Is a homeschool co-op right for you? It is hard to know until you find one in your area and see if it is a good fit. Not every group is a good fit so don’t feel bad or worry that something is wrong with you because you didn’t fit in or enjoy it. Some co-ops have rules that you may not want to follow such as having to teach a course or watching children during an adult meeting. There are different types of co-ops and it will be important to chose the one right for you.
Mom Group: A mom group will focus more on support and encouragement for moms. Kids will be watched by a member or paid personal. The group normally does not have classes for the kids. If you are looking for play time for the kids and adult time for you then perhaps this will fit.
Kid Group: A group that focuses on getting the kids together for activities while mom interaction is incidental. The children get a chance to do activities and make friends while moms are there for support and interact with each other as a secondary effect.
Family Group: A group that includes mom, dad, and kids. Will incorporate all the aspects of mom and kid groups but together. So while kids are engaged in an activity the parents are having a meeting or listening to a guest speaker.
Educational Group: A group that focuses on having classes such as math, science, history, or literature for the kids who are divided into age groups. Parents either stay or drop off kids.
Field Trip Group: A group that gets together for field trips and does not engage in regular meetings. You sign up for the field trips that interest you. Most groups will have a field trip or several planned but a group like this will simply do field trips.