{"id":11806,"date":"2025-08-22T18:58:23","date_gmt":"2025-08-22T22:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/?p=11806"},"modified":"2025-08-22T18:58:24","modified_gmt":"2025-08-22T22:58:24","slug":"northern-christian-co-op-brings-homeschoolers-together-in-caribou","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/2025\/08\/22\/northern-christian-co-op-brings-homeschoolers-together-in-caribou\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Christian Co-op brings homeschoolers together in Caribou"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Jessica Ciszewski, YourPace Student Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

CARIBOU, Maine \u2014 “I just always wanted to be a part of a co-op,” said Abigail Barnet, who\u00a0founded the Northern Christian Co-op. “Having enough friends who were doing it told me that no matter what, we could go for it.”
What began as a small gathering of five families has grown into a weekly meeting of about 80\u00a0children, with a waiting list for more. The co-op meets on Wednesdays from September through\u00a0May at Calvary Baptist Church in Caribou, and offers classes ranging from high school logic and\u00a0history to early reading, crafts, and science. Barnet, who was homeschooled as a child and has homeschooled her own children from the start, said she missed the variety of group activities she experienced growing up in Oregon \u2014 choir, theater, Latin, and swim lessons. With fewer families in northern Maine, those opportunities were more challenging to find. Children at the homeschool co-op enjoy the\u00a0
opportunity to play and learn together.
“When another local homeschool group ended, I invited its families to join us,” Barnet said.\u00a0
Parents teach all classes, which are organized into four class blocks, so every age group has\u00a0options. Community members sometimes volunteer in the nursery so mothers can teach or help\u00a0in other ways.
“The huge range of classes is amazing,” Barnet said. “Kids get to learn from different adults,\u00a0learn how to interact with kids and people they find difficult, and learn patience. Not everyone is\u00a0interested in what they have to say.”
Jessica Smith, who joined the co-op in its first year,\u00a0 brings her three boys each week and often teaches elementary-level science.
“There are certain things my kids learn to do through co-op that I can’t simulate at home,” Smith said. “They all\u00a0 behave better when they’re with someone they’re not\u00a0
related to.”
Smith emphasized that the co-op helps teach independence in a safe environment. “I’m there for a good time. I want my kids to socialize. I want the things I can’t do at home,” she said. “I think that’s really powerful \u2014 if someone who really likes something can teach it to my kid, rather than someone who is just getting it done because they\u00a0 have to get it done.”
Renee Ouellette, who began homeschooling after the COVID-19 pandemic, helps Barnet with\u00a0scheduling and behind-the-scenes work. She drives 40 minutes from Westfield each week.
“It’s more of a family. It’s more of a support system,” Ouellette said. “Even if we might have\u00a0different teaching styles or religious beliefs, overall, we have the same goal in mind, the same\u00a0interests, the same desires.”
Ouellette said the co-op allows newer homeschool families to see a range of teaching styles and approaches. “It’s helpful to get feedback from other moms and hear what they do. The moms who have been doing this for years seem more laid back.”
“The social aspect is a factor,” she added. “My youngest two are extroverts and need to be\u00a0around people. They’ve made friendships and get to talk to like-minded individuals. It takes the\u00a0entire group. Every mother makes a difference; every family makes a difference.”
Despite challenges with space \u2014 the lunchroom seats only 40, forcing some to eat in classrooms or hallways \u2014 and the complexity of scheduling for a growing group, the mothers agreed the co-op has become essential for homeschooling families in the region.
“I love it,” Barnet said. “It’s not just a co-op; it’s a community. Every mom, every child, every\u00a0family matters. And that makes all the difference.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Jessica Ciszewski, YourPace Student Writer CARIBOU, Maine \u2014 “I just always wanted to be a part of a co-op,” said Abigail Barnet, who\u00a0founded the Northern Christian Co-op. “Having enough friends who were doing it told me that no matter what, we could go for it.”What began as a small gathering of five families has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":11808,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7376],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11806","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","et-has-post-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11806","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11806"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11806\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11809,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11806\/revisions\/11809"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11808"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11806"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11806"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.umpi.edu\/utimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11806"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}