We all know how much work it is to get through a full curriculum, especially with multiple children. It's hard to stay motivated throughout the year, stay focused each day, help each child individually, be there for the toddlers and babies, not to mention just keeping up with laundry, cooking, and other household duties. So, why would you want to add to all that by having to complete co-op work throughout the week? You wouldn't. That would defeat the purpose of the co-op, which is to help homeschooling families. Not make more work for them. So, does that mean you shouldn't join the co-op if you are already using a full curriculum at home? Not at all. In fact, most of the families who are a part of Sancta Familia Homeschool Cooperative are already doing their own thing at home, but find that our co-op provides ample opportunities to learn and do things that they can't do at home.
Sancta Familia could be a full curriculum in and of itself, if you so choose. The Classically Catholic Memory book that we use can easily become the "backbone" of your school work, leading you to many learning opportunities. Which is one of the reasons why we've stayed with this program. We wanted mothers to be able to take what their children were learning at the co-op, and build off of it for the rest of the week at home. On the flip side, most of the books used at co-op are not required and the co-op can become an extracurricular activity for your children. To exemplify, let's walk through a typical day at Sancta Familia and see how it would work for a family who is already using a curriculum at home.
9:30-10:00 All families gather together for prayer and then we all go over the CCM memory work for that week. Feel free to work on this at home if you have extra time. You could listen to it in the car, while you're cooking dinner, before the kids go to sleep, etc. It doesn't take much time and you'll be amazed at how much the kids learn just from memory work. (It's also really impressive when Grandma comes over or Dad comes home from work and your 5 year old can tell them that "Civilization began in the Fertile Crescent. The land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers was called Mesopotamia. The Sumerians, from the southern part of Mesopotamia, developed the first written language called cuneiform".)
10:00-2:30 All other subjects are covered with lunch in between.
Science- projects are done at the co-op and no other work is required from home. ( I don't know about you, but science projects have always been one of those things that I really want my kids to experience at home, but never get around to. No more feeling guilty about it!)
Music- done at co-op and no other work is required at home. (Another one of those subjects that we never seem to get to at home.)
History/Geography- projects will be done at the co-op. The oldest class will have written homework assignments in this class, but that is because we have found that many kids this age are lacking in their ability to write papers. It's our hope that by having someone other than mom assign them, the children will be more motivated to complete their writing assignments.
English- Grammar, copy-work, narration, dictation and composition will be done at the co-op, along with a study on Latin root words. More work can be completed at home but if your child is already using a Language Arts course at home, you do not need to complete any more work for the co-op. (And I don't think it will be anything but beneficial for your child to have an extra 30 minutes of English each week!)
Religion- follow the Liturgical year together, learn about the Saints, and learn about the Apostle's Creed. As Catholic families, we should be teaching our children to live and breathe their faith. It's so wonderful for them to be able to share this with their friends while at co-op.
Art- projects will be done in class and no other work is required at home. (You won't have to do a single art project at home and your children will still complete 18 projects and learn about 18 artists within the school year!)
2:30- Ending prayer, clean-up and recess (In my opinion, the best part of being in a co-op is watching your children make new friends! Besides being able to socialize during lunch, families are welcome to stay after ending prayers to play outside on the playground. Moms enjoy socializing, too.) :)
And don't forget about preschool! I was so upset that I couldn't give my younger children the same preschool experience that I gave my older children. But now, being part of a co-op has given my younger children the chance to have that experience (even if it is only one day a week...). :)
So, as you can see, Sancta Familia Homeschool Cooperative can work for families who are looking for a full-curriculum or for families who just need help getting the "extras" done.
