Making Friends and Memories

Haven’t blogged yet this week.
My focus has been elsewhere, Co-op in fact.
We are just about ready to finish out the first year. It has been an interesting journey.

A little more than a year ago I had this idea. I knew it would be good to start a home school cooperative for Little Man to be a part of. I had looked into a few in my area and I found that they all had very similar requirements. Some were down right so strict with their requirements that I felt I could never live up to expectations. Others required parents to sign a statement of faith.”Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1 Now, don’t get me wrong, I have faith. My faith is rooted in the Word. My Faith leads me to obedience in Christ. My faith demands that I stand for the truth and not buckle to pressure to fit in, even pressure to fit in to someone else’s version of faith. ” ⁴ There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling; ⁵ one Lord, one faith, one baptism; ⁶ one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. Ephesians 4:4. (Emphasis Mine) Yet in the society we live in we find many faith’s, many religions, many forms of truths. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6  That is why I will forever refuse to sign a statement of faith that I most likely wouldn’t agree to.

Since I refuse to sign such a waiver, I knew the only way to address this was to begin a co-op. I approached the eldership of the congregation that I serve and worship with and asked if I could use the building for such a purpose. After working out details with them they gave their approval. So I began researching how to go about starting such a venture. I invited mom’s to come and talk with me. I got really frustrated when it seemed that everyone wanted a co-op but no one wanted to help get it going. I was ready to throw in the towel, call it quits re-group for another year. Then last August, my family and I attended a church conference in the Smokey Mountains. One of the classes being offered was “How to Start a Homeschool Co-op.” I went in there thinking I’d get some ideas for the following school year. The 4 ladies leading the seminar said they started out with 3 familes and in 8 years grew to 22 families. I thought, well I surely can get 3 families together. So I returned home determined to start this thing. I prayed and prayed. He led and led.

I put out notice of a registration date and 10 families showed up, 8 registered and we got started. We have and hour of structured class, followed by an hour of structured activity. It has worked really well. We have fluctuated the number of registered families throughout the year. We currently have 12 families with 18 children.

Tomorrow night we will host an open house and awards night. Our students have invited grandparents and friends to come. They will perform a Choir song, show off school work and receive awards for various things they have done through the year both at home and in co-op. I have found the beauty of this thing. Throughout it all, I had no doubt that it would work. Oh, sure there have been ups and downs, stresses and elations. But in general I feel it has just simply flown from God’s grace into the lives of these families. I have been blessed by this co-op and Little Man is building lot’s of friendships and memories. That was my goal all along.