Home schooling has changed over the years. Support groups used to be the thing. Moms were expected to do all the teaching. We would gather our young’uns and head to the park or the skating rink or the museum on a regular basis to enrich the learning done at home, burn off some energy and see friends. Truth be told, these events were more for the moms than the kids. I treasured the interaction with moms who were facing the same struggles I was and who were “all in” for their kids.
As time has gone on, co-ops have taken over. Co-ops take those informal outings of yesteryear to another level. They can be a good thing but there are drawbacks as well. It seems that some who are new to home schooling think that co-ops are a required part of home schooling. Some seem to think that there are just co-ops out there waiting to teach your child for you. While there are some groups who do this, the co-ops I have been a part of do not.
Our little co-op is just a group of moms (and a dad) who like the idea of their kids learning to be responsible to another adult, learning something that a mom with expertise in the subject can teach better or that is more enjoyable to learn in a group. Every mom is expected to teach or offer support in one way or another. Every mom is expected to stay on the premises. It is not a “Mom’s Day Out” type of arrangement.
Yesterday was the last day of co-op. I mean the very, very last. My youngest, Benjamin, graduates this year. I have watched other moms “age out” of co-op. They have struggled with the idea that they will no longer be part of the group they have spent so much time with and expended so much energy for. Their home schooling journey had come to an end and with it all the perks and benefits. That is where I find myself.
I thought I would share some pictures of my last day. My first class is the ukulele class. That is what I call it, but we really just spend 10 minutes of our 30 minutes together playing the ukulele. The first 10 minutes we sing hymns. I love to see these young ones singing profound words of praise to God. This year we sang hymns such as How Great Thou Art, When Peace Like A River, Jesus Loves Me. My hope is that whenever they hear these hymns, they will be able to heartily join in. The next 10 minutes are spent singing folk songs. This year we sang The Big Rock Candy Mountain (cleaned up version), I Went To The Animal Fair, If I Had A Hammer and others. Then we get the ukuleles out. Here are a couple of videos of the students with their ukuleles.
The first one is the very easiest song to sing and play on the ukulele. The younger kids are sitting on the floor. I asked the older kids to not play, just sing. I think they are pretending to row with their ukuleles.
Row, Row, Row Your Boat
The older kids are better at changing chords, so they are playing The Yellow Rose of Texas while everyone sings.
The Yellow Rose Of Texas
After the ukulele class I get to teach Latin to the high school kids. This is our second year of Latin and I do not mind saying that I do not ever have to teach Latin again. I love it. It has been a great experience, but it does not come easy to me. Before home schooling I had never studied Latin. Everything I know has been from learning alongside my own kids. The last day of Latin we had a Roman feast complete with a Roman soldier and several toga clad participants.
The last class of the day is the older kids’ sight singing class. We sing a few folks songs in this class like the ones in the ukulele. We spend most of our time with hymns. They have learned about shape notes and how to use them in sight singing. They have learned some music theory. They have learned that they can join in and sing harmony with others. Their favorite hymn is The Greatest Command. What better words to put in their hearts than words straight from God’s word?
The Greatest Command
Thank you, Thursday Morning Co-op, for all the hard work you have done for all our kids and for letting me join in. With one last picture of the moms doing what moms do best, that’s a wrap!
