Where can you teach Co-op classes?

 Right now, my husband, Rob, and I teach Co-op classes in our basement.  This fall, two friends, both moms, are teaching science and history classes in our basement, too.  Before we landed in the basement, the Co-op held classes at the local library twice a week for upper school students.  The Co-op also held classes on Fridays at an Episcopal church’s Religious Ed (RE) classrooms for younger kiddos.  (Our church doesn’t have extra space.  There is a pre-K-8 school which doubles as RE classes.) 

I have taught Co-op classes in my house before.  I had Chemistry and Physical Science, with labs in the garage.  I’ve taught Co-op at our former church’s RE classrooms before we moved near Quantico.  When I taught in a public school, the home-school kids were allowed to come after school for classes, which is very unusual.  In another life, I did some consulting and training.  I learned that you can make just about any space work: school, church, hotel, college, or office space.  I’ve done dissections outside the library and at a local park.

What do you need?  You need a table and chairs.  If you do labs, bring jugs of water and plastic table cloths to protect any surfaces.  Be judicious as you select labs or demos.  While a whiteboard or chalk board is nice, you can bring a small white board for notes, diagrams, or problem sets.

Since I teach mainly science classes, I have a bunch of equipment, posters, microscopes, etc.  Ideally, there is some space at the facility to store a few items.  But, I have had to make do and sort materials into crates and bins, which I kept in the garage and hauled back and forth.   The amount of space will determine the number of kids you can accommodate and is the biggest constraint.  As long as there are four walls, tables, and chairs, you can make things work.