Thanks for sharing - I love your coop ideas - I definitely thought a coop had to be more complex and comprehensive but starting one around a specific subject or interest seems like a great way to do it.
My kids are not easily able to connect in group settings so this has been a big challenge for us. I recently started a meetup for a small group of boys who are looking for friends but haven’t found many connections. We meet up and play or make things for a couple of hours twice a month. I don’t know if it is working for my kid but it has been nice to make a few connections with other parents and see some of the kids connecting, too.
Yes, that’s a great point. In some places parent organized co-ops are big all day things with multiple classes and parents teaching. We don’t have as many of those in Colorado because we have one day a week Options programs, which are similar, but run and funded through public schools (but stand alone programs in their own buildings or a rented space). My daughter attends one that is all enrichment fun classes, like theatre and making slime. There’s even a Waldorf Options program.
I wish we had more of those kinds of co-ops though because they would make for easier parent and thus family connections. Though two of my kids would be unlikely to be interested at this point anyway.
One of my kids in particular prefers one on one get togethers with friends. Lately none of my efforts for group things for them have worked, even something like a Pokémon Go meetup which I thought would be a hit. Different kinds of socializing for different seasons I guess!
Thanks for sharing your experiences Marni, we have been organising an art and nature group for nearly 2 years now but are now on that cusp of some of the older children wanting something different so I’m super keen to hear about groups more geared towards teens and tweens.
Thanks for the encouragement! It helps. Haha. I'm working on it, it feels so much more complicated to talk about teen and tween dynamics, and there's so much variety!
I co-ordinate an early years (0-10) outdoor adventure "co-op" in our local area. It is unstructured and the focus is on the parents connecting, allowing kids to play freely and explore in nature each week. Parents are invited to get together between terms at a local cafe (for coffee and brunch child free) to plan the following terms meet up locations. In the warmer months we focus on beaches and water play and in the cooler months on bush walks and green spaces. Meeting outdoors in public spaces makes for a very relaxed get together, people don't feel obliged to come every week or arrive at an exact time and no money exchanges hands so no one is ever out of pocket.
I prefer to join instead of organize. Thankfully we have a weekly park meet up with kids from 2-14. We’re trying a co-op next year where you pay per class - just one day a week.
It’s a lot harder to find community for everyone with such a wide age spread (14-5). Maintaining everyone’s community things is super challenging!
We are in a similar place in terms of age spread, 7-14. It’s so much more challenging than it used to be when everyone was happy to roll up to a park or woods with a few friends! Thanks for sharing.
Thanks for sharing - I love your coop ideas - I definitely thought a coop had to be more complex and comprehensive but starting one around a specific subject or interest seems like a great way to do it.
My kids are not easily able to connect in group settings so this has been a big challenge for us. I recently started a meetup for a small group of boys who are looking for friends but haven’t found many connections. We meet up and play or make things for a couple of hours twice a month. I don’t know if it is working for my kid but it has been nice to make a few connections with other parents and see some of the kids connecting, too.
Yes, that’s a great point. In some places parent organized co-ops are big all day things with multiple classes and parents teaching. We don’t have as many of those in Colorado because we have one day a week Options programs, which are similar, but run and funded through public schools (but stand alone programs in their own buildings or a rented space). My daughter attends one that is all enrichment fun classes, like theatre and making slime. There’s even a Waldorf Options program.
I wish we had more of those kinds of co-ops though because they would make for easier parent and thus family connections. Though two of my kids would be unlikely to be interested at this point anyway.
One of my kids in particular prefers one on one get togethers with friends. Lately none of my efforts for group things for them have worked, even something like a Pokémon Go meetup which I thought would be a hit. Different kinds of socializing for different seasons I guess!
Thanks for sharing your experiences Marni, we have been organising an art and nature group for nearly 2 years now but are now on that cusp of some of the older children wanting something different so I’m super keen to hear about groups more geared towards teens and tweens.
Thanks for the encouragement! It helps. Haha. I'm working on it, it feels so much more complicated to talk about teen and tween dynamics, and there's so much variety!
I’ve actually done some organizing too, but too much to put here so I’ll write about it and link to both you and Fran.
These are really important conversations worth having! A lot of folks have such a hard time finding their place.
I love all of those ideas! And I’m glad you liked my article.
We may be starting a coop very soon ourselves.
Thanks for reading and sharing!
I co-ordinate an early years (0-10) outdoor adventure "co-op" in our local area. It is unstructured and the focus is on the parents connecting, allowing kids to play freely and explore in nature each week. Parents are invited to get together between terms at a local cafe (for coffee and brunch child free) to plan the following terms meet up locations. In the warmer months we focus on beaches and water play and in the cooler months on bush walks and green spaces. Meeting outdoors in public spaces makes for a very relaxed get together, people don't feel obliged to come every week or arrive at an exact time and no money exchanges hands so no one is ever out of pocket.
This is great Marni, thanks for sharing your thoughts!!
I prefer to join instead of organize. Thankfully we have a weekly park meet up with kids from 2-14. We’re trying a co-op next year where you pay per class - just one day a week.
It’s a lot harder to find community for everyone with such a wide age spread (14-5). Maintaining everyone’s community things is super challenging!
We are in a similar place in terms of age spread, 7-14. It’s so much more challenging than it used to be when everyone was happy to roll up to a park or woods with a few friends! Thanks for sharing.