Stress Free Homeschool Co-op Days – 6 Ways To Stay Sane!

Are you looking for ways to take some of the stress out of your homeschool co-op days? Whether you’ve been participating in a group for a while, or you’re just diving in, we have 6 ways to help you reduce stressful mornings and homeschool co-op days in general!

What are homeschool co-ops?

The way homeschool co-ops are run varies. They are generally a group of families with a set time to come together to learn and support one another. Some homeschool co ops focus on academics and others are more experience-based. They often include social time to interact and support one another, enrichment classes, and some extended family activities. A lot of the time parents teach the classes, but some co-ops do hire teachers or activity directors.

There are Co-ops of all sizes, from very small to hundreds of families. They meet in places like churches, libraries, homes, or community centers. How often do homeschool co-ops meet? Depending on what works best for the families involved, co-ops can meet weekly or even once or twice a month.

The main purpose of a homeschool co-op is to provide a way for like-minded families to share the teaching, provide the kids with more options than they might find on their own, and create a supportive learning community outside of a traditional school setting.

Here’s What You Need to Know to Have Stress Free Homeschool Co-op Day!

Have Realistic Expectations

If you’re like me, you probably started considering this before you signed up. After all, you know that saying yes to something means saying no to something else. Maybe you imagined what your life would be like if you joined a homeschool co-op initially. You likely thought about how to make up for the time spent at co-op. Would you switch to a 4-day school week? Adjust your curriculum? When would you handle household chores or run errands? For many families, joining a co-op means rearranging the entire schedule to fit it into the school year.

All of these things are necessary and can help you create more realistic expectations, but what happens once you get your kids into the building and start classes? Are you—perhaps unintentionally—setting unrealistic expectations and then feeling angry, frustrated, and overwhelmed?

If you’re like me, you might often start the day expecting great behavior, smooth transitions, and exceptional experiences of learning, fun, and fellowship. After all, didn’t my kids understand what it took just to get us there that day?

But more realistically, I sometimes turned into “that” mom.

Spending half a period in the hallway with a crying, screaming child or peeling another child off my leg just to move on to the next hour is not uncommon. It doesn’t happen all the time, but it does occur. So, how can we prepare our hearts for the unexpected?

Maybe you have little ones who don’t nap well away from home—or like mine, not at all unless they’re at home. We need to acknowledge that. We can be prepared for tired kiddos and meltdowns, praying in advance and minute by minute for the grace needed to handle them.

Perhaps you have a child who is more “attached” or going through an attachment phase. How can you help with that? It might mean arriving 20 minutes early, as I have had to do before, to allow time for your little one to settle in more easily.

Processing through obstacles and preparing your heart for them in advance can help you set more realistic expectations.

TO HAVE stress-free homeschool co-op days, Prepare The Night Before

Yes, I said it. We all know it, but I’ll be the first to say that when I don’t, it’s all kinds of crazy around here. So please just do it.  I mean prepare everything you possibly can.

• Kid’s clothes, shoes, socks, jewelry, hair bows etc all laid out.
• Projects, materials, backpacks ( I had each one carry their own backpacks with anything they needed – even from 2 yrs and up ) all loaded in the car.
• I prepare my smoothie except for the frozen fruit, prepare the coffee, and have already made muffins earlier in the week as mine eat cereal/oatmeal then take a muffin/cereal bar on the way – yes… imagine my car and why I need to clean it more often than not.
• Have lunches and water bottles prepared beforehand.
• Diaper bag, with all supplies, loaded in the car.

The more we prepare the night before. The less stress there is in the morning and the faster we get out the door!

Know Your Layout

As good as our co-op was at making us feel welcome, it was still overwhelming at first. If you are new, take advantage of any new family orientations, tours, etc to familiarize yourself with the building and the classes. And yes, give yourself grace about getting into the routine of things.

If you are not new, most classes will change every semester so you still need to be able to keep track. At our co-op, we have name tags with class schedules and cleaning duties for each, but I also like to have a copy of the master schedule in case I need to find anyone. I always keep a copy on my phone. I also keep a master copy of just my kid’s daily schedules. Super easy and accessible. Of course good ‘ol paper and pen work too!

Keep Lunches Simple

So this is what works best for us. I do know some families who say it works well to bring leftovers and do lunch that way. That just doesn’t work for us. I really have to keep it simple. We are blessed to have microwaves at our co-op but we most often don’t use them. Even though there are a couple of them, that still means waiting our turn and dishes. Our lunch period goes by fast enough as it is!

Instead, we pack a lunch ahead of time for each one of us. Each child also has a water bottle that they keep track of. Most often we brown bag it, or if it’s been a crazy week they will get a Lunchable – love the convenience, but do not love the food – but hey, it’s a special day!  Most often for us, anything that can be refrigerated and eaten without plates or microwaves saves us time while we are there and serves its purpose.

Connect With A Few Moms

Unless your homeschool co-op is relatively small, you may feel a bit overwhelmed when you think of trying to connect with all or most of the Moms there. In our co-op, it is really not possible unless you are teaching and assisting together or can connect over lunch. Instead of letting it overwhelm you, be intentional and focus on making a few good connections.

If your group has a leadership team, DO try to connect with one or all of them. That’s what they are there for.  Leadership can pray for your family and handle any problems that arise throughout the day. They also can accurately answer any questions or find out the correct answer for you!

Try to make a few solid connections with other Moms. When I first joined our co-op, I joined for the kid’s benefit. I quickly realized that I was being blessed just as much or even more than the kids. It’s still amazing to me that I had the privilege of serving on our Homeschool Co-op Leadership Team for years! Your connections offer spiritual and mental support, prayer support, and possibly some of the sweetest friendships you can imagine!

End Your Day Well

This last tip sums up several of the ways mentioned above. First, set realistic expectations for the end of the day and evening. You and the kids will likely be tired and hungry. Always bring snacks, unless your kids don’t eat! By the end of the day, mine are always “starving,” and if I can have them fill their water bottles and offer them a snack on the way home, life suddenly becomes much better!

Our Homeschool Co-op meets on Fridays, which have become our Pizza and Movie nights. Every week, I don’t have to think about what to make for dinner or cook, other than a take-and-bake pizza. The kids watch a movie and decompress, and I enjoy a little bit of downtime… theoretically!

These are some things I’ve learned through our homeschool co-op journey.. I wish I had implemented them from the start, but I’m thankful we’ve experienced their benefits for years. Following these basic tips will help you reduce stress and enjoy your co-op days even more! What tips do you have for a stress-free co-op day or morning? Please share in the comments below!

Are looking for a FREE class to teach at your Homeschool Co-op?

Or are you a parent of a Tween? If you want to teach them how to grow deeper roots in the Bible, why not sign up for our FREE 10-week Fruits of the Spirit e-course?

Click here for more info