Creative Kids Co-operative is just that, a co-operative. What does that mean for each family that joins our co-op? It means, primarily, that we all share the work load to make our co-op run smoothly and successfully.

So what does that look like in reality? We begin the Friday after Labor Day in September and run for 13 weeks. We break for Christmas and start up again early January and run for 13 more weeks. There are breaks for Thanksgiving and Easter. We begin with a time of announcements for parents and children from 8:45-9:00 a.m. The children are released to their classes and we end at 12p.m.

Our co-op does not focus on the “3-Rs.” Our families teach academics at home and come to co-op for enrichment and social opportunities. Expect your students kindergarten and older to have classes in art, music and gym each year. Age-appropriate classes in the categories of science and social studies are also included but most are not intended to be comprehensive. Those ages will have 3-4 classes per semester. Preschoolers stay with the same teacher all morning. Three year-olds have a different, fun theme each Friday and four year-olds focus on a different letter each Friday. Classes that we offer may change from year to year. Every two years, we produce a musical performance.

A parent from each family is expected to teach 1-2 classes, hopefully in an area of their interest. In addition, they may assist in 1-2 classes. This fluctuates from year to year depending on the number of families in the co-op. There is curriculum for almost all the classes or at least some materials to point you in the right direction. Unless requested otherwise, we try to block your teaching time into either the fall or spring semester. In the semester that you do not having teaching responsibilities, you will probably be scheduled in the nursery a few days.

A parent from each family takes a turn for about 4 weeks cleaning at the end of the co-op day. This takes about 1 hour to complete the cleaning and childcare is provided by one mother on the cleaning team. There are various responsibilities shared among the parents to make co-op run smoothly. For example: scheduling field trips, overseeing a fundraiser, overseeing the supplies, etc. We try very hard to make the work load equal for each family.

We do provide nursery care for children under 3 years old for when a parent is teaching. We strongly prefer that parents not have their younger children/infants along while they are teaching. It can be distracting and not facilitate a good learning environment for the children in the class when younger babies/toddlers are in the room.

Traditionally, mothers have been the parent fulfilling the family’s responsibilities at co-op, but we welcome the fathers who are available on Friday mornings. We strive to place fathers in appropriate roles that best suit their unique talents and gifts, so please let us know if dad will be teaching.

This is just an overview, but if you see something you do not understand or needs clarification to help you decide if this is the co-op for you, please just ask. Always glad to share about our wonderful co-op!