🏡 Homeschool Programs: Classes, Co-ops, Microschools and more...
How to find, evaluate or start local & online homeschool programs
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Quick summary
Contrary to popular belief, most of homeschooling does not happen at home!
In modular learning, families curate an ideal education for their unique child through a mosaic of programs at home - and out in the world. Homeschool programs can help modular learners make friends, provide childcare, bring accountability, and offer expert support. Typical homeschool programs include online classes, in-person classes, and hybrid schools (also known as homeschool co-ops, microschools and learning pods) To find homeschool programs, start by looking for suggestions in your local and global online homeschool groups. Explore Yelp and Google maps for the best afterschool classes and summer camps near you. Try to avoid filing your child’s schedule with activities from the get-go. Instead, take your time trying programs out one at a time, layering on additional programs as you go, and giving your homeschool plan space to evolve over time.
In this post, we explore
📚 1. Three types of homeschooling programs
🎭 2. Where to find local homeschool and after-school classes
🚌 3. Hybrid schools: Homeschool co-ops, learning pods and microschools
🔎 4 Seven ways to evaluate homeschool programs
🖥 5. Online homeschool programs
🔥 6. How to start a homeschool program for your child and friends
How to find, evaluate and start homeschool programs
Homeschool programs can be a great channel for students to make friends, learn collaboratively, and engage with exceptional teachers. In this section, we’ll discuss different types of local and online homeschool programs, as well as how to find and evaluate whether they’ll be a fit for your children.
At Modulo, we’ve refined our process through three years of helping find finding quality programs in any subject area everywhere in the world - and starting new ones when they didn’t exist. Our team has an additional ten years of experience starting microschools before “learning pods” was a household buzzword.
If there isn’t a homeschool program near you (or offered online in a subject of interest), it might be easier to start one than you think.
For the purposes of this post, when we refer to “homeschool programs,” we’re specifically referring to group learning opportunities. For more on 1-1 tutoring, check out our post on “how to find and vet homeschool teachers.”
We draw heavily on online homeschool groups to find and evaluate programs. If you need help finding a local homeschool group, be sure to consult our post on socialization where we give in-depth steps on finding a homeschool program in your area.
📚 1. Three Types of homeschool programs
* Homeschool & Afterschool Classes
There are a variety of afterschool programs and homeschool classes. Homeschool classes are basically the same as afterschool classes, except they happen during the day! Often families in the homeschool community will offer classes in subjects of interest. For example, a science professor mom might offer a biology lab to homeschool kids, or a musician dad might offer band camp. Many afterschool centers offer homeschool-specific programs (or might be willing to start one if you ask). There’s no reason homeschoolers can’t enroll directly in afterschool classes too, and its a great way to make friends. Classes might include science labs, park days, foreign language classes, museum trips, dance classes, band, theater club, chess, robotics, public speaking, and more!
* Hybrid schools
Otherwise known as Homeschool Co-ops, Co-Learning Centers, Learning Pods, or Microschools.
Homeschool co-ops can be a great way to get support with childcare and help students make friends. They generally meet anywhere from 2 hours to 4 days a week. Increasing numbers of families are choosing hybrid schools as a way to balance work with homeschooling. There are also microschools registered as private schools, providing a smaller, more flexible environment that allows for greater parent involvement in education. (If you enroll in a private school, you do not need to register as a homeschooler since the school is accountable for your child’s education.)
These models can range from having almost no structure (unschooling) to looking a lot like school with a typical school schedule, academic periods, tests, and homework.
Here are some common types of hybrid schools.
Parent-organized/teacher-led
Sometimes homeschool co-ops are organized by a group of parents who hire a lead teacher to facilitate (see Cottonwood Cooperative as a example)
Parent-organized/Parent-led
Other times they’re organized by parents who take turns teaching. They are generally free (These groups are typically private. However, free Forest schools are a widespread example of free, parent-organized co-ops.
Teacher-organized/teacher-led
More and more, they’re led and organized by a teacher who offers students the opportunity to attend 1, 2, 3, or 4 days a week (For an example of this model, see Brooklyn Apple Academy).
Co-Learning spaces
Some centers are focused on providing a “co-learning space” similar in structure to co-working spaces, where kids bring their own homeschool work and get some guidance from a staff member (For an example of this model, see The Village Electric).
Homeschooling centers
Other homeschooling centers offer a huge variety of classes provided by local teachers (See Village Home in Beaverton, Oregon)
* Online classes and schools
The most significant advantage of online classes is giving kids access to the best teachers in the world from the comfort of their living room. There is a whole industry of online classes emerging to support modular learners. In addition to the big marketplaces for online classes, there are some exceptional small providers who offer online programs. In our post on homeschool curriculum, we go more in-depth into our favorite classes and schools.
2. 🎭 Where to find homeschool & after-school classes
The best way to find extracurriculars is through local reviews and parenting groups. While there are numerous marketplaces for classes, we find the reviews are not as well-filtered. Museums often offer educational programs, as well as afterschool and summer camps.
