Planning Our Homeschool Pod
We are now going into our FIFTH year homeschooling and we have never been part of a pod or homeschool group (minus our book club) but this year we will trying something different! At the MMA gym we attend, there are a lot of homeschoolers that we have grown close too. They range in age from five to twelve and all have different interest. Some are in a charter and others are not. It is quite a group!
One of the moms mentions that she wanted to get the kids together and start a pod or something like that. Nothing that really followed the school classes but something on a variety of topics. Well, ahem, I kind of latched on to the idea and ran with it. So, we started this month. I wanted to give a quick breakdown of how WE started and broke down the responsibilities. I do not think there is a real “right way” to start a pod but this will give you an idea if you have any desire to start your own one day.
Questions to ponder:
Who do you want to spend time with? The community is just as important as the topics you teach. Do the kids get along? Are you going to only have kids you know or open it to the public. We choose to keep it small and only the kids we knew personally.
Are you going to break into small groups or stay as one larger group with all ages learning the exact same things? If you break into smaller groups this will take more parent participation…..
is one parent going to run the pod or will it be more of a co-op where the parents are required to pitch in for the teaching? Or will you have one main parent who runs things and then delicates? (That’s seems to be what has worked for us so far, one person is delegating to the others.)
How do you pick topics? Or are you going to follow o curriculum? We didn’t want to follow a curriculum because we all already do that! We decided it was a fun idea to have topic based learning so that the kids could have a say in what they learn. I personally consider this an “elective” in my brain.
Why do you want to start a pod? This may sounds silly, but set your expectations based on what you start the pod for. Is it mainly for social time? Then may be have a lighter topic or just do crafts or something similar (think how fun a cooking class would be!). For me, I want to encourage working together and learning alongside each other. As an only child, D does not always understand how to not get distracted while working. This is my MAIN goal…. Learn to learn around others!
After we settled on the basics, we sat down and choose the first two broad topics and the main ideas we wanted to study during the four classes we would be meeting. We had to be very selective because this is just an overview and not a detailed class.
Once we had the main topics we wanted to discuss, I found a few books that would fit each topic. I also searched for YouTube videos. I didn’t want to assign homework that is mandatory but have some assignments that can be done to expand the learning for the kids who are super dedicated or interested in each topic.
I created a “syllabus” to follow mainly for my own peace of mind. On this I included notes about what the “older kids” would be doing specifically. They are the one I am focusing on teaching as I have a fifth grade…. And I also expect my kid to do the assignments! Lol, I am sure I am the fun mom on this group!
At the end of each month, I will be sharing what we studied that month, pictures from our activities and any tips or cool facts we came across. I am excited for this new adventure, but I am also a bit nervous…. I have never taught kids that weren’t my own!
Up first, we are studying Jets and Planes; how they are different, the basic anatomy of each, a brief history and how aircraft (specifically jets) have affected how the world fights in war! Check back at the end of the month for a full review!