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If both choices seem about even in your mind, then it is easy for me to say, “Choose the co-op! It is a no brainer.” It is worth organizing your friends. Cooperative preschools can be amazing. With the fraction of the cost of a traditional preschool, you get the same benefits and none of the negatives. The greatest advantage in my opinion is that the kids get socialization. As a speech therapist that often works on social skills with clients, let me tell you, social skills are so important. I don’t have to explain that with ever more electronics to fight, social skills are dropping even among “typically” developing children. Unfortunately, it is something as parents we now have to be deliberate about. We have to give our children opportunities to develop social skills and we most likely have work on social skills more than past generations. A co-op gives children a chance to develop lasting deep friendships with kids you have hand picked. They are learning and growing together with curriculum you approve of and trust. Because our curriculum also has religious learning, it will help make religious discussion among the children on days other than Sunday the norm, not something unusual. It isn’t just socialization for your kids either, you get the support and comradery of your friends. Preschool is a fun thing to talk about with your friends and most likely you will get to see them more than you otherwise would. They are also there when you have questions. Another advantage of forming a co-op versus teaching your child on his or her own is that it is so much less effort. You are preparing far fewer lessons. With your off weeks you can even get some things checked off the “to-do” list while they are in an environment that you trust with people you know.
Other than the major benefits of a co-op that I already mentioned, the rest of the benefits are true for both individual teaching and co-ops. Our curriculum works for either. Some of these shared benefits are that you have handpicked the curriculum and approve of everything taught. You see more directly how your child is growing and know that you played a part in it. The curriculum has already been prepared with great visuals so that you don’t have to spend hours preparing it and scouring the internet. I love that our curriculum has spiritual instruction, something I really wanted for my preschoolers, but never got. Both options should be carefully weighed though.
I will be honest, my first experience with a co-op preschool wasn’t all that great. I can’t imagine why! It was only the busiest time in my life and I decided that adding a co-op would be a great idea. As I recall, these were just a few of the things going on: I was primary president, the baby (my 3rd child in 5 years) was colicky, and my husband was frequently traveling for his job (up to 3 weeks a month so I had to do a lot on my own with no breaks). My house was a mess and my life was pretty chaotic. The way we had designed our co-op out of necessity did not give us much of a break when we weren’t teaching either. We only had about two weeks off each month. Add in all of the other little things and it is easy to see that the timing just wasn’t right for me. I figured out very early on that I had goofed, but I miserably gritted my teeth to try to make it through. I didn’t want to disappoint my friends. Around Christmas though I guiltily confessed to my friends that I just couldn’t do it. I continued teaching my kids on my own in the nooks and crannies of time when the baby happened to be happy. It was just a better fit. With that experience under my belt. I would recommend that you consider the following questions:
- Do I have friends who I work well with and are they fairly reliable?
- Do I enjoy their children enough to have them over a minimum of two times a month?
- Do my kids like their kids or can they learn to like them?
- Do they live close enough that the drive won’t be a big deal? (for me that “ok” driving time was 20 minutes or less)
- How busy am I? Be honest with yourself.
- How busy are my friends I would like to join the co-op with me? Could this be a good fit for them?
If most of the answers to the questions above are positive I would absolutely recommend doing a co-op instead of doing preschool individually.
Fast forward to my next experience with co-op preschool. My load, although still heavy (what mom’s load isn’t), was manageable. My group was able to design our co-op better so that it was still fun for our kids, but a little break for me too. It also helped that my friends lived closer so that there wasn’t so much driving. My kids probably loved them both just the same, but for me it was night and day different.
If after all of that and you still don’t have a gut feeling one way or the other, the best advice I can give you is to pray about it. Your calling as a parent is an important one that Heavenly Father wants you to succeed in. He will help when we earnestly ask.
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