May. 10, 2006 Homeschooling on a Shoestring Part 1C: Gymnastics and Such
So
you found a business that offered classes in _____, and convinced
them to let you manage a homeschool program. You have enough students
enrolled to begin, and you have a start date set. Now what do you do?
1. Be on hand the first day of class to greet families and meet any you
have not personally met before. Put calendars in their hands,
indicating class days, holidays, payment due dates, the end of the
session, and any other information you deem pertinent. If families have
agreed to share information, you could also give out a contact list.
2. Whether your children attend a particular class or not, you need to
plan to attend at least once a month, both to collect tuition and to
keep in contact with the families. Ask one parent to take roll each
week and notify you if anyone stops showing up.
3. Keep
careful records for each family so you will know when someone has paid
ahead or is lagging behind. Although I hated to do it, I found it did
help to institute a fee for late pays. I waived this if the family let
me know in advance when they would be able to pay. Be sure to collect
tuition in advance so there is no chance of someone quitting with a
balance owing.
4. At the end of the session, there should be
some slush remaining. How much will depend on how close you cut it with
fees, how many late fees were paid, and if anyone left with a balance
owing. If the slush is small, keep it on account for the next session.
There were a few times my slush seemed larger than necessary. I
generally used part of it for scholarships for a struggling family or
for one with many enrollments. I also used excess slush to purchase an
open gym for the families of program participants who made it to the
end of the season.
5. Begin taking enrollments for the next
session about a month before the current session ends. If holding a
summer session, take enrollments for both summer and fall at the same
time. Generally, families could participate in either or both. It is
much easier to talk to parents when their kids are in class rather than
waiting and having to make phone calls to everyone.
6.
Continue advertising the program. If classes are full, keep a waiting
list. That way, if a family has to drop out suddenly, you may be able
to fill the vacancy immediately. This will relieve the first family of
having to pay for classes they cannot attend. Reimburse them for any
classes attended by the new student.
Next time I'll focus on
creating a program without the help of a business--and you don't even
have to be able to teach the subject!
*******
Thank
You Lord, that You know even better than I the natural bents of my
children. Thank You that You have provided over and over again just
what we needed.
Amen
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May. 10, 2006 Homeschooling on a Shoestring Part 1B: Gymnastics and Such
Does
your child want to do karate, ceramics, ballet, gymnastics, or...?
Whatever the interest, you might be able to set up a program that would
be free for your family and offer a low-cost option for other
homeschoolers. My first opportunity to offer a long-term gymnastics
program to several of my children at once came as a result of attending
a friend's birthday party. And the program set up with the gym could be
applied to any educational opportunity offered through a business.
The party was held as an open gym time at a local gymnastics academy.
While there, a couple of homeschooling moms started talking about the
idea of a homeschool gymnastics program. A few weeks later, when
neither of them were interested in pursuing the idea, I took up the
torch.
I talked with the gym, and the owner was willing to
work with me. We set up a program where he charged me a set amount per
month per instructor hour. He also set the maximum number of students
allowed in each class. We worked together to decide what days and times were to be offered.
My basic responsibilities included finding enrollees, establishing the price per child, collecting fees, and paying the gym.
That program lasted 8 years, surviving a change of gym ownership and a
transfer of management to another homeschooling mom, and only
terminated when the owners eventually decided to close the gym.
How to set up and manage a homeschool program through a local business:
1. Decide what kind of activity interests your family. Check out other
area offerings to determine what will make your program different.
(i.e. several local gyms offer homeschool classes, but they are
similarly priced to their other programs. Mine was much cheaper.)
2. Contact a local establishment that offers that activity to determine
if they are interested in working with you to start classes for
homeschoolers.
Benefits to the business:
A. Homeschoolers can often come at
times other students aren't available, thereby expanding the scope of
the business. (Our classes met early afternoon, just before their
regular classes were held.)
B. The
business charges the program manager a flat rate for each instructor
hour and doesn't have to worry about collections for the homeschool
classes.
3. Once a business has agreed to offer classes and
has set the price per instructor hour and maximum number of students,
figure out the minimum price you must charge and the minimum
number of students you must maintain to keep the program afloat. Be
sure to figure in enough slush to provide enrollments for your own
family and a little extra in case someone drops out unexpectedly and
won't/can't pay their enrollment until a replacement student can be
found.
