Toddler and Preschool Co-op's where Families Blossom

I believe that socializing your child as early on as possible is the best gift you can give them. This means more than play dates and siblings. I chose to take my children to a co-op when they were only toddlers (before preschool age).  I don't know that most toddler parents know that this option exists.  My son started at 17 months. My daughter started at 24 months and most parents I feel don't look for preschools until their kids are closer to age 3.  This was great because it gave me parenting skills along with skills to manage interactions among other young children and strengthened my comfort level and confidence in being with other kids.  It gave my children the experience of what is acceptable play, encouraged independence and confidence in their abilities.  In short, they blossomed, or actually, we collectively blossomed. In this post, I am going to outline the expectations and rewards of being involved  in a co-op.

It can be a little scary as far as time commitment goes in the beginning, because a co-op means more than just showing up for class.  Your child attends 2-3 days a week, you attend one of those days to work in the classroom.  If your child has separation anxiety you can stay more than that but you are scheduled to work in the classroom minimum 1 day per week.  For children with separation anxiety, this can be a really great way to start.  You can start by going out to the parking lot and sitting in your car for 20 mins, working up to leaving for coffee, and finally a full morning or afternoon to yourself.  Since I have two children, I often use this time to go work in the other child's classroom and attempt to stay connected on both levels.

Working in the classroom consists of monitoring the kids activities and helping and encouraging positive interactions.  In toddler age groups, they are content to play individually side by side for the first half of the year, and the second half they attempt to try to interact more with their activities which can often be communicated by grabbing someone else's toy, hitting or pushing.  This can seem scary for first time parents, but can be very helpful when understanding these are all normal phases of toddler communication and development. It often takes just a simple reminder to use their words instead of their hands to help their interactions to result in a more favorable outcome.  In the preschool room you usually get designated with a specific activity or area of the room to monitor.  Approximately once every two months you also provide snack for the class and prepare and distribute, as well as clean the classroom and bathroom on your workday.  It sounds like a lot, but it happens quite naturally in the course of running the classroom.

I was so thankful for this program for my son especially since he has an older sister and so many activities in daily life were above his age level.  The co-op provided activities geared specifically to his age level. This was so wonderful for him to be included with everything. It was eye opening when I was first enrolled with my daughter and could understand that the teacher's expectations of her went beyond mine in having her, for example, bus her plate after snack.

Our school is run by the parents and teachers so after my first year I was requested to join the board of directors, which I did.  I have now been on the board for 3 of the 4 years we have been involved in the co-op.  If you are not involved on the board, they give you a "support" job, this can be taking home classroom towels to wash, putting together photos from the year, making sure the emergency supplies are up to date, or scheduling meal drop off for families with newborns.  This is a total community experience.

On top of this, you stay after class once every 2 weeks to discuss a parenting topic.  I found this time to be really helpful in getting ideas that might help in our daily routines at home.  This time was also a time where I connected with other parents, heard about their triumphs or failures.

In our funds limited environment for wonderful programs in California, we are expected to fundraiser quite significantly to keep tuition manageable.  This can be a challenge and daunting or overwhelming especially after years of involvement.  But, this is an expectation in all schools, so get used to it now.  If you don't want to approach your family and friends for fundraisers, donate yourself to meet your expectations.  I found that by fundraising to meet my expectations I spent more than the fundraising goal because only a percentage of each fundraiser went to the school and it was more cost effective for me to pay it outright.

There are monthly parent meetings where a specialist on a given subject come in and present.  This is really valuable.  Our school focuses on parent education, so this is the core of what they are all about.  This is another time commitment and can be a struggle for single parent families to find childcare.  It can be a challenge for the board to keep these meeting fresh and enticing to families that have been involved for multiple years without being repetitive.

A lot of family financial situations require both parents to work and some jobs aren't flexible to allow involvement in these types of programs.  I would say most of our parents involved in our program work, but have flexible work schedules to allow the level of involvement required or sometimes is worked by a retired grandparent that can meet the classroom work schedule.  If you are in this boat of a stay at home parent, having  flexible work schedule or a grandparent childcare provider; seriously look into the co-op opportunities in your area, you 'll be glad you did.

Finally, the teachers are experts in child development, they have a ton of experience.  They have a lending library of parenting books to provide access to information on specific parenting topics. They are my biggest asset in my parenting toolbox and as they come to get to know you and your family can provide valuable insight for you and the development of your family.

In conclusion, co-op set up is not for everyone, it is a big time commitment, and sadly it might become something of the past with current funding challenges. I have heard people complain that it is a glorified mommy group and with fees to be involved are too much of a commitment for some.  It is cheaper than any preschool I have seen, but it is not drop off childcare and should not be compared to drop off programs, because it is teaching parent involvement. It is parent and teacher run which sometimes is more organized than others depending on the individual assigned to the task. But mostly, I understand my kids needs and my needs better. I feel our family has benefitted greatly from this knowledge and this understanding allows us to achieve a better balance.  My oldest is currently flourishing in kindergarten.  From my training at the co-op, I am much more confident in becoming involved at her new school, volunteering in the classroom and fundraising or dedicating time to keep programs that my kids benefit from in place.