Two simple things you can do at the start of every school year that will make your entire year go better

A new school year is about to start.

You’re either feeling confident, ready, and organized.

Or, you’re feeling a bit panicky, doubtful, and unprepared.

At our homeschool co-op, we’ve discovered two things that help us get off on the right foot every year.

1. Create and use a Code of Conduct. A Code of Conduct is SO important because it clearly states your homeschool co-op’s rules

   and expectations. It helps you deal with situations BEFORE they even happen. Your Code of Conduct should take into consideration

   student behavior and student work expectations. Here is a copy of what we include in our Code of Conduct. This is for ideas only. Please

   do not copy it. We have a place for parents and students to both sign it. Consequences are also listed. Make sure they are

   consequences you can and will actually follow through with if needed.

2. Host a Back-to-Co-op Event to kick off the new year. There are a few reasons why this is a must-do. First, it allows your new families

   a chance to introduce themselves and the kids to get to know each other. We like to plan a picnic with games to get everyone laughing

   and having fun. Second, it’s suuuuper important to have a meeting to go over everything you need your parents and kids to know about

   the year. It’s so much easier to go over everything ONE time at a meeting with everyone, than to have to answer the same questions all

   year long. This is a great opportunity to go over rules, expectations, the schedule, the yearly calendar, your Code of Conduct, and to

   introduce your tutors and share your curriculum for the year. You can set up your payment schedules with your families. Kids can drop off

   their school supplies and you can have a Q and A session. Families tend to have a lot of questions about homeschooling rules and laws

   so this is also a great time to discuss those. We help our families fill out homeschooling paperwork at our meeting.

   For our Back-to-School picnic, we ask every family to bring a salad, side dish, or dessert to share and then we bring the main entree -

   we like to grill so it’s usually smoked pulled pork sandwiches, or burgers and brats.

   And to end our Back-to-Co-op Picnic…..we schedule an ice cream truck to visit us! This is a big hit!