Oh, that's why.

So our co-op is over for the year. It's interesting how every third Thursday of the month I'm going crazy and practically swearing about how ridiculous it is that I am in this situation again (see yesterday's post called "I Win") and every third Friday about 12:30pm I'm thinking what a great opportunity this co-oppy thing is for my kids. In case you don't get that, the co-op ends about noon.

Another mom was telling me how co-ops just don't do it for her. She figures that she can do the education thing with the kids and then just let time with other kids be play time. That's okay. I respect her opinion. It got me thinking though. Are there any benefits to having your children in a co-op? Hmmmm. I was mulling this over when I thought about the times I get together with my friends. I thought about what I learn when we bounce ideas off of each other. Someone might throw out an idea that I never thought of. There are times I learn more because I'm learning with this group of gals. Can I learn without this group? Sure, but I have a lot of fun when I'm learning with my friends too. After all, it was a conversation with my friend that got me thinking about this in the first place. Can there be disadvantages to learning together. Sure, sometimes some of the people in the group can drive me crazy. Those are learning experiences too. Learning how to "play nice" (or not), learning self-control, how to take turns and the list goes on. It's the same for my kids. They don't need a co-op to learn all these things but they do enjoy the co-op. This is just a once a month thing. Surely I can handle that (just don't mention that on the third Thursday).

It was so much fun seeing how proud the children were as they demonstrated the different skills they had learned in their elective classes. The little ballerina girls in their adorable skirts. The karate kids, some with confidence, some with reservation. The high stepping dance class...that is what you call it, right? You know, the Lord of the Dance stuff. Cool. I had to sub for the music class teacher (usually I'm just the helper). Well that was a bit of chaos. Everyone's kazoos where in two ziploc bags and trying to find the right kazoo for the right kid...geesh. Sorry. But once we performed and it was all said and done, the moms loved it! The kids were proud too! A grand time was had by all! Oh, that's why I keep going to this co-op.