Our Co-Op Classes
Our co-op classes serve to create an environment that encourages children to love learning while providing opportunities for academic excellence and achievement. We assist families by offering weekly classes taught by specialists in each field who are usually homeschooling parents as well. By pooling our resource, we are able to offer a rich diversity of expertise that helps families build upon their own knowledge and abilities by providing broader educational experiences.
Our classes support the home education program through classroom experiences, giving both a framework as well as outside accountability and mentoring. Often when homeschooled children reach middle school, they will wish to pursue subject matter that is difficult or foreign to the parent teacher. Many high school diploma programs require courses which some parents feel uncomfortable teaching on their own. Our classes help meet these needs for families by bridging any gaps in the home education program, while offering the benefits of a small-sized classroom experience for students.
It is important to note that our classes are not meant to absolve the parent of their responsibility for their child's education. We seek to create a place where parents can share the resources of others to meet the educational needs of each child in a joint effort. Class offerings will include, but are not limited to: mathematics, science, foreign language, history, geography, writing, literature, social sciences, public speaking, and fine arts.
Beyond Academics
Academic goals are not the only benefit of a homeschooling co-op. Fireside Academy will help foster a sense of community for homeschooling families. Our enrichment classes and extra-curricular activities provide opportunities for social interaction with others who understand a lifestyle focused on family and education.
We feel that offering opportunities for homeschooled children to participate in musical theater and chorus programs, or to develop new hobbies by learning to knit, paint, or sew, are vital to a rich educational experience. We will also offer the opportunity for youth to create a yearbook and newspaper, documenting their experiences and providing information for our co-op families. We will offer informal small groups, such a chess, string orchestra and game club. Teen events and field trips further a feeling of community for your family.
Our Meeting Place
Urgent announcement about our location
Our co-op classes meet at the historic Unitarian Universalist Church of the Lehigh Valley, located at 424 Center Street, Bethlehem, PA, 18018. This location near downtown Bethlehem offers the benefits of being central for many of our families, and meets our goal of providing a homeschooling group for Lehigh and Northampton Counties. The facility has large classrooms, a huge community room and kitchen, and even a gym with stage!
NOTE:
There may be families that have some concerns about our choosing the
UUCLV location. Over the course
of our extensive search for a meeting site, we met with many churches of
varying denominations. Of all of
these, the UUCLV has been the most welcoming and supportive of our
ecumenical homeschooling co-op.
How far is it to Bethlehem, PA?
Maybe not as far as you think!
From Points South:
From Quakertown 13 miles, 20 minutes.
From Limeport 10 miles, 20 minutes.
From Red Hill 23 miles, 35 minutes.
From Perkasie 20 miles, 35 minutes.
From Souderton 24 miles, 35 minutes.
From Points North:
From Stroudsburg 40 miles, 45 minutes.
From Wind Gap 25 miles, 30 minutes.
From Matins Creek 22 miles, 35 minutes.
From Points West:
From Northampton 15 miles, 20 minutes.
From Fogelsville 18 miles, 25 minutes.
From Orefield 16 miles, 25 minutes.
From Points East:
From Phillipsburg, NJ 15 miles, 25 minutes.
From Belvidere, NJ 29 miles, 40 minutes.
All distances taken from MapQuest, accuracy not guaranteed.