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As you might remember, I just recently wrote about the option for social interactions in the form of homeschool co-ops.

I am really excited to review an excellent book I just finished reading, Homeschool Co-ops: How to Start Them, Run Them and Not Burn Out by Carol Topp.

I loved this quote from the book that I believe describes the beginning of any co-op: 

It is so true.  A co-op can start with only 2 families and remain only 2 families or grow to hundreds and many times a co-op is the only option that helps people continue homeschooling after they thought they couldn’t do it anymore, because suddenly they are not alone anymore and neither are their children plus “many hands make light work”. 

I loved that she also mentioned the point that the parents find co-ops very fulfilling for their own needs too.  She had a great idea for a “Chew and Chat room” where the parents can hang out and discuss things.  That creates support and also a sharing of valuable information about curriculum, fieldtrips and activities in the community.

I felt that the book is very balanced and really prepares one for what lies ahead in the co-op life of different sized co-ops from small to large.  I’ve been in small and medium to larger size co-ops for years now and Carol’s descriptions of things in a co-op of different sizes really rang true to the experiences I’ve had so far.  She gives enough detailed advice that you can use to start either a really small, totally informal co-op or a medium or very formal, organized, large size co-op that functions a lot like a business. 

She even includes advice for co-ops that want to register as non-profits for tax purposes and creating bylaws for a co-op.  I loved the samples for these rather complicated documents.  It is great to read the detailed information about becoming a non-profit organization from someone who is a CPA and has helped several 501(c)(3) Tax-exempt Organizations to get set up.

The book starts by listing the advantages of being in a co-op but then also lists the disadvantages in the next chapter as well as providing solutions to some of the problems.  In the following chapters she even goes into the nitty-gritty of a first planning meeting, guidelines for a name, bylaws and determining basic things that sometimes go unplanned and then later could cause lots of conflict and problems.  All the things that need to be considered for starting a co-op, in my opinion, are contained in these chapters and I found it helpful that she even left some areas for someone trying to start a co-op to fill in their specific ideas or expectations in the book.

She also provides a great list of ideas for potential classes and activities to do in a co-op to inspire anyone.

I appreciated her quote that “there is not just one right way for any co-op to be run” and all the helpful tips on running it and not burning out.  There is a whole chapter devoted to not burning out as well as conflict management that will most likely have to be dealt with in any size co-op.

A very helpful chapter on managing the finances of a co-op is included and again, it is great to know that Carol is also a CPA and knows what she’s talking about when it comes to the money management part of things.  Being an accountant myself, I’ve been the treasurer at times for a co-op and found her advice very sound.  Here is a link to her website if you have any financial questions www.homeschoolcpa.com

There are a few Christian references throughout the book, but for me it didn’t distract from any of the good information in the book, even if you are of a different persuasion.  You can just skip over those parts and I really believe you will still find this book a huge help.  The chapter about Conflict Management has more Christian references than the rest of the book for obvious reasons, but still has helpful ideas, even for those who aren’t Christian.

I highly recommend this book to any homeschooler, because a co-op can be started by anyone and this book is full of tried and tested ideas.

If you found this article to be helpful, you could click on the subscribe button above and then you will be informed of future articles automatically.  Thanks for reading and leave me comments if you end up using this book to let me know your experiences.  I love co-ops!