Integrating Supplemental Classes in Your Homeschool

Have you noticed now that you have middle school or high school students that there are simply courses you can’t teach for one reason or another?  Although we have eight children, I just could not teach my kids some electives that we enjoy.  Choir with a high schooler and several elementary students just wasn’t going to work.  And as much as I try to embrace a relationship with mathematics, algebra is still a very foreign language to me.  If you’re like me, you wonder what you can do to offer your children a well-rounded education in spite of barriers to teaching them.  Let me introduce you to supplemental or co-op schools!

Many states have cooperative groups that offer classes in academics and electives.  This is a great idea for homeschoolers!  If you’re like me, you want to offer your kids the best opportunities in education, but it’s not practical for us to create our own choir, drama  group, and dance troupe, or there are just some subjects that we struggle with teaching like algebra and chemistry.  Finding these groups will help enhance your schooling experience and, depending on where you live, can be pretty easy.  One of the best resources is your state homeschooling organization.  You can find yours at www.hslda.org.  They might be listed as enrichment programs, schools, or support groups, so be sure to contact the group and ask first.

If you can’t find a co-op school in your area, ask people you know if they can help.  In our church, we have an engineer, a volcanologist, musicians, nurses, and the list goes on.  Ask those in your church if they might be willing to teach your children something about their specialty or if they would be interested in teaching several children in a drama group or choir. Many people enjoy passing along their knowledge to the next generation, too.  The first step to beginning a school group to supplement what you’re teaching your children is to ask.  So don’t be timid, and you may be surprised at the willingness of others to help in your educational pursuits.

Until next time, enjoy getting your homeschool ready for a new year with new, fun, and exciting things for you and your children!

Photos from www.morguefile.com