Lighthouse Family Co-op
When we decided to homeschool our children, the first thing we remembered was this, "Jesus is the Lord!" Our children know this and our friends and families know we firmly believe this. Many of those friends and family are homeschooling in this area. Based on this foundation, we have gathered together and formed a co-op. This was done as a ministry of Powerline Community Church. While Powerline Community Church always provides a covering for our co-op, the co-op is not part of the church and therefore we have welcomed others into our group. Every year our co-op has taken on a different look. Every year our co-op has presented different choices to the families involved. Every year our co-op has been a success. We know this because every year the families involved become closer friends. Every year the children leave the co-op knowing that we love them. Every year the Lord is glorified.
As a co-op we have enjoyed many activities.
We have studied creation science with preschoolers.
- They learned about light & why we see colors.
- They learned why rainbows' colors are always in the same order.
- They discovered why bubbles always become round.
- They learned about sound.
- They learned about animals.
We have studied other sciences with older children.
- Human Anatomy
- Marine Science
- Botany
- Biology with Lab
- Chemistry with Lab
- Physics with Lab
We studied a variety of subjects.
- Spanish
- Character
- Geography
- History
- Piano
- Music Theory
- Voice
- Bells
- Guitar
- Drama
- Physical Fitness
- Public Speaking
- Homemaking
- Poetry
We had many opportunities to celebrate together.
- Birthdays
- Thanksgiving
- Christmas
- Valentine's Day
- President's Day
- Good Friday
- Easter
The Lighthouse Family Co-op is primarily for families with elementary or middle school aged children. We firmly believe, however that nobody is too young or too old to find a place in our group. Older children are so helpful and younger children love to be included. We always try to include some kind of activities for the littlest co-opers.
Powerline Kids 4H
After we laid all this ground work for our co-op, we decided to start a 4H group. We decided, therefore, to start one. This is a program offered in most communities. In Florida, it is offered through efforts made by The University of Florida, as well as many state and local government organizations. We are the Powerline Kids 4H Club.
We meet at the 4H County Extension building in Sanford. We have the benefits and resources of an excellent staff. In addition to our regular class offerings, the students are learning to conduct a meeting in a professional manner. The students are being encouraged to get involved in community service activities. They are even winning awards and learning new skills. The 4H in Seminole County offers lesson plans and materials to us at no charge.
Don't Neglect the Details
When we started our co-op in 2002 we wanted everything to be clear to every participating family. With that in mind, we put together a notebook for each family which included some important and some helpful documents, including but not limited to the following.
- An application
- An outline of member responsibilities
- An explanation of our standards of conduct
- Our Statement of Faith
- A Student Interview Form
- Helpful Articles
- Helpful Forms
- A Weekly Report Form
- Planning Guide
- Contact Information
- Class Listings
- Class Schedule
- Resources
