cottage school/homeschool enrichment program?

[dharmama]

hello! i used to post here from time to time but haven't in a really long time (other than recently when i shared why i think homeschooling wouldn't work for our family ). hope you don't mind me popping in with a sincere question as we continue to explore all possible options for educating our children...

i'm wondering if anyone here is part of a cottage school or homeschool enrichment program and if you'd be willing to share a little bit about it.

a couple of years ago i attended a workshop with beth sutton, founder of enki, and we explored the spectrum of schooling from full-time homeschooling to full-time schooling and the place that really caught my attention was right in the middle -- a part-time cottage school!

she described it as something that is lead by a teacher/facilitator (who may or may not be a parent of one of the children) and meets in a group 2-3 times a week to share non-academic experiences like yoga, baking, handiwork, dancing, music, drawing, painting, hiking etc.

i love this idea SO much. it feels like it could be such a great fit for our family. (my kids currently attend a part-time in-home waldorf inspired nursery school, which we absolutely love. my daughter is eligible to start kindergarten this year but we have opted to keep her at her nursery school that she and we love so much for another year!) and i feel like i want to start gently exploring options this coming year so we have a more clear idea of what we want to do the following year.

i have done some searching online and have found a few cool websites that seem similar to what i'm thinking of (will come back later to post links -- my little guy is climbing on me now and wants my attention).

just wondering if there is anyone here doing something along these lines and if you'd be willing to share a little about how your program works.

thanks!!!

~erin

[briansmama]

Ds 5 1/2 attends a nature-based experiential program 1 full day per week. We love it- the class is lead by a mentor who is very passionate and knowledgable about plants, animals, geology, and experiential learning.

There are so many programs that exist for homeschoolers that your child can end up in many of these types of programs throughout the week with very little time actually at home.

For us, we are very selective. This is the only outsourcing we do besides sports classes, and even that is limited to 1 at a time. But ds has a lot of friends in the program who also attend music, art, writing, and other enrichment classes throughout the week.

[dharmama]

thanks.

Ds 5 1/2 attends a nature-based experiential program 1 full day per week. We love it- the class is lead by a mentor who is very passionate and knowledgable about plants, animals, geology, and experiential learning.

this sounds really cool!

There are so many programs that exist for homeschoolers that your child can end up in many of these types of programs throughout the week with very little time actually at home.

interesting. i guess i'm not really looking for a lot of "activities" during our week. (especially not ones that involve me doing a lot of driving to take the kids places.) i think it's more about having a regular group that we work with on a weekly basis.

actually just to help myself clarify, i think i'll write out some of the things that appeal to me about a cottage school/on-going enrichment program:

~ creating long(ish)-term relationships with peers
~ opportunities to learn with someone other than dh and i
~ consistent blocks of time for me to do my work
~ opportunities for activities that work well in a group
~ multi-age learning opportunities

cool. that actually felt good to clarify this a bit.

thanks for you reply. much appreciated.

[chfriend]

Some of our friends belong to this one: http://www.dreamanddiscover.org/

[zeldamomma]

We have friends who go here: http://www.treeoflifeschool.org/

We can't justify the expense at the moment.

ZM

[Mary-Beth]

We're going to start a program that runs Sept- May for a half a day. The kids study science and humanities and have a music and lunch/play time. We are really looking forward to it for the reasons you mentioned. They will have a chance to build friendships within a consistent group and get some learning/classroom experiences. I will have a break (time with just the baby) and yet we'll still see plenty of each other.

I'd ask around for any homeschool co-op's or other programs. It took me a while to find this group.

[dharmama]

Originally Posted by zeldamomma

We have friends who go here: http://www.treeoflifeschool.org/

We can't justify the expense at the moment.

ZM

ooo....thanks so much for posting this. it looks great!!!!

[dharmama]

Originally Posted by chfriend

Some of our friends belong to this one: http://www.dreamanddiscover.org/

thank you. looks great!!!

[dharmama]

We're going to start a program that runs Sept- May for a half a day. The kids study science and humanities and have a music and lunch/play time. We are really looking forward to it for the reasons you mentioned. They will have a chance to build friendships within a consistent group and get some learning/classroom experiences. I will have a break (time with just the baby) and yet we'll still see plenty of each other.

Mary-Beth that sounds wonderful!

Thank you all so much for responding and for sharing these links. I'm feeling very inspired that something like this just might work for us!!!