Last year, my friend Stacy asked me if I wanted to be part of a homemaking co-op she was setting up for a few high school girls in our homeschool group. We aren’t starting the co-op until next school year, so we had a year to think about it.
I couldn’t say yes fast enough!
A few benefits to a co-op
Take advantage of skills other moms have that I am lacking in.
Foster godly friendships between the girls as they bond over projects.
Use the gifts God has given me to bless some kids.
Spend a little extra time with my oldest and her friends!
Encourage our daughters in homemaking.
What’s not to love?
How We’re Running Our Homemaking Co-Op:
There are 5 moms.
Each Mom will teach 3 classes throughout the year in her home. The classes will last about four hours and include a project.
We’ll meet twice a month for most months, taking December off.
We’ll have 15 classes total.
If a girl is using the classes as high school credit, then their mom will come up with work for them to do during the week to add up to the required number of hours.
We’re coordinating our class days with our group’s park days, so the hosting mom will provide lunch and bring all the girls to the park.
Homemaking Topics
Stacy sent us all this list of ideas for topics.
Sewing
Baking
Cooking/meal planning
Scrapbooking
Using coupons/being a good steward of money
Modesty/makeup/dress
Courtship
Housecleaning
Organization
Taking care of our bodies-exercise/healthy living
Spiritual discipline
Friendship/relationships
Hospitality
We haven’t totally settled on which classes we’re teaching, but I am hoping to teach baking, hospitality, and spiritual disciplines.
I don’t know for sure yet if I will teach on those topics, but I do know this: Someone else is definitely teaching housecleaning. Ahem.
As we go through some of the projects, I’ll share some with you. I’m looking forward to seeing what we all come up with.
Have you ever joined a homemaking Co-Op? Or are you dreaming of starting one now? If you did, what would you like to teach? What would you definitely not want to teach?
Angela can be found at Homegrown Mom, home of the 30 Days of Homemaking for Girls Series.
{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }
What a wonderful idea! I am looking forward to reading posts about the details of the classes. I never learned many homemaking skills growing up and it has made it very difficult as an adult.
What a wonderful idea! My oldest will be in K this Fall, but a thought like this has never even crossed my mind! I think it is really a great opportunity to teach your daughters, especially when someone else is an “expert” in an area where you may be lacking (I am lacking in a lot of areas!). I will have to remember this for a day when my daughters are older! Thank you for sharing!
We’re part of a co-op that just started this past school year. I taught science the first semester and a baking class the second semester. Next year, I’m teaching an insect class in the fall and a sewing class in the spring.
We really enjoy co-op. It enables my kids to learn about things that I may not necessarily have taught them at home, such as woodworking which my son will be taking next year. I love that my kids can be with other children from like-minded families, and it’s also great to be able to have some time with other like-minded moms.
Our co-op is small too as it’s only going into its second year. We just had our first meeting of the new year last night, and we’ve gain two new families so far. I anticipate it will continue to grow as the word gets out more.
Enjoy your new co-op!
Most of those topics are covered in the Keepers at Home handbook, which we are part of a group. Great stuff!
How exciting! I can’t wait to hear all abou it!
I think this is a fabulous idea! I would not want to teach housecleaning (as I am clearly bad at this!) But I would love to teach baking and cooking/meal planning. That would be so fun!!!
I love this idea and am thinking about suggesting it to my circle of homeschool moms/friends. This is a great teaching plan. If the girls add 15 more hours of at-home projects, that will total 75 hours which is what I generally count as a high school credit. 1/2 credit of an elective: homemaking or home economics. I would add to the list of ideas: home decorating (perhaps ways to economically add beauty to our homes); cake decorating; homemade gift making; laundering and mending clothes…there are so many potential topics to cover!
I love it and can’t wait to read more!!!
I am currently in a co-op and the class that has surprised me the most is Christian Heros Biography Book Club. We picked 5 books to read through and spend two classes discussing and the kids create a non-traditional book report on each book. For instance: We read Abraham Lincoln: a new birth of freedom by Geoff and Janet Benge. The children created log cabins out of popsicle sticks and placed inside strips of papers with their favorite quotes/parts of the book. This year we have read about George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman, George Muller, and Gladys Alyward. We emphasis book series written through a biblical perspective such as Trailblazers, Heroes of History, and the Sower series. It is a huge encouragement to read about the faith of these people and to know that the same God they relied on yesterday is the same God that will see me through today and tomorrow.
My girls and I are a part of a Keepers at Home group. All of the families involved eat a potluck meal together, then share in a devotional time. After devotions, the boys and fathers go off to work on their project and the girls and mamas work on our projects–it’s wonderful! This year the ladies have learned about housecleaning
, planning healthy meals, soapmaking, baking, and more. I like the fact that entire families are involved, and seeing the young men and young ladies embracing the roles God has for them!
I would love to teach most of those… definitely can’t teach sewing though I’d love to learn! Can’t wait to see/hear how it works out for your group!
I LOVE this idea but I am not part of a co-op. My daughter is in Kindergarten this year and she is the only one close to her age in our church who homeschools so it would be hard to start one. PLEASE post what you guys do with this.
This is something I would love to do with my eldest daughter in the next few years. Thanks for the idea. I have the Keepers at Home Handbook, and that might help with this. Thanks!
What a lovely idea!
I wish something like that had been available to me when I was younger but I wasn’t homeschooled or taught home making! On the catch up now though!
What a great idea!
I love this idea. I wish something like this was in my area.
love this idea, unfortunately I haven’t found any other moms in my area who have ideal like mine, or even similar at all.
I think most of these skills are great to know, if one becomes a homemaker or not. I wish I learned more before I became one, because I often feel like now I am playing catch-up. I hope I instill my own daughters with enough skills so they can feel confident in their roles in their home
This is an awesome idea! I am definitely going to bring this idea up to our group. Thanks for sharing what you all will be doing and how you will be running the co-op!
I have a two year old little boy and am not pregnant. Needless to say, this means no girls to train in the forseeable (sp?) future. However, I am in charge of our womens ministry at church and I feel like this would be an awesome opportunity for us to learn or brush up on our homemaking skills as so many women these days are not equipped with the proper skills to efficiently manage a household. Who says a homemaking co-op need only be for homeschooled girls?