At least twice a year our co-op is on the hunt for new teachers and classes. And at least twice a year our admin spends a significant amount of time trying to convince parents that they would make great teachers. More often than not, it’s not so much that they don’t want to teach but that they either don’t know what to teach or have the time to prepare for a lesson each week. I have searched the interwebs far and wide for this ultimate list of no prep homeschool co-op classes, so that I can help admin and parents alike have an easy breezy plan going into their next semester.
Okay, Okay- I know, that to say “no prep” is really an exaggeration because the truth is- for just about any class you teach, you are going to have to gather the materials and at least mentally plan your class day. So it’s really a LOW Planning class list. This list will:
- Give you a great Co-op class idea.
- Show you where to purchase or find the lessons.
- Give you examples and resources to go along with the lessons.
Figuring class costs:
While some of these lessons can be downloaded for free, many of these no prep class ideas are going to cost a little bit of money to purchase. Plan your Co-op class accordingly. I typically like to consider how much a curriculum costs and divide that by the number of students that I believe will register for my class and then add extra for the materials that will need to be purchased or copies made.
The Ultimate List of No Plan/No Prep Co-op Classes
No Prep Pre-k Classes
Our co-op is a school- aged co-op, but we don’t like to leave our little ones out of learning! We try and have some structure throughout the day but we are sure to fill in the hours with snack time, play time and our teacher’s favorite… NAP TIME!
All About Me, Classroom Lesson Plans, Pinterest Board
Getting Ready for Kindergarten
On the Farm Lesson Plans, Pinterest Board
Raising Readers Letters and Sounds
No Prep Kinder-2nd Grade Classes
The younger elementary ages seem to be the easiest to find teachers for because they are often less intimidating to teach. Oh- and they are so cute with their missing teeth! The class ideas for this age group are really endless and most all of the ones listed below have tons of supplemental resources that can be easily found on Pinterest.
Magic School Bus Science Both Magic School Bus and Wild Kratts are great classes for new teachers. Half the class can be spent watching the episode and then the other half doing an experiment or reviewing the lesson. There are a lot of great resources for each.
Flat Stanley Unit Study This class is part literature and part geography. When we did this class we collected addresses of friends and family from around the country and sent Flat Stanley on an adventure. His host family took pictures and sent them via mail or email. We used a big map to keep track of his journeys.
Around the World With Jan Brett
Learning the ABC’s through Literature
Maestro Classics– Teach music with the classics. Teacher guides and curriculum included with this fun program.
Art History with HIGASFY HIGASFY (Have I got a Story for You) is one of my all time favorite Art Programs. Y’all I love this program so much- more more importantly so do the kids. You can read a review about it here, if you need more convincing.
Learning the 50 States or U.S.A Activity Pack
Invention Convention This class can be done using just the curriculum provided or it can be used alongside a fun inventor study. Encourage your students to be inventive and brave by participating in an Invention Convention at the end of the semester.
Teach etiquette with either of these resources: Ladylike Etiquette or Etiquette for Beginners This was a very popular class when we offered it a few years ago. At the end of the semester the students had a fun fancy tea party where they were able to practice their etiquette skills.
Draw Write Now – Include a short story on the topic, practice writing and have a mini art class.
No Prep 3rd-5th Grade Classes
Cook with Books If you have a kitchen available for you to use at your co-op there are so many fun cooking themed classes that can be done. We currently have 3 different ones: Cooking around the world, Cook with books and Way Cool Cooking School.
Tea Time with Great Poets, Pinterest resource board
Snap Circuits and this lapbook to go with it.
Stop Motion Video Class, Pinterest Resource board This was a fun class because students really were able to use so many skills. They practiced story boarding, creating, filming, editing and more. The students in this class used either their iPad or their parent’s cell phones and worked from a downloaded app.
No Prep Middle School Classes
Middle school seems to be the hardest classes to fill. I get it… all those hormones and middle schoolers can just be … scary- they are no longer little but not quite full blown teens. I’m so thankful for the adults who can love on this group of kids. While I don’t have a lot of resources in this age group to share, many of the high school classes can also be taught in middle school.
Chess Club, and this game to go along with it. I also did a quick YouTube search for lessons and the possibilities are endless if you want to let YouTube teach the lessons. 🙂
Teaching Economics Using Children’s Literature
No Prep High School Classes
I didn’t include any of the main core classes like Science, Math or literature because all of those have multiple curriculum options that will be specific to your group.
Foundations in Personal Finance
Music Theory, and here
I hope this Best list of No Prep Homeschool Co-op classes will give you or your teachers some no stress ideas that will help jumpstart a great semester.
Looking for more resources? I got you covered! Check out – Homeschool co-op class ideas
Are you a homeschool leader or interested in starting your own co-op?
Check out this series.
Thanks so much for including https://www.chroniclesofmomia.com/2020/01/three-years-of-homeschool-co-op-curriculum-in-one-place/ … and for putting this list together! Looking forward to sharing it with my co-op!