Sometimes, homeschoolers want to look at educational options beyond traditional homeschooling that will provide some additional social and academic support to their children.
Homeschool co-ops are a common option in which parents band together to provide classes and activities for a group of children. They may be informal arrangements of two or more families gathering at a home or at a park or they may be structured organizations with a large number of families meeting at a church hall or other public place. With co-ops, parents are often required to be involved in some way through teaching or other help. Drop-offs of students may or may not be allowed depending on the circumstances.
Microschools are another option. These are often drop-off programs with a teacher or set of teachers who provide coursework and instruction to a small group of students. These can sometimes be hybrid homeschool programs where students are registered as homeschoolers, attend two to three days a week, and then complete work at home on the other days. They may also be full five-day-a-week programs that employ alternative methods of education different from what one might find in a traditional public or private school. Some of these schools may charge tuition, although it is often less than that of private schools.
Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling by Kerry McDonald is a secular book written for parents who want their children to either attend or begin an alternative school and entrepreneurs (who are often homeschool parents or former traditional educators) who may wish to begin such institutions. This is a practical guide that looks at many of the issues involved in either choosing to attend or begin such programs, including exploring various educational philosophies, determining a goal, assessing learning outcomes, dealing with local regulations, and finding funding.
Joyful Learning: How to Find Freedom, Happiness, and Success Beyond Conventional Schooling is a useful book for anyone interested in learning more about alternative education models.
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