We had our first homeschool co-op day yesterday. What a great experience! Captain Science took classes in martial arts, chess, math club, and filmmaking. I taught a creative writing class and Officer Daddyman taught martial arts.
I was initially worried about how my class would go. I’ve never taught creative writing to children before. Officer Daddyman told me not to worry about it, because these are “my people” and I’ll probably go in and be “queen of the homeschoolers.” They were certainly my people, and the kids seemed to enjoy the class a lot. I have to admit that I have more in common with kids (and parents) like these than I ever had in any other school environment, including private, Montessori, and public schools. The parents are a lot more like me. The kids are like my kids. It’s not at all cliquish like I’ve experienced elsewhere. So nice!
I’m impressed by the talent of some of these children. They already express themselves so well on the page. I think we can get some great material out of them during this class. If I get their permission, I’ll even share some of their work here (names removed, of course).
Our first class was “Show, Don’t Tell,” a common trope of writing. The kids all drew a feeling or experience (“I’m hot” or “I’m sad,” for example) from an envelope and then wrote a short paragraph expressing that feeling without saying the actual word. They all understood the concept right away and many of them came up with great ways to show what they were feeling.
I wouldn’t say I wish we could do the co-op more days a week, because it was a long and exhausting day, but I’m really looking forward to continuing. Captain Science is, too! He played the role of “dead body” in their first film and was so proud of himself.
That sounds like a fabulous day!