Adventures in Homeschooling (International Edition): co-op

When we decided we were definitely going to homeschool here in Nairobi, our next concern became how to plug into the homeschooling network here in Nairobi. Searching on the Internet for information about homeschooling in Nairobi yielded little results in the way of finding a homeschooling community. Mostly we found information about tutors who could come to your home to tutor/teach your children.

There was one predominant name that I kept seeing online. Mary Muriuki's name was in one article after another on issues dealing with homeschooling in Kenya. I knew she would be the person to reach out to for information regarding a network of families who were homeschooling in Nairobi. Try as I might, I could not find an email address, or Facebook page for her anywhere. It wasn't until we arrived in Kenya that my husband got a hold of her number and called her. From there things moved quickly. My husband spoke with several families who were homeschooling that very day!

We found out about a co-op group that was having their first meeting of the term on that Wednesday and another that met on other days during the week. We chose the co-op meeting on Wednesday's because of it's location. That Wednesday we went to the co-op. The kids loved it, we loved it, and we have been there ever since. The co-op itself does not have a Facebook page or website, but there is now a Facebook page for homeschooling families in Nairobi.

So....what is a co-op you ask. A homeschool co-op is a group of homeschooling families that in cooperation come together to provide social and educational activities for their kids. In our case we meet weekly. However a coop can meet twice per week, every two weeks, or even once per month. During this term the older children had a drama class, for which they prepared and performed a play, a Kenyan history class, a gym class, and a bible study class (optional). While the kindergartners and preschoolers have art, story time and gym. The classes may change a bit for next term.

There are many benefits of taking part in a co-op. First the children get to meet with other children regularly and in this way they are able to develop friendships. We parents also are able to socialize and develop friendships as well. Secondly, resources are pooled, so the cost is relatively low when considering the cost that these classes and activities would cost per individual family. Another benefit is having your child be taught by another adult other than yourself. Although we tailor our teaching styles to our children's needs, a major benefit of homeschooling, sometimes they may find someone else who teaches perfectly to their learning style, no tailoring needed!

Co op is currently finished for the term, but we will resume in January. The children have really enjoyed the coop experience and are looking forward to starting again in the new year!

Scene from the Christmas play

Another Scene (the children painted the backdrop and made some of the props)

Gym class for the middle grades led by Ambassadors Sports

Today some of the children of our co-op visited Amani Primary School in Riruta. The school is a part of the Precious Blood Family of Schools. Amani Primary School was started in 1987 with the goal of helping the poor children in Kawangware slum, a slum of Nairobi. It started with a meal program and then expanded to offer Bible studies, English, Kiswahili and mathematics. Some of the children attending Amani Primary School are street children and orphans. The school's vision is to see these young people develop into productive members of society.

The school's choir performed a few moving performances for us, then our kids performed a portion of the play they are preparing in their co-op drama class. They topped it all off with a friendly game of football (soccer). Fun was had by all! It was a wonderful opportunity for our children to see how fortunate they are, but also to see the drive and determination in these children who are less fortunate materially, than they.

To give us a better understanding of where these children are coming from, one of the nuns shared an experience she had with one of the students. She recalled a student who would come to the school with BO (body odor). She went on to say, the smell was such that she felt she had to talk with the child about proper hygiene. The child explained to her that he knew how to wash himself, but in fact could not, because he did not have access to water. That really made me think.

Amani Primary School Choir

One of the songs the Amani Choir sung was a song I remembered singing for Spelman College Glee Club many years ago. I happily sung along. The choir did an absolutely fantastic job!