Yelp and Google Maps
To find a local class, search on google maps and yelp. Don’t just look at stars. Read the reviews. Read the filtered reviews as well. Carefully read the reviews to see if the teaching philosophy is aligned with your own philosophy. Be on the lookout for like-minded parents with kids similar to your own who have left reviews. It’s also a good idea to see if the names of individual teachers are mentioned. Since a teacher makes a big difference in class quality, try to find a class with the teacher that people tend to like the most.
Facebook Groups
Local homeschooling and parenting groups are great places to find homeschool classes and extracurriculars as well. Search for a keyword or ask for recommendations. Often families will be happy to give public or private feedback. It’s generally a good idea to specifically request private feedback to get an honest assessment. Keep a lookout for comments from parents who are educators and experienced homeschoolers. You can also search for specific programs you’ve found on yelp or google maps and ask for feedback about those.
🚌 3. Hybrid Schools
“Homeschool co-ops, learning pods, and microschools, OH MY!”
Hybrid schools are often hidden gems and can be tricky to find. The best way to find homeschool co-ops, microschools and learning pods (aside from word of mouth) is via parenting and homeschooling groups. These types of programs are generally small, grassroots and don’t promote very much.
A google search for homeschool co-ops will reveal many defunct homeschool co-ops.
Since homeschool co-ops don’t promote themselves very much, they’re often not even listed on google maps or yelp.
With some rare exceptions, homeschool co-ops are often short-lived, springing up to support a specific group of students for a small amount of time.
Joining a local homeschooling or unschooling group, either searching for the keyword “co-op” or asking for recommendations, will help families find the ideal homeschool co-op in no time.
If you’re having trouble finding a homeschool co-op, we’ve created an in-depth, step-by-step guide to finding a homeschool co-op near you. This process has helped us help parents find co-ops in urban, rural and suburban environments.
It might be that there’s not an existing co-op in your area, but if anything, that means your area needs one. Here’s our guide on How to start a learning pod. It’s easier than you think.
🔎 4. Seven ways to evaluate homeschool programs
While there are so many phenomenal homeschool programs, especially in major cities, it’s always a good idea to do due diligence to see if it’s the right fit for your family, and your individual child. Here’s the process we go through at Modulo which helps us find programs that kids and families love 99% of the time.
Don’t just look at the stars, really read the reviews
It’s not enough that a homeschool program has five stars on Yelp or that one person recommends it in your local group. What’s important is that it’s a good fit for your child. Look for comments from families that seem similar to you with children with common learning patterns, strengths, and challenges. Pay attention to teacher names that are mentioned in a positive way and try to get a class with that teacher:
Ask for private feedback in parent groups
If you’ve found a homeschool program you like, ask for feedback from local parenting groups. Some people might not be comfortable giving negative feedback publicly, so encourage people to message you privately and check your “other messages” on Facebook to ensure you receive all the responses. People are in general more willing to give authentic feedback privately, than publicly. You can also search the group for the program's name (using the search feature in Facebook groups) and see what people have to say.
Pay attention to responsiveness
Contact the homeschool program and see how quickly they reply. If you don’t get a response within 1-2 business days, it may be a bad sign. You want to find a well-organized program that communicates well with parents about their children’s learning.
Visit the space (if possible)
Look at photos or visit the space. In the Reggio Emilio philosophy, we call the environment the child’s “third teacher.” It's essential children have a learning space that’s clean, beautiful, and well-lit where they can move about freely without safety concerns.
Look for a well-designed website
Families will want to find a program that’s entered the 21st century. With platforms like Webflow, it’s easier than ever to build a beautiful website with a seamless user experience. If the website looks confusing or ancient, it might be a sign that the program is not bringing a lot of intentionality into the way they do things - or that they’re stuck in the past. While it’s not always the case, we can usually learn a lot about a program from a sharp, beautiful, easy-to-use landing page. This also reveals if the program coordinators are keyed into how people are experiencing every aspect of their program.
Caveat here: There are absolutely lovely homeschool programs that have no website at all, and are hidden gems people find out via word of mouth. Don’t overlook the great programs without an online presence.
Also, just because a program has a gorgeous website, doesn’t mean that the program is good. Don’t use the website as your sole criteria for choosing the program.
Consider the background of teachers
Most websites have a team page. Take the time to look at the page and review the teachers' bios. Do they seem to have childcare or teaching experience? Do they have interesting, eclectic backgrounds? Even if there’s not a team page, the website may have information about how they vet and select teachers.
Ask about cognitive diversity
Whenever we’re evaluating a program, we ask if they cater to children with special needs. If your child has a specific, diagnosed condition, it’s a good idea to ask specifically about that issue. If the program leader seems to bristle or gives a generic answer, that’s not a good sign that they’re able to cater to different types of learners - or have that much of a nuanced background in childhood education, for that matter.
You’ll want to find program directors who are transparent about their experience or lack of experience with your child’s diagnosis. For example, if they share that they don’t have formal training in that diagnosis, but are eager to learn and accommodate your child’s needs, that’s a good sign. They may also express that they’ve worked with children with your child’s diagnosis and give specific details about how that worked out for the other child.
Programs that are inflexible in their approach, don’t seem to understand your child’s diagnosis, or care to learn about it will not be a good fit for any family.
