Heritage Explorers Homeschool Co-Op Registration for the 2025-2026 learning year is now open! We meet the 2nd and 4th Thursday from 1-3 pm of every month September - May at the Herbert Wescoat Memorial Library - unless going on a field trip or park day. Format for the co-op gathering includes: American history and period culture learning lesson, Craftivity (Art, STEAM, or STEM) snack time, and games-social time.
A [$10 The Homestead Homeschool Curriculum Membership per family ](https://heritageskillsusa.com/.../heritage-skills-usa-co...)is required for co-op membership. The membership access is 12 months and does not auto-renew. A $2 materials fee per child to cover craft expenses is required per regular gathering session (not on field trips or park days) Parents sign up for snacks with everyone taking one turn per learning year.
Click the link below for the online registration for - link also included on the co-op curriculum membership page. Make sure to download your membership code after purchasing the membership.
You will use the code in the coupon box at checkout so all digital products on the Heritage Skills USA website ring up for free. The membership includes all The Homestead Homeschool curriculum currently in or added to the website during your membership year, as well as all of the adult (great for teens too!) homesteading guides, cookbooks, log books, and journals.
A parent/grandparent etc. must attend the co-op with their child/children. Tagalong littles are welcome, but they must be kept relatively quite and not disruptive. Feel free to bring some quiet toys or a blanket so the little can spread out in the unused floor space to play. Wood blocks will be provided for use to help keep the wee ones entertained.
The Heritage Explorers Co-op is open for preschool through teens. We have a growing number of older kids participating in the co-op, so please do not feel the group will be too young for your teens! During gatherings at the library, the teens may be meeting in the seating area outside of the large meeting room to work on guided projects and activities on their own.
Regular Gathering Format:
The co-op is focused on American history and heritage skills. At each gathering the children/teens will be presented some type of learning material on the historical era we will be covering. We will be concentrating on the Pioneer Westward Expansion, the Wild West, and Native American tribes, and presidents and notable folks from that era this year. The co-op members will also be engaging in arts projects, STEM/STEAM, hands-on skill building, and field trips relating to those eras and food recipes along with inventions of that time period.
You will be able to download the curriculum to print and use at home as desired, as well as have printed materials given to your children for portions used at the gatherings. Homeschool co-op theme units from last year and summer activity units are currently posted for download. Theme units for this year will be posted as they are completed and ready for use.
Please send your child with crayons/markers, scissors, and glue to each gathering.
We will have a long term project to work on this fall. The children and teens will be learning parts and making scenery and costumes to put on a pioneer themed play for their families. The play will be performed at the Lake Alma State park amphitheater , weather permitting or on the stage in the library meeting room. The play may also be performed during the Heritage Explorers Fest, if the children and the props, etc. are performance ready by mid-October.
Click the link below to get registered for the Heritage Explorers Homeschool Co-Op!
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdhTOOosDq-JSnXlGqx51QR6sCTTGp8b8enXPMg8Wt55NQ3jA/viewform