Semester Review - HU Co-op

The school year is more than half over, so I suppose it's a good time to review how it's working so far. 

With Aubree's co-op last year, we started out honeymoon perfect, hit some bumpy patches in the middle of the year, and ended strong. This year, the bumpy part came right at the beginning. In retrospect, I think that's primarily a result of those of us who continued from last year subconsciously expecting co-op to look and feel the same as it did the previous year. When it was naturally different, it took some adjusting.

We also didn't do as good of a job as we could/should have at explaining the vision and expectations of our co-op to the incoming families. Once we all got on the same page, everything started working so much more smoothly.

I recently asked Aubree and another co-op friend, Zariah, to compare the two years, for good and bad. I was pleasantly surprised to hear them say that this year they feel like all the students get along better and are more united. That's especially impressive since we have a broader mix of ages and grades this year. Last year we had 7 boys and 4 girls. This year the ratios are reversed. Aubree and Zariah believe that the boys and girls interact more this year. Maybe that's because the boys are outnumbered?

Co-op classes are going well. One highlight was when they dissected frogs in science. Aubree was completely disgusted about the very idea of the dissection, but she did it! That's one of the things I love about co-op; I'm 95% sure that if we were homeschooling on our own I never would have followed through with a frog dissection lab!

 

I'm really loving teaching Shakespeare to these kids. So far we've studied A Midsummer Night's Dream and Twelfth Night, and are just getting started with Much Ado About Nothing. We've done a lot of fun activities and I am so impressed with how well they're understanding the stories and conversing about the characters, themes, and plots.

At the end of the semester we had a co-op potluck. After dinner, the students had a chance to show off some of the things they've learned in their various classes. I required all of my students to perform or recite some passages from Shakespeare. Aubree, Audrey, Ryan, and Dallin performed what we lovingly call the "Helena/Hermia cat-fight" scene. They did a great job! It was hilarious. Aubree was upset I didn't record it, but at least I got a good picture.

In addition to performing Shakespeare, they also shared some of the poems they've written in writing class, displayed their art projects, and sang the songs they learned the first semester in choir. 

The girls all loved their choir class. Every time they got in the car for carpool they would spend the whole trip singing together. They sounded great! For the second semester, choir class has been switched out for PE.

We haven't planned as many outside class field trips or activities this year (that's probably my fault), but the kids have figured out plenty of ways to build in fun to their school days. They planned a spirit week, have birthday parties, and never miss an opportunity to celebrate a holiday.

Aubree is still loving co-op and I am so grateful she has this fantastic opportunity. She is surrounded by such good friends and parent teachers!