It seems like most people use co ops, charter schools, on line schools, public school independent study, etc. We don't use any of these and are completely independent and am wondering if there are others out there like us.
We are independent. It works very well for us. I'd love to be part of a group for field trips or park days. I'm not interested in co-ops at this point other than maybe a PE class. I have no interest in being part of a charter/online/or public school at home program.
We're independent as far as school work. We do have a homeschool group that we do fun stuff with - play days, field trips, special event days, etc.
We were independent last year. This year we are with a charter school, but do only home study. Being independent was just fine with us, but we eventually ran into a problem. My son wanted to play Pop Warner Football. Pop Warner required a report card from an "accredited" governing body. They did let him play anyway, but insisted that we get with a school if he wanted to play the following year. We chose Julian Charter and we love it. They send us curriculum for free and work with us. My 4th grader is a year ahead and my 5 year old is at a second grade level.
We have always been an independent homeschool family. We never did any co-ops, distance learning, or any online classes. The only outside classes my family has ever done is Cathecism at our Catholic church & I never considered that to be academic.
we are completely independent and have been thus far in our journey. At some point I will reconsider joining the local co-op at least for the field trips but for now we like being independent.
We were independent for several years and liked it. We are in a charter now but I will be going back to independent for my youngest next year. The older two will stay in the charter because they offer classes that I cannot get them into otherwise (such as Occupational training).
I have been 100% independent since day one.. 7 years ago! There are no coops or groups around here, we have never done anything as a group beyond joining a virtual Oregon Trail our first year (then they closed it to homeschoolers). Oh and if there were groups here, we would still most likely stay on our own. I'm a very independent person and couldn't imagine people "intruding" into our homeschooling lives. ETA.. that is now completely unlocked! Anyone can use it, though it seems they no longer do big online discussions weekly. http://www.cyberbee.com/wwho/index.html
We are independent. We do use online curriculum, but we don't report to them. It works for us. Sometimes I wish could get the kids into a co-op classes, but then I really don't.
We were completely independent for 13 of 15 years. One of those years we did Connections Academy and then this year and last year we are in a program through our local school district. All those other years though we never were part of a homeschool group or co-op or anything.
We have also been mostly independent for the past 5 years, with the exception of a field trip, one year of homeschool swim & gym at the YMCA, and some brief part-time preschool for my youngest (more of a break for MOM than anything). There was one year we had a semester of co-op, but I really would still consider ourselves independent while going because it was only twice a month. I hope to do the co-op next year, more for the social aspects than anything.
I also consider myself 100% independent, even though we belong to a co-op. The co-op offers various classes, but it's up to me what (if) i want the kids signed up for. And even the science labs, I am still responsible for their learning the book and taking the tests. That isn't done in class.
We are not part of any co-op, or government funded program, but we still go with different friends on fieldtrips. My daughter loves sharing what she reads and writes. She and her friends put together their own group to discuss books and writing projects. Together they critique books. It is her choice, not assigned work. I use other resources, from books to people, to enrich my daughter's education. It is because I AM an "independent" homeschooler that I can make her education work for her. It is the freedom to make the choices I make that makes me independent, not the void of groups or co-ops. With that said, I do not care for groups or co-ops, usually. :lol: This isn't to say I wouldn't join one if the right one came along. I do not believe Em's education would be as enriching if we did not have the freedom to go where we want, or use what we want. This is why a government funded program would not work for us. It is too stuctured and somewhat minimizes a child's individuality. I am not knocking groups, co-ops, or even government funded programs. If academics is what a parent is looking at, then it might just do the trick. Again, it is a lifestyle in our home.
We were independent the five years we homeschooled. We don't live in an area with a lot to offer homeschoolers.
We attend a biweekly coop - but still consider myself independent. The Coop does not dictate my curricula....except for what's used at coop.
We are independent. We do sometimes attend programs for homeschoolers or go on field trips with other homeschool families, but we are not part of anything formal.
We are. I would actually love a co-op for some enrichment classes, but the one here doesn't have anything we've been interested in. I'd love a group to do field trips with, too. When my kids were younger and we lived in a different state, we did participate in a co-op. it served us well at the time, but the last year we participated, it was becoming less of a benefit and more of just something else we did.
We are independent.. We did a co-op that was every friday for 2 hours last year but that didnt last long.. We had to drive over 2 hours to get to it and the cost of gas was killing us.. We have a small homeschool group here, but don't go to it often.. The kids are all much younger than ours with the exception of a very few.. They are however starting a fitness group that my girls are interested in so we may start doing that.. The first meeting is this Thursday.. We will check it out and see if we want to continue with it.. It might help keep me on track with my new "Healthy Habits" as well...