In this and the following chapters I will make several recommendations. Treat these as suggestions based on my personal experience and reading from others' knowledge. These are not rules; there is no “one way” or “correct way” to start or run a homeschool co-op. I have read many web sites about starting a home school co-op that state specific rules, such as “Do not let your co-op be more than five families.” That may be good advice if you want a small co-op, but it is not applicable to everyone.

Flexibility is one of the beauties of homeschooling. You have the freedom do what is best for you, your family and your homeschool group. Since I do not know your particular needs, I could not properly tell you what to do. Since I am merely offering advice I will try to keep the “do it my way” attitude to a minimum. Now for my first bit of advice…

First of all, do not do this alone! Having a small group of people to help you is absolutely essential in running a successful homeschool co-op. Some people say, “If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.” That kind of thinking will be to your detriment because you will burn out. You may even regret the day that you thought you wanted to start a homeschool co-op. In order to counteract this desperation, you need other like-minded people to share this burden. Before announcing the start of a new co-op, gather help and seek out people who might be interested in a co-op as members or leaders.