a co-op such as location and structure.

Start Your Own Homeschool Co-op – You can’t have a co-op without people. Check out this great article that speaks to this aspect of your venture.

Starting a Homeschool Co-op: Girls Book Club – I love this article because it speaks to a very specific co-op idea: a tween girl book club. You don’t have to create a broad co-op, you can definitely niche it in!

Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them, and Not Burn Out – This book is the most comprehensive resource I’ve seen on starting your own co-op. It’s for serious co-op starters! Legal implications, forms, this book has it all.

Remember, your co-op can be a meeting of just a couple of families, or a large multi-county venture. With some planning and effort, it can be a great addition to your homeschool!

Tiffany is a homeschooling work-at-home mom who likes to bake, watch TV, and be an all-around awesomesauce person.  She blogs at Sweet Phenomena and helps new homeschoolers with her eBook, “So, You Think You Wanna Homeschool?”