4. Develop a contract for enrolling families, making
clear how much notice is expected before dropping out (one month, until
the end of a session, etc.). This protects you from being responsible
for a huge bill with only a few families, and protects other families
from constantly changing tuition rates. Also include information in the
contract about any extra fees charged by the business (Each September
or upon enrollment the gym charged a once per year per family fee for
insurance.).
5. Begin publicizing the program:
A. *Give age ranges for classes
*Include the approx. start/end dates for commitment
*Give a ballpark figure for cost--session or month?
*Details are subject to sufficient enrollment
B. Ways to publicize:
*Contact local homeschool support groups
*Contact churches with homeschool populations
*Send information to local email lists
*Spread the news by word of mouth
*Enlist help from the first ones who show interest.
6. Set a deadline for enrollments for a particular start date. If you
don't have enough enrollments, notify the business and the enrollees
that the start of classes is being postponed until the next month,
session, etc.
7. When you have enough students enrolled,
announce the official start date of classes, collect fees, pay the
business on or before the due date.
Next time I'll share part 1C which will cover what to do with the program once it is up and running.
*******
Dear Jesus,
I'm so grateful for the surprises You bring my way, some of which
have far-reaching affects on my life. I would never have imagined
simply attending a birthday party could have been so significant.
Please be with my fellow homeschooling parents who may have "stumbled"
on this post. Thank You for having your hand on them as they pursue the
path You have in mind for them.
Amen
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May. 8, 2006 Homeschooling on a Shoestring Part 1A: Gymnastics and Such
How
can a homeschooling family on one very tight income afford to do the
little extras like gymnastics, ballet, karate, or...? I have three
suggestions for inexpensive or even free access to training in at least
the beginning levels of the things that interest your children.
The first taste of such things for our family came through our local
city recreation program. We have lived in several towns, and all have
offered some sort of community education or recreation program. Most of
these classes are short, lasting from one session to 8 or 10 weeks, so
it is a good way to get a taste of something before making a long-term
commitment.
Generally, these courses are fairly inexpensive,
and often scholarships are available for resident families who cannot
afford the tuition. Don't be afraid to take advantage of that money. My
sister once encouraged me by sharing that as we are a working family,
and as we will one day have an empty nest and our taxes will help
someone else in a similar fashion, there is no shame in accepting help
while we are under the full load of child-rearing.
A free way
to taste a variety of activities is to co-op with one or more other
families. Perhaps your friend studied ballet, but has no patience with
messy projects, while you would consider yourself a clutz, but enjoy
doing arts and crafts with children. Choose a span of weeks to get
together on a given day and time. She takes part of the children to an
appropriate space to work on beginning ballet techniques, while you
take the others to the kitchen table for block printing, or collage
making, or.... By setting a specific duration for these sessions both
of you are able to evaluate how well it is working before deciding to
continue or not.
Next time I will share the third idea for
providing beginning experiences for your children. This one
provided a much needed outlet for me, as well.
*******
Thank you, Father, for the joy I see in my children's faces as they try
out new things. Thank you for the many opportunities you have afforded
us over the years. And thank you for this venue to share those ideas
with others.
Amen
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May. 7, 2006 Homeschooling on a Shoestring--Introduction
Through most of the 17 years we have been homeschooling money has been
very tight. God has blessed us over and over, providing what we needed
when we needed it or bringing an idea to fruition that allowed us to do
the otherwise unaffordable extras. My hope is that my posts about some
of those experiences will help you to think in new ways about your own
possibilities.
Some of the things I will share about include how my family:
* Was able to take gymnastics, ballet, karate.
* Started playing piano, violin, flute, and trumpet.
* Found a great way to swap used educational materials.
* Participated in a small church co-op.
* Participated in community theatre.
I'll also want to share information about a few other ideas implemented
by other homeschoolers in my area, a couple of local co-ops, and some
websites for awesome curriculum.
As I start writing, there
will probably be other ideas that come to mind or other subjects raised
by your comments, so please feel free to leave one, either with
comments and ideas, or with questions. Let's see how far this thread
will take us!
*******
Dear Father God, You have been
so faithful through the years, providing just what we needed. Thank
you, thank you! Please be with my fellow homeschoolers, especially
those who are new to the journey or who have experienced recent
financial hardship. May my words be uplifting to them. As they read and
share, show them the way you would have them to go. Grant them the
peace to walk where they hadn't seen the path you have laid out for
them.
Amen!
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