In general, we recommend families enroll in inclusive programs that cater to many different intellectual capacities. Children learn by modeling others. Therefore, for example, children with autism will benefit from being around neurotypical peers to learn social and emotional cues. Gifted kids will benefit from being around intellectual peers, older children, but also mastering their skills by taking the role of teacher and building social skills by collaborating with those who think differently than them. In all cases, it’s good to have a healthy balance of 1-1 mastery learning time, and group learning time.
Even if your child does not have a documented learning difference, its useful to understand if this is a program that is inclusive and sensitive to intellectual differences. There is such a vast spectrum to how children learn. It’s invaluable to work with a program that celebrates these differences and is sensitive to curating education to meet children’s needs.
If a program director honestly shares that they can’t accommodate your child, then take them at face value. Perhaps they’ll be kind enough to recommend other programs that are a better fit.
For more in-depth information on cognitive diversity, identifying and supporting children with diverse intellectual needs, see
's guest post on cognitive diversity.Other factors to consider in choosing homeschool programs
Extracurricular programs are not formally vetted in the way schools are, so families need to be aware of the following factors when selecting a program
Secular vs. Religious
Many homeschool programs are developed for religious homeschoolers. While this may not be a dealbreaker for you, it’s a good idea to ask what kind of content will be taught.
Vaccination requirements
Homeschooling attracts a wide variety of families. Many choose to homeschool because they’re opposed to vaccinations. If being around other vaccinated children is important to your family or if anyone in your family is immunocompromised, this might be a question you want to ask when evaluating a program.
Safety protocols
There are no official safety standards for homeschool or afterschool programs. In many segments of the unschooling community, more risky kinds of play are encouraged in children because it’s thought to build self-efficacy. Parents should decide what level of risk they’re comfortable with and ask programs about safety protocols they have in place and if there’s been any history of accidents in the program.
🖥 6. How to find and evaluate online programs
Families interested in finding a high-quality online program or live class can find recommendations in our reviews of our top online schools, favorite online classes, the complete guide to homeschooling programs or check out our 100 favorite online programs for kids. This guide includes classes, and schools, but also our favorite apps, youtube videos, and marketplaces for tutoring and group classes.
Where to find programs
In addition to checking out our favorite online programs, top online schools, or favorite online classes. Families can ask for recommendations in global homeschooling groups like the Modular Learning Community or SEA homeschoolers.
Evaluating programs
When evaluating an online program, families can read reviews on Facebook and Google, ask for feedback in local or global online parenting and homeschooling groups and check curriculum review sites like Common Sense Media. Online marketplaces such as Outschool have reviews of the teacher and the programs. It’s always important to read the actual reviews and look for common points and potential problems, not just look at the stars.
What to look out for
A good online program will require teachers to have :
High-speed internet
Experience with video conferencing software like Zoom.
Frequent movement breaks during classes, in line with best practices for screen time.
Reasonable class duration: It’s generally recommended that elementary-age children spend no more than 40 minutes at a time without a break, and one hour for older students. Be very wary of programs where class time runs for 1, 2, 3 or more hours per day. Additional good programs will feature extensive information about how they train and vet teachers in best practices for online teaching.
See our blog on best practices for online teaching for more criteria for what you should expect from an online class.
🔥7. How to start a homeschool program
It’s easier than you might think to create a homeschool program for your child and friends. Here is some guidance for families interested in starting a small, grassroots class or homeschool co-op.
1. Find an easy-to-follow, well-designed curriculum.
Our guide homeschool curriculum can help you find a good curriculum fit for your child.
2. Be the teacher or find a teacher
Reviewing our section on finding homeschool teacher to identify a strong online teacher for your child.
3. Choose a space
A free space is better to keep the program affordable sustainable.
If the program is in-person, the easiest place to host is at a parent’s home or local library.
If the program is online, make sure all the kids have headphones and a quiet space to focus, with very clear group guidelines on how to respect each other in an online environment.
4. Invite other families to join
Ask friends in your local or online homeschool group if they’d be interested in joining a class you’re creating for friends.
Starting a small, grassroots homeschool program for your child and friends does not have to take a lot of work and many families have told us that starting a program for their child (and homeschool community) has been one of the most rewarding experiences of their life.
If you’re an entrepreneur (or aspiring entrepreneur) interested in starting a more formalized, long-term program, our guide on how to start a learning pod will be a good place to begin.
In summary…
Homeschool programs are an invaluable way to enrich your child’s learning and social life. And they can also keep kids engaged while you’re working. There are likely many wonderful existing options in your area that you can find through google maps, yelp and online homeschool groups. And if nothing does exist, start your own!
What’s next?
Now that you’ve chosen curriculum, found some friends, decided to do the teaching or found some teachers, enrolled in a couple of homeschool programs, and/or decided to start your own, it’s time to figure out how to measure your child’s learning outcomes in next week’s post on accountability and support.
This is one of our favorite topics, and we’re excited to share how we set goals, measure, iterate and document learning outcomes in homeschooling.
Our goal is to help you find a system that’s easy and gives you space to change and improve your homeschool program as you go.