Mama Needs Her Co-op!

I am just absolutely exhausted after another full day of painting our new house, and grouting tile. Only three more days of hard work left to do before I go back to Oklahoma to start packing up for our move. I. am. so. tired. But, I just have to put in my two cents on today's topic on the Schoolhouse Review Crew Back to Homeschool Blog Hop. It's all about Co-op's today.

We joined our Co-op in Oklahoma right as we were starting our homeschooling journey with Brynne. I just knew it would be important for her to have a place to meet new friends. There are three different Co-ops in our town alone: one is an academic co-op, one is a social co-op, and one is a Classical Conversations group. Since I knew we would be doing lots of work at home, I was more interested in a social Co-op. So, we started attending on Friday mornings.

The activities were ENDLESS! In fact, if we would have done every activity available, we would have never had time to do actual school work. Our Co-op was run by a very strong leader. And I think that a strong leader is what makes any organization great!

We had the opportunites to attend P.E. two times a month, choir once a month, and a service project day once a month. We could also take art classes or a writing class. And then there were the field trips and parties. It was just so fun! We went on many, many different field trips!

But my favorite day of the month was the mom's meeting. We would all get together, attend to business, and then fellowship. I made some AMAZING friends through our Co-op. When we went on field trips, the moms had just as much fun as the kids. I met my very best friend there. We have often planned lessons together so that our girls were learning some of the same things at the same time. Then we would go on fun field trips and do fun activities together. It has been a blast. (I am going to miss her TERRIBLY when we move!)

One of the funnest things we did this past year was to host a Couple's Ugly Christmas Sweater party at our house. It was so much fun, and gave the dads an opportunity to get to know each other.

Like I have said, we are moving. I will miss our Co-op so badly. Brynne has good friends there. The moms all love Dawson. And Eli was really looking forward to getting to know the boys in the group. I am praying that I can find a good Co-op in Missouri. There are a couple of possibilities, and we will probably join one particular one that seems to be well-organized in a nearby town. They have eight-week sessions of enrichment classes (which I know a lot of homeschooling moms really enjoy for their kids), and they go on field trips. I hope it's fun. I hope the kids make lots of new friends. But, I also hope that I find a group of ladies who love what they are doing as much as me and want to share in this journey with me.

Heritage Homeschool Co-op ... I will miss you. I hope there is a group out there that will be a close second to you, cause they can't take first place.

Join a Co-op if you get a chance. It will change your life.