Creative Kids Co-op has been meeting every Friday morning for more than two decades. In 1993, two moms, Mrs. Jane Fowler and Mrs. Teresa Patton, began the program, not knowing how large the co-op would become in the future.

Mrs. Fowler and Mrs. Patton had been homeschooling together for some time already. Each week, one mom would teach both children for two days. The other two days, they taught their own kids. Mrs. Fowler and and Mrs. Patton wanted their children, Anne Fowler and David Patton, to be in a group setting one day a week with other kids their age. Both Mrs. Fowler and Mrs. Patton had experience teaching, so they decided to begin a homeschool co-op together.

When they first started CKC, they didn’t have much curriculum. They mostly visited the library for ideas. As the co-op began to grow, and more moms got on board, Mrs. Fowler and Mrs. Patton visited similar homeschool co-ops in Richmond and Florida for advice.

In the first year of Creative Kids Co-op, there were only ten children participating. They met every Friday morning at the Cornerstone Church in Bridgewater, which is now a Russian Baptist church. Students made crafts, played games, and put on plays.

When asked what long-term benefits the co-op provided, Jane Fowler said, “My children and I made life-long friends.  We were able to travel as a family and with friends.  My daughter was able to study multiple languages and went on to major in French and Latin in college.”

by L.H., seventh grade CKC student

On April 22, 2016, the third through eighth graders performed a new musical ‘Messages for Refugees,’ written by A. C., a homeschooling mom at CKC. The play scenes took place in both Harrisonburg, Virginia and Greece.

On one side of the stage attendees watched while a girl named Kara, played by K. S., broke her leg participating in an obstacle course during P.E.class at her co-op. After being taken to the hospital, the doctors diagnosed her with bone cancer, which explained why her leg broke so easily. Although unaware of it, while Kara stayed in the hospital, she was visited several times by an angel. Gabby, played by E. M., brought hope to Kara in her tough situation as a ‘refugee’ and the true love of Jesus was slowly revealed to her, along with Gabby’s true identity.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the stage, a young boy named Aylan, played by C. S., fled his home and escaped to Greece as a refugee, seeking safety from persecution. Gabby also appeared to him several times and brought the same comfort to Aylan during his struggles.

The songs sung by the choir were “In The Palm of His Hand,” “All to Jesus I Surrender,” “Lord, Help us be Your Children,” and “There is No One Like My Jesus.”

The four directors, A. C., A. H., A.M. T., and J. E. put an unbelievable amount of hard work into this production. Thanks to their effort the musical was an amazing success.

Also a special thanks to those who worked backstage with props and costumes. We couldn’t have performed without you.

by M.E., eighth grade CKC student

Some people think that there are no options for homeschoolers to participate in sports. However, both Cornerstone Christian School and Blue Ridge Christian School have opened up their sports to homeschoolers.

This past season several people within this co-op have played sports for Cornerstone. The privilege to be on the teams was opened to homeschoolers because in the previous year there were simply not enough people who wanted to play soccer to have a team, so  they decided to let homeschoolers play their sports. These include soccer, basketball, and volleyball. Also this Spring, Cornerstone is letting homeschoolers participate in middle school track.

by C.H., eighth grade CKC student

On March the fifteenth, there was a co-op field trip to Hatch 3D. Hatch 3D is a small business on West Market street that does 3D prints. In 3D printing, a computer reads a digital file and sends commands to the printer based on that. The printer then melts the material that is going to be used, most often plastic, and cools it in the pattern determined by the computer. This is done by the bottom up, so there can be extreme details inside and out. One example of this detail is a rook they had on display. It was shaped normally on the outside, but with windows. On the inside, however, there were stairs, and these stairs were forming a double helix. This is one of the ways 3D printing is superior to traditional crafting methods. In the future, the printers will be able to use anything that can be melted, such as chocolate.

by C.H., eighth grade CKC student

Learn more about Hatch 3D at hatch3dva.com.

One more place to find these songs:

• In the Palm of His Hand
• Lord, Help Us Be Your Children
• All to Jesus I Surrender
• There is No One Like My Jesus

Keep practicing!

Last semester in Creative Kids Co-op, Mrs. S led the seventh grade in another successful puppets class.

Each marionette started out as only a block of wood for the torso and limbs. The students received screws for the joints as well as clay for the hands, feet, and head. They molded, carved, and painted with the tools given and created one of a kind pieces of art. Fake hair and accessories were then added and glued. Mrs. S also sewed all the clothes by hand and strung each puppet individually at the end of the semester.

Two very popular themes this year were The Hobbit and Five Nights at Freddy’s. A few other puppet characters included Doctor Who, a horse, and Gimli from Lord of the Rings. Everyone enjoyed themselves participating in this class.

Sadly, this was Mrs. S’s last time teaching an art class at CKC. We all will miss her very much and thank her for being a part of our homeschooling experience.

This semester the sixth graders have a building class. It is new to co-op and has so far been a success. The sixth graders can learn about architecture, how to work together, and how to improve their skills. It is a great new addition to co-op.

Every week their teacher, Mrs. E, gives them new challenges to work on. Some of these   include: building a structure to hold a softball, the tallest and widest cup structure, and building planes.

The class splits into four or five groups for their challenges. Each group gets the same amount of supplies to build with. Some things they have used are mailing labels, straws, popsicle sticks, and paper. The teams have between five to ten minutes to complete their project. After time is up, each group shows their creation to their classmates. They tell how they came up with the idea and everyone can give input on how they could make it work more effectively.

The students are really enjoying this class and it is very interesting to hear about their challenges each week. The building class is a great way to learn more about trial and error and how to improve their abilities.

by E. M., eighth grade CKC student

From January 22nd -24th of 2016, a massive snow storm hit the Mid-Atlantic and Northwest United States hurdling three feet of icy snow into our midst. According to Wikipedia, the blizzard, which was named Jonas, cancelled thirteen thousand flights, caused hundreds of car crashes, and killed fifty-five people.  Unlike public schoolers, many homeschoolers did not receive snow days.  Nevertheless, we had times for great adventures.

M. E. and her family attempted to construct a beautiful igloo.  D.B. dug at least eight tunnels. Also, I think it is safe to say most of us went sledding.  All in all, Jonas cost our nation a lot, but in times of freezing weather and stinging winds, there is always hot cocoa!

by O. B., eighth grade student at CKC

We’ll meet on August 31 to review policies and give out schedules and curriculum. Also, IEW and Apologia teachers will meet with parents who have enrolled children in those classes. Fees for those classes should be paid that night. All teaching parents should attend this meeting!