Why You Need a Home-Education Co-op

I was part of a co-created learning co-operative with a bunch of other home-ed families. This evolved from a once-a-week event in a local hall to a three-day-a-week community and spanned nearly a decade, drawing in many families as we went. It came out of wanting more.

More than school-gate style chit-chat at drop-offs and classes. More than spontaneous interactions at day trips and park meet-ups. I wasn’t feeling nourished by these little snippets of connection. In fact, I felt pretty lonely and longed for deeper more meaningful connection. It turns out I wasn’t alone.

Together we learned just how rich a home-education journey can be!

This experience led me to be incredibly passionate about home-educating within the arms of a strong community. The early days involved far too much time struggling alone, compared to a completely transformed experience of doing it with others that nourished and lifted me beyond anything I’d imagined.

Read on to find out why a home-education co-op will enrich your family’s journey.

Sharing & Celebrating

When a group of people come together to be part of a co-operative, they are agreeing to share experiences over time, and in something that feels meaningful to them.

We can benefit from the practical skills of others, witness and learn other ways of doing things, and collaborate to make great things happen! Step out of our usual patterns, engage differently away from regular family dynamics, and take a break from life being all about us.

Taking responsibility for our child’s education is a big thing and it matters whether you have people to share your journey with. People that get you. The highs and lows, and seasonal changes. Those who you can share and celebrate the rhythms of life with.

Support Network

When part of a home-ed co-op we have a clear network of families on similar paths with similar challenges. As we co-operate, we feel a sense of being held and this is what it feels like to be in community.

Naturally human communities are intergenerational. They include all ages and stages which fosters more understanding and more support.

Working together to create shared experiences helps us recognise our interdependence. It also expands our emotional literacy as we learn to navigate our feelings and others in relation to our interactions.

As we evolve together and relationships deepen and strengthen, we start to feel more like a village, and as the saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child!”

Identity and Belonging

Coming together regularly, aligning with something that feels important enough to commit to, strengthens not only our sense of belonging, but also our sense of self.

The more you start to identify with your community, the more you start to recognise and feel your own value. To be known, loved and valued is very powerful, and incredibly freeing!

It allows us to act more authentically and with greater integrity.

Embracing Diversity

Spending time in the company of others outside of your family offers exposure to a richness of ideas and actions beyond your own truth and that of the media, (which are our primary influencers).

Getting to know people’s passions and motives, joys and fears, challenges and wins, widens our perspective and deepens our level of acceptance. Hearing about and witnessing the lived experience of others fosters understanding and compassion. It is restorative and life-affirming.

Fun & Learning

Learning works best when it’s fun!

However, it’s not always easy to muster up motivation or creativity. In a co-op, the fact that you’re co-operating together means that you benefit from a wider pool of creativity, interest and know-how. It may be that your child has a keen interest in something that you do not share in any way, shape or form. They could end up finding a kindred spirit, as activities can be interest-led, rather than curriculum-driven or age restricted.

In a co-op you collaborate in a way that creates a space that serves the people within the community. This makes it easier for the space to cater for your family’s way of learning and fun. Its less directive and more responsive.

Playing games, role play, free play and creative play place our brains in the most receptive state for learning. Interacting with others and responding to the suggestions and requests of others can provide a learning edge which we are better able to embrace when held within relaxed playful spaces.

Being part of a home-ed co-op offers a place to share the rhythms of life together. It is supportive, celebratory, develops a sense of belonging and value, and widens our perspective with compassionate understanding. All in all, a co-op is a fun and enriching environment.

Want to build a strong home-ed co-op in which your family can flourish and grow?

I’m running a free webinar to tell you how on Thursday 26th October at 6pm.

It’s an element of my ‘Thyme for Home-ed Parents’ offer that I’ve specifically designed for my favourite kind of people! I’ll work with you so you can find your unique home-ed groove and take care of your health! Helping to make home-educating easier for you gives me great satisfaction because I know how rewarding a life-style choice it can be.

Sign up now to join me: https://sarah-janecobley.wixsite.com/create-home-ed-co-op