Do I need these?
People who aren't familiar with homeschooling or are new at it, can not fully understand what we do. Although there are several ways homeschool moms teach their children and choose the style of schooling that fits their family, kids are always learning everyday. One of the first assumptions is that we are home with our kids all day long, everyday of the week. There are some homeschool families that choose that approach. From from my experience, that's not the case at all for a lot of families here in my area. Our family does a collective variety of things. We do online and book curriculum, experiments, art projects, co-ops, classes in areas in SC & NC, field trips, social hang outs, park play dates, etc. There is not enough time in the day/week to get to everything so we just incorporate whatever is going on in our area with what we are studying that week here at home.
There are programs in and around the Midlands that offer year-long classes for homeschooling students. There are also co-ops that meet year round and some in 10 to 12 weeks a semester. Most of the co-ops are parent leaders deciding on the classes and either teach alone or with another mom to teach the class. The classes are usually small and less than 20 kids. Prices vary by which programs you choose.
The Benefits of Choice Programs
Our goal is to educate our children. We all do it in different ways and accommodate the learning style of each individual child. They do not all learn the same. Homeschooling isn't just about independence and nontraditional educational settings.
Programs like the ones listed here have many benefits to homeschooling our children. Maybe the parent want to add more socialization, or doesn't feel confident in to teach or wants to supplement what they are already teaching. It gives the chance for both students and parents to build supportive friendships with peers, to explore academic and extracurricular areas, and to help get more resources and ideas for courses that may be too expensive for a family to pursue alone. Sometimes our kids can go through a rough patch and get bored, so in our family we choose to mix it up some and come back to what we are doing and take a break to help keep our sanity in the home. We are required to get in 180 school days a year, but that doesn't mean every single day has to be book work. All your classes, co-ops, and field trips count towards your 180 days of schooling.
- Co-op Classes (Cooperatives) are usually fun, interactive group learning opportunities led by parent volunteers.
- Resource Centers are often more academically challenging subjects led by a qualified instructor for a fee.
**Chapin Academy, Columbia/Chapin Grades k4-8th grade. Email: admin@chapinacademy.com Contact: Shawn Hammond 803-400-8284 or Rebecca Davis 803-566-2933
**Classical Conversations, various locations across the state
Irmo, Lake Murray CC- https://members.classicalconversations.com/community-info/2206/Irmo/SC
**Excelsior Academy, Irmo
The Academy classes are ages 4-13. Contact: Ashlee Vickery
**FLEET Co-op, Columbia Faith, Learning, Educational, Experience, Together (FLEET) Academy meets in Columbia, SC. Christian co-op geared towards middle and high school age homeschooled students.
**Grounded Co-op Academy, Columbia Meets at Riverland Hills Baptist Church on Thursdays. It's courses are for K5-9th. Contact: Kaitlin Tew email: kaitlin@riverlandhills.org or call: 772.3227
**Lexington Homeschool Co-op, Lexington/Columbia Meets at Red Bank Baptist Church for classes on Mondays. Contact: Laurie Lamb
**Principia, Columbia This is a resource center for homeschool families for students in grades 7-12. Contact Form
**REACH Co-op classes, Newberry, NorthEast Columbia/Blythewood, West Columbia Must join REACH support group Contact: reach@reachgroup.org
**SC G.E.E.K.S., Columbia https://www.facebook.com/groups/scgeeks/ This co-op started in 2018 and is a secular based learning. Contact: Kendria Clark
