Co-op

Yesterday we had our first day of a homeschool co-op. I have been a part of a co-op before, but it was on a much larger scale where there were multiple classes going on at once and I pretty much just had to show up. This one that started yesterday is a gathering of of six families and we are meeting in one family's house. We will meet from 10-4 every Monday for twelve weeks. There are eleven students in the 8-12 year old range, and a smaller group of younger ones. I will be teaching for an hour each week about various great artists. Yesterday we studied Henri Matisse and did a project based on the type of works he created in the last twenty years of his life. The other classes include science, literature (where Tom Sawyer is being read aloud), 30 minutes of math drills and games, theater (where the students will work towards producing a short play consisting of several scenes from Tom Sawyer), and a PE class taught by some coaches that we've hired. The younger children had an art time, story time, lots of play time, and also PE with the coaches. We all had packed a lunch and ate together, and then the kids all went out to play for the rest of the lunch hour. Madelyn had really been looking forward to this first day, and I think she was really pleased! She even volunteered for and got the part of Becky in Tow Sawyer... a big deal for her as it has quite a few lines. Gwen did much better than I anticipated, even participating in the PE class. It was a positive day for us all.

I've struggled a little this year with home schooling, I think in part because being in China and living in an apartment has changed the way I've always done things. I've lacked some of the motivation for special projects and activities that I had done in the past. I've loved being able to focus my attention on the girls, with Caleb and Seth at school, but having only one student has changed the dynamic of schooling for us. So this co-op, this one that I was hesitant to participate in when the idea of it was first mentioned, is a real gift. It requires me to prepare a special art project... the very kind of thing that I was not making happen at home. It provides a group of new friends for the girls and for me, to meet with weekly. It provides a break time for me while others are teaching my girls, which I used to take a walk yesterday and also to read on my own and chat with other moms.

I'm not sure what will happen with schooling in our family next year... that is in the praying stage right now. But for now, this co-op is a real boost for all three of the girls at this house!