The concept of homeschool “co-ops” is to “cooperate” with one or more families to share any part of the homeschool educational process. They can be as simple as two families meeting together, or large and organized — and even publicly funded. When I was homeschooled in the late 1980s, there were very few organized options for co-op homeschooling. Today, homeschool co-ops are diverse and take many forms.

Whatever the form, homeschool co-ops are very useful for enriching your homeschool plans with additional academic and social learning opportunities. As I’ve shared in the past, I started my own homeschool co-op — a girls book club — this year with a handful of moms and daughters from our local homeschool group, and it’s been a blessing in so many ways for my three daughters and our homeschooling mission.

Join me at So You Call Yourself a Homeschooler, where I am a contributing my complete post on Five Reasons to Consider Homeschool Co-Ops.

I explain what different types of homeschool co-ops exist today, the pros and cons, and how homeschool co-ops can be a beneficial addition to your homeschooling agenda — even if you don’t live in a big city with lots of programs available. Click here for the full post.

Do you participate in any homeschool co-ops? If so, is it a large organized co-op or smaller and informal? What do you enjoy? What are the challenges? If not, what questions or concerns do you have about co-op schooling? Let us know in the comment section below.