HEARTH Co-Op has moved to a referral-based membership system. If you do not know a member of HEARTH Co-Op, but would like to be considered for co-op membership, please fill out the form located HERE. If we choose to consider offering membership, we will contact you to set up an informal interview. Thanks for your interest in HEARTH!
Q: What is a homeschool Co-Op? A: A homeschool co-op is a co-operative effort between homeschooling parents to provide classes and opportunities for their children that might be otherwise difficult or too costly to provide at the family level. Each family is required to provide a parent to help with the co-op.
Q: What is special about HEARTH Co-Op? A: Plain and simple, our members! We are a group of caring and supportive families who are all there to bear one another's burdens and lift one another up in prayer. We strive to have a peace-filled, joyful co-op environment, and do what we can, in our own power, to avoid causing divisions among ourselves. When conflict arises, we expect all members to approach one another, as opposed to ignoring the problem, and we practice conflict resolution between parties with the expectation of the other person's good-intentions.
Q: Where can I see a list of the classes you are offering? A: Class offerings are no longer available to the general public. They are now sent to potential Co-Op members as a part of the application process.
Q: How much does Co-Op Cost? A: Each family will pay a family membership fee of $60. Discounts may be available for returning families and for new families who pay a non-refundable deposit before May 1- contact leadership for more details. In addition to the membership fee, co-op classes may have a materials fee associated with them. Classes with excessive material usage (such as crafts) may be more expensive. Please note class fees when selecting classes for your family.
Q: When are Co-op classes held? A: Co–op will meet on every other MONDAY from 9:30am-2:30pm. Please see the home page of this website for exact dates.
Q: How long are the classes? A: A typical co-op day would look like this: Opening Assembly: 9:30 1st Class: 10am-10:50 2nd Class: 11am-11:50 LUNCH 11:55pm-12:25 3rd Class: 12:30-1:20 4th Class: 1:30-2:30 (last 10 minutes reserved for cleaning the class rooms)
Q: Can my child select between more than one class for each class hour? A: Ideally, we would offer a choice of at least two classes (hopefully three) each class hour for each age group ages 6+ (younger children will all follow the same class progression throughout the co-op day.) Of course, in order to offer that many class choices, we will need enough teaching parents and assistants. That is why this remains the “ideal” as opposed to the “rule”.
Q: What about lunch? A: You may bring your lunch from home. Due to the brevity of our lunch period, we do not recommend attempts to leave the building for lunch. We also offer families the option of purchasing lunch from Bob's pizza, who makes a delivery to the Co-Op.
Q: Do I have to teach? A: Leadership is committed to having HEARTH be a "truly cooperative" endeavor. It is therefore expected that there will be parental involvement from each family participating in the co-op. We ask that every family commit an adult (18+) to be willing to teach at least one class. Though we ask every family to be willing to teach, Leadership may offer alternatives to teaching to fulfill parental participation in the co-op, such as working as an assistant in several classes throughout the day. You may propose a class that you would like to teach (preferred), or we may ask you to teach a certain class. If you need ideas of what kinds of classes to teach, Leadership is happy to assist you!
Q: I have more questions. Whom can I contact? A: Please do not hesitate to contact a member of Leadership if you have other questions or if you need clarification on any point of this FAQ. Leadership contact information is available under the "contact us" tab at the top of the page.