Has anyone ever started their own co-op preschool

[amyescott]

I really want to look into this as an option for my family. I am active in a local Attachment Parenting International support group and some of the parents involved have mentioned starting a preschool co-op. Can anyone point me to valuable resources, give me an idea of the initial cost and time commitment, etc.? Thanks...

[WendyC]

I am searching for the same information - but for an elementary school.

Anyone out there done that?


(((crickets chirping...)))

[AngieB]

Myself and a group of moms started a co-op preschool last year. I think it is going really well. I think your first step would be to find a group of moms you want to work with and have similar parenting and school philosophies. Then workout your general idea of what you want.

We contacted our local Recreation Department. They gave us a building to use and allowed us to be under their insurance. We wrote grants for supplies and each chipped in a small amount of money for start up. We did not hire a teacher. Each mom works 2 times a month as a teacher. We have 3 moms each day working and they plan everything. We do not charge anything and it is open to anyone. Im sure there is a lot more I can tell you, its just not coming to me right now. Please feel free to PM me with questions.

[annethcz]

I formed a very small preschool co-op when my older kids were preschoolers. We had 2-5 families involved. It was an informal group. It started as several moms with similarly aged children who met at LLL. We met once a week, and rotated homes each week. The person who was hosting planned the lesson and theme for the day and provided a snack and craft supplies for all of the kids. No money changed hands.

It was lightly structured. When the kids arrived, there was a circle time with stories and songs. Then the kids did a craft related to the theme of the day, played a game, etc. Next was snack time, and then free play.

We found that keeping it relatively informal helped avoid the nuisance of dealing with money, insurance issues, licencing, etc. But since the same families came each week, the kids got to know each other very well. All of the parents stayed each week to help out, supervise their own children (and to chat with the other moms ).

When I was planning the lesson each week, I found this site to be a great source of ideas:
www.perpetualpreschool.com