Homeschooling in the Sunlight
By Gary S. Hatrick
Homeschooling has been growing in popularity by leaps and bounds for several decades. Many parents, for various reasons, wish to provide their children with a more individualized education than they can obtain in public schools. When the school shooting at Columbine, Colorado occurred in 1999, more parents began to look to homeschooling as an alternative. The increase in such tragedies in recent years has further motivated parents to seek an education for their children, giving them peace of mind.
Whatever the reason, homeschool parents have all faced the same questions, juggling school with their jobs, finding an acceptable curriculum, and making certain that the education they provide will prepare their children for the future.
Raeven Harris, a 36-year-old Zephyrhills native and homeschool mother of three, has found an answer to these obstacles and has committed herself to making it work for any parents who would like to join her and her children on their journey of learning.
Raeven began homeschooling six years ago. "I began homeschooling because when the pandemic hit, and I had to work with my children," Raeven recalled. "I saw where they were academically - my children weren't progressing as they should. Two of my children were IEP (Individualized Education Program) children, and they were struggling with their academics. Because of that, I wanted to find an alternative for them. I started looking into homeschooling, and it just seemed like it was a better option for them. I figured doing the one-on-one work with them would have been the best for them at that time. After starting it, they flourished, and it was the best decision I ever made for them."
The search for a school plan that would help her kids, now ages 7, 9, and 12, was challenging. "My kids thrived outside, especially with movement and exploration and hands-on learning, but I struggled to find a place that valued their education as much as their freedom," Raeven said. "I tried it all. We did the nature school. We did forest schools, wilderness survival classes, and enrichment groups; and while those experiences were meaningful, they were always missing one key piece - the academics."
"I turned to Carolina Kids Co-op, because after years of leading outdoor programs and homeschooling my own three kids, I was still searching for something more," Raeven continued. "I was looking for a program that could combine the beauty of outdoor learning with strong academics and a truly supportive, inclusive community. Being a mom with two children that have disabilities, being inclusive matters a lot to me."
In her search, Raeven came across Carolina Kids Co-op, a program out of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina founded by Jess Alfreds.
Jess relates the origin of Carolina Kids Co-op. "I saw a real need in the community. My daughter at the time was, I think, six or seven, and there was no place that I wanted her to go and spend her days. I didn't want to just homeschool at home alone. I really wanted the classroom experience, but I didn't want any of the existing classrooms. Kids can't focus, and they're not sitting still, and they're not engaged because, first of all, they're bored, but also because they've got no fresh air, no natural sunlight and it's very rigid. They're in these rooms, and they just need a little space." She thought, "Why are we doing, you know, nature groups and play groups outside and then going inside all day for math and social studies and history. We need the classroom outdoors."
"Surely I was not the only person looking for that," Jess said. "But if you sit back and wait for somebody else to fix it, our kids will grow up by the time that happens. If you see a problem and you think that you might be able to fix it, you gotta jump in and do it. So, I posted on Facebook. 'I am going to build a small academic pod where kids can be outdoors but learn all of their core academics on the beach, and if any other moms are interested, come on down. We're going to hire teachers. It's going to be great.' And within about a month, we had 120 kids,"
"They focus better outdoors.," Jess continued. "You know, I think originally people thought, Oh, my, my child's going to be way too distracted outside. There's a bird, there's a plane, there's a squirrel, and that does happen a little bit in the beginning, but in between every class, they're allowed to run. and when they sit down again for class, or whatever the activity is, they're focused. We find that retention is better, and focus is better. You know, you'll be teaching a reading class, and squirrel will run in, [you ask] 'And how do you spell squirrel?' We work it into what we're doing, rather than fighting the elements."
Carolina Kids Co-op began to gain in popularity, and others asked if they could start a program. Soon, it was in several states, and they were reaching out to other sites.
Here in Zephyrhills, Raeven found the co-op. "So when I saw that CKC was looking for a director in our area, something clicked, and it wasn't just another outdoor program, it was a full academic hybrid that allowed kids to learn in the fresh air and to be themselves and build real relationships, all while still receiving a solid foundation in core subjects and the space to explore electives and it was inclusive. CKC meets the kids where they are. They don't group them. It's not by age, it's by level, and that makes all the difference. So, becoming the director of CKC was never about organizing a program. It was about answering a call that I didn't even know I had. It was to help build something that our area truly needed, and now I'm just honored to bring that vision to life with other like-minded families who believe education can look different and better."
Raeven explains some of the characteristics of the program: "We don't go by grades or ages, we do it by where they're at the best of their abilities. Instead of saying, oh, it's grade one or grade two, it's level one or level two. So, the kids don't feel like they're not supposed to be in that class. It's toddlers through middle school level. We haven't added the high school program yet, which is coming the following year.
"We operate as a three-day-a-week in-person program, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, from 10-3 PM, and then on the other days of the week, we have enrichment work for the children. Parents can decide if they want to do the enrichment work or not. If their child knows what's going on and they don't need the extra help or practice, they don't have to do it. But we do provide each of the families a program where they can go in, they can see what their children learned, and we upload enrichment work for them to do if they choose."
Once the high school is added, Raeven assures that there is nothing to fear for college plans. "Colleges love having homeschoolers join their programs," Raeven said. "Because at that point, homeschool children have learned how to seek out answers.
They've learned how to research. They've learned different ways of thinking. We’ve never had any issues with homeschooled children being able to go into a college-level program. Being in the co-op you are considered a homeschooler. While we are teaching, your child is ultimately considered a homeschooler. We provide transcripts because that's what the colleges look at. We do everything that is needed for the child."
Parents can be certain of a quality education because they hire qualified teachers. "Every single teacher, even our teacher's aides - everybody - is background-checked," Raeven assured. "They have quality qualifications or expertise in what they're teaching. We do have some retired teachers that are working with us as well."
"Our school year runs from September through May. Our first day of class starts September 3 and runs through May 29th, our last day. We do follow breaks. We have one week off for Thanksgiving. We have two weeks off around Christmas, and we have spring break as well. We'll follow the school schedule."
"We do more than just academics," Raeven points out. "Jess took all the things that she loved from the public schools and kept them, and changed the things that she didn't like. We kept things such as the school dances and the science fairs and talent shows and spelling bees, and the fun days like crazy sock day and crazy hair day, and spirit day, all of those types of programs we did keep in our program."
Carolina Kids Cooperative is an outdoor, secular, academic co-op. Interested parents can visit the website at www.carolinakidscoop.com. Scroll down the location tab and find Zephyrhills. There you'll find the schedule, meeting days, costs, and where you can register. You can also e-mail Raeven for more information.
