Are you new to homeschooling?
New families are often confused by the many terms used in the homeschool world. Support groups & co-ops are as unique as the individual families that participate in them. No two groups are alike. While exact definitions aren’t possible, we’ve gathered some general descriptions that we think you’ll find helpful.
Homeschooling – We define home education as parent-directed, home-based, privately-funded education.
Support Group – A group of homeschoolers who interact on a regular basis for the purpose of networking, sharing resources, providing opportunities for socialization (for each other and/or their children.) Sometimes support groups are primarily co-ops or have co-ops that exist within them.
Co-op – A homeschool co-op can be a very casual group of moms getting together to do a class or activity together or a more formal setup with designated teachers, classes, fees, etc. A co-op, in its truest form, is a meeting that focuses on learning where all the parents take turns teaching all subjects to all of the children. However, in truth, co-ops are as different as the people who set them up and run them. Teachers can be parents who volunteer or people (parents or non-parents) with specific knowledge in an academic area who are paid. Often formal co-ops have some kind of board or leadership structure and a set of by-laws.
Cottage School – A cottage school is run by paid teachers. It is a more formal version of the co-op. Because teachers are paid and these programs are often not parent directed, they are no longer considered home schools. Classes can be fun, elective type classes or classes that provide the full curriculum which the parents must continue at home. Many of them work on a University Model. This model is characterized by T,Th classes or MWF classes but usually not everyday classes. The university model cottage schools meet 2-4 times a week, hold formal classes with paid teachers and send a lot of homework to be done on the days classes don’t meet. Parents are usually very involved and either part of the staff or do a lot of volunteer hours to keep the school running.
Virtual Public School/Virtual Charter School –This is a public school in your home. Often the primary instruction is via classes on the internet. Material may be provided at low or no cost to the parents, including textbooks and computers, but the student is legally a public student not a homeschool student even when they are doing these classes in their home. This is ultimately a public school because the government, through your tax dollars, funds them both. Because these programs are government funded, faith-based curriculum is not allowed to be used.
Charlotte Mason – Charlotte Mason was a 19th century educator who believed that education should be based on great literature and the arts. She believed in a leisurely, self-directed style of education based on observation and reflection, often through discussion and journaling. Charlotte Mason education is based on a lifelong quest for knowledge and skills.
Classical Education – A process of teaching children to learn based on developmental phases and educational principles developed by the ancients. For the primary years, children learn fact based information. In the middle school years, children learn logic and reasoning, and in the high school period, children develop the art of abstraction and persuasion. Also can be referred to as “trivium-based education.”