Interview with author Marsha Ransom

Joe:
Thank you Marsha for taking your time to share with us in your interview. I also wanted to thank Marsha for what is coming up next, a FREE excerpt from her book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Homeschooling. In this section she tells us a bit on how to set up a Homeschool Cooperative.

Keeping classes and activities small enables families to reap the benefits of the classroom setting with none of the drawbacks. Volunteers can serve as helpers and aides, keeping the ratio of student to adult low, as recommended by educational research.

Most homeschool cooperatives are sponsored by an existing support group. In that case, a mailing or call to a phone chain may be all that's needed to notify members that something new is in the air. If you are attempting to pull together a new support group and cooperating at one time, just include suggestions for a homeschool cooperative when talking about the plans for the new group.

A very large group can be unwieldy when planning a cooperative, so it may be wise to form a committee to do the planning for the co-op. If the support group has leadership in place, the leadership may be the ones to do the planning, taking into consideration the needs of the group. Or a committee may be composed of volunteers or appointed members. Start out by determining the purpose of the cooperative, the needs of the group, and what you want to achieve.

Every group will have its own ideas about what is the most important, but that will change over time and with experience. All suggestions should be duly noted and discussed, keeping the end goal in view. A cooperative must have the cooperation of all members and participants in order for the plan to work. Compile a list of services that can be performed by parents whose children are participating in classes and activities. Some cooperatives have a monthly participation fee that is charged to those parents who aren't teaching classes or volunteering in any other capacity. During sign up, children of parents who are not active in the cooperative may be put on the waiting list until the sign-up cutoff, so children of active participants get priority. Fees for classes or workshops must be paid by a certain date so teachers have time before classes begin to purchase materials and books.

Some potential teachers will volunteer to teach a specific class. They may know their children need to cover this subject and think it will be more fun for them to share it with a group. Others will teach certain topics just because they enjoy teaching them. Still others teach classes because they simply enjoy teaching. If a member has talent in a certain area but doesn't volunteer, someone in the group may approach him or her and ask if he or she would be available to teach a class.

Schedule planning meetings to brainstorm about bringing in others to teach classes, such as a native speaker to teach a foreign language class, or a martial arts expert to teach a self-defense class. Such classes will usually be more costly than those taught by homeschool parent volunteers.

Don't overlook teens in the group who are looking for community service hours. they may serve as teacher's aides, teach toddler arts and crafts classes, or conduct workshops in their areas of expertise.

A committee may be appointed to find a site for classes, or parents may teach in their own homes. Some cooperatives settle on one day of the week for all classes, while others schedule classes throughout the week.

Someone with good record-keeping skills and the ability to keep people current on their volunteer time and payments is vital to the success of a homeschooling cooperative. An initial plan for the group is essential, with fees, volunteer duties, and services rendered plainly outlined. Once this is in place, it should be a simple matter for someone to keep track of payments and donated times. If some members give the teachers the money for purchasing materials directly, it is imperative that the record keeper be notified promptly, to prevent confusion. Every transaction of money or time must be accounted for.

Different People Envelope Puzzle
This week's Craft of the Week is brought to us by the popular craft book author Kathy Ross. Her latest book Crafts to Celebrate God's Creations is a terrific collection of delightful crafts and activities to help children become more aware of God's amazing creations. Along with her new book Crafts to Celebrate God's Creation Kathy has written dozens of wonderful craft books spanning every category. Kathy's craft from Crafts to Celebrate God's Creation, Different People Envelope Puzzle, is a great way for children to learn and celebrate people's differences.