5 Benefits of Homeschool Co-Ops

5 Benefits of Homeschool Co-Ops There are many reasons to consider joining a homeschool co-op. A co-op can be an invaluable source of support for homeschool parents who work outside the home. They can also provide enrichment opportunities or be used to supplement what parents are teaching their kids at home. What Is a Homeschool Co-Op? A homeschool co-op is not the same as a homeschool support group. A support group usually serves as a resource for parents and hosts monthly meetings and field trips like park days or dances. A homeschool co-op, short for cooperative, is a group of homeschool families that join to share in the education of their children. Homeschool co-ops offer classes for students and usually require parent participation. Dont expect to drop your kids off at classes or activities. In most cases, parents are actively involved in teaching classes, caring for younger children, or helping with cleaning and other tasks. In other cases, parents may pool their financial resources to hire instructors for the courses offered by the co-op. This  option can be more costly but can be an accessible way to get expert help. Homeschool co-ops can vary in size from a small co-op of only two or three families to a large, organized setting with paid instructors. What Are the Benefits? A homeschool co-op can help both parents and students alike. They can help expand ​the knowledge base of an individual homeschool parent, allow parents to share their expertise with others, and provide student opportunities that would be difficult to achieve outside a group setting. 1. Promote Group Learning A homeschool co-op provides an opportunity for homeschooled children to experience learning in a group atmosphere. Young students learn skills such as raising their hands to speak, taking turns, and waiting in lines. Older students learn more advanced group skills, such as collaborating with others on projects, class participation, and public speaking. Children of all ages learn to take instruction from someone other than a parent and to respect teachers and fellow students. A homeschool co-op can also make what might be a boring class at home alone a much more enjoyable endeavor. It’s a relief for students not to be the one expected to give all the answers. Its also a learning experience for them to get other students input and perspective. 2. Opportunities to Socialize Homeschool co-ops provide socialization opportunities for both the parent and the student. Meeting on a weekly basis provides students with the opportunity to forge friendships. Unfortunately, students may also discover that a co-op presents the opportunity to learn to deal with peer pressure, bullies, and uncooperative students. However, even this downside can lead to valuable lessons that will help kids develop the skills they need to deal with future school and workplace situations. A regular co-op schedule also allows moms and dads to meet other homeschooling parents. They can encourage one another, ask questions, or share ideas. 3. Shared Expenses and Equipment Some subjects require equipment or supplies that can be expensive for a single family to purchase, such as a microscope or quality lab equipment. A homeschool co-op allows for shared expenses and pooling of available resources. If it is necessary to hire an instructor for classes that parents feel unqualified to teach, such as a foreign language or a high school level science course, the expense can be shared among participating families. This makes it possible for many parents to provide top-quality classes. 4. Some Classes Are Difficult to Teach at Home For younger students, homeschool co-ops may offer enrichment classes or those that require more preparation and clean up than everyday studies. These courses may include science, cooking, music, art, or unit studies. Homeschool co-op classes for older students often include lab sciences, such as biology or chemistry, advanced math, writing, or foreign language. There are often opportunities for students to take classes that function better with a group, such as drama, physical education, or orchestra. 5. Accountability Because someone outside your immediate family is setting the schedule, a homeschool co-op can provide a level of accountability. This accountability makes co-op an excellent option for classes that may fall by the wayside at home. Students learn to take deadlines seriously and stay on schedule. Even students who don’t mind telling a parent that they â€Å"forgot† their homework are usually much more reluctant to make such an admission when called on in a classroom setting. While homeschool co-ops aren’t for everyone, many families find that sharing the load, even with only two or three other families, has benefits for everyone involved. Edited by Kris Bales

True Causes of the Civil War essays

True Causes of the Civil War essays True Causes of the Civil War What caused the American Civil War? A historian once noted that the Civil War was really the final shots of the American Revolution. It is amazing that even today, over 130 years after the Civil War started, there is still passionate debate regarding the true cause of the Civil War. Slavery was with no doubt the immediate cause of the Civil War, but the intentions and views were not so much a moral issue, but more so an economical issue. This brought forth separation of both the North and South due to incompatibility and any consideration of compromise to either sides proposals. With said, this in time led to the ultimate result of war. The causes of the war can be traced to the roots of our political fabric, in the complexity of mankind, in the fundamental law, in the Constitution itself, and in the institution of slavery which it recognized and ironically intended to protect. If asked what was the real issue involved in the conflict, the average American citizen would reply, Slavery. Had there been no moral condemnation of slavery, it is fair to say there would have been no war. The curious thing is that although slavery was the moral issue of the nineteenth century that divided the political leaders of the land, the average American had very little interest in the issue. Most Southerners were small farmers that could not afford slaves, and most Northerners were small farmers or tradesman that had never even seen a slave. When the Constitution was adopted, and the Union formed, slavery existed in practically all the States. But then industrialism evolved in the North, and slavery was not very beneficial to the Norths economy due to the difference in their working force opposed to the Souths. The Union wanted to develop a high tariff which would protect the northern manufacturer, but would disable cotton trade in the Sout ...

Econometrics Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Econometrics - Speech or Presentation Example The coefficient estimate (ÃŽ ²2 = 0.37) suggests that there will be 37% increase in growth if the geographical location of a nation goes up by at least one units. Negative coefficients such as ÃŽ ²3 being -0.62 suggest a decrease in growth by 62% if we increase countries residing in Asia to the model by 1 unit. On a similar note, ÃŽ ²4 of -1.00 suggests a decrease in growth by 100% if we increase the number of countries residing in Africa by one unit. Finally, and ÃŽ ²5 of -0.25 suggests that there will be a decrease, of up to 25%, income per capita if we increase countries residing in other parts of the world. The current model, as it is in the equation, cannot bring out the different effect on income per capita that is brought about by variable DAfrica,i and DOther,i. this because the independent variables DAsia, and Dother, will automatically be correlated as Asia is part of the rest of the world. Therefore, we will have two variable that describe a similar effect on growth. A fall by up to 62 percent is realized as a result of a decline of one unit on the income per capita of the Asian countries. Conversely, the income per capita will decline by up to 100 percent if there is an increase of a single unit on the countries in Africa. Intrinsically, there is a foresighted mean drop on the income per capita of 48 percent in the two continents. Adopting raw score instead of absolute score will cause the estimate of Lati smaller than that of Ri. This is from the fact that the two independent variables employing dissimilar measuring units. There will be a reduction of the second model for the R2 and standard error. and that heteroscedasticity was a concern in model 1 in table 1, then model 1 would not have a constant error variance. As such, to test whether heteroscedasticity is present in model 1 (table 1) or not, the test hypothesis would be such