I signed up to teach an Introduction to Spanish co-op for elementary to middle schoolers. I was expecting 5-10 kids to sign up, but I got 20! The ages range from kindergarteners to 8th grade. I've never taught a co-op before, and this is only going to be my second year homeschooling. Now I'm wondering if I bit off more than I can chew? I do have a basic lesson plan made, and I have most of the handouts for the first class typed up, but it seems like such a daunting task. Has anyone else taught a large co-op before? Any adivice?
Don't co-ops usually have parents there helping? Can you delegate certain tasks to 1-2 parent helpers if needed?
Yes, there will be other parents there, especially helping out the younger kids. But if they don't speak Spanish (which I don't think many, if any of them do) then there's not that much they can do. Mostly the class is going to consist of Me teaching the kids how to pronounce letters, numbers, vocabulary words, and then conversational phrases. There will also be some worksheets and games, like bingo and matching pairs. For the younger kids, there will be coloring and cut and paste stuff while the older kids do worksheets. Does that sound boring?
Wow. In our co-op if there is a class with more than 14 kids we have a co-teacher. Required. Also, that is a HUGE age range of kids. Teaching K-3rd graders beginning Spanish is very different than teaching 6th-8th graders. Yes, they all need to learn the colors, numbers, etc- but with older kids you can use more conversation and vocabulary I would think. I would bring up your concerns with the directors, they may already have seen the same thing on the schedule. You really don't want to stress and burnout at co-op, as that will spill over into your schooling at home as well. Just my two cents. MT3
I know with my past coop we really had a hard time finding moms that would teach actual academics. Its seems like they love the class you are offering. I personally since you are signed up to do the class. I would probably split the ages K-4 and 5- 8. The younger just aren't going to learn as fast or the same level as the older student. Did you set a age requirement or were expecting the large age differences? Anyway to have all the student happy. I would present a small lesson for the younger kids and then let (hopefully) a parent helper let them color or practice the alphabet or vocabulary. Then you can continue with more information for the older kids. If you don't have any help then i would do the buddy system and have a older student with a younger student. I have taught in coop with large age ranges. It can be done but you need to expect the younger kids will get bored fast so have a backup coloring pages or something. Good Luck!
Oops. We were posting at the same time. It sounds like you have a plan, but I still might bring it up with the directors. You could also use the opportunity to teach the older kids more phrases, etc, and have them "help" the youngers. MT3
In our co-op we would never have such a wide age range in the class. I really think it needs to be split if possible. Another thought is to group them into small groups of about 4 kids each. Make sure there is a parent helper for each group. This would help minimize any classroom management issues you might have. I would also have coloring sheets (younger kids)or worksheets(for the older kids) that the groups could work on. How long is your class?
The class is one hour long. I originally intended it to be for elementary and middle school. Since it's just an introduction to Spanish, I'm not getting too far into grammar or verb conjugations or accents or anything like that. I figured the age differences wouldn't matter that much, since it's just the alphabet and it's proper pronunciation, numbers, colors, basic vocabulary words, and finally, some basic conversational phrases. Normally, the co-ops don't have such a wide range of ages, but the moms of the youngest kids will be sticking around to help them. I was talking to one of the group's steering comitee members, and she told me not to worry about it. She said it will be fine, and that no one is expecting me to be a college professor (lol). She's going to be there at the class with her DS. If the younger kids only pick up a few words, then they've learned something. I think I'm going to bring some modeling clay and cookie cutters for them when we do colors and shapes or something to keep their hands occupied while the rest of the kids do other activities. Well, it's my first attempt at teaching a co-op. If I fail miserably, then at least I'll have learned something!
