Wow. I'm trendy and I didn't even know it.

I just read this link provided to me by Anne Zeise of Home's Cool. The author of the article discusses what he calls Mom Schools:

"Mom Schools are where a mom sees that her kids need something, so she sets it up, offers it, and invites others. I know of five Mom's schools in Cedar City, Utah, and I know families which have kids in all five. Mom schools are of many types, many options. Some Mom schools are free, some cost $35 a month for the whole family, others are $350 a month per child and everything in between. Others have free events, fee events, and a full-time price.

Some incorporate, others file as partnerships or sole-proprietorships, still others just offer an event here and there and never officially go into business. Some offer training to parents, some hold Shakespeare courses or theatre, simulations, clubs, colloquia for 11-12 year olds, a theater group, a trip to Europe, etc. Or visiting lectures. Or performance groups: band, choir, symphony, dance, etc. The sky is the limit. Parents decide their children need something, so they set it up and invite others.

Experienced homeschoolers may say that Mom Schools have been around for a long time, but there is a significant difference between the homeschool co-ops that have been around the 1960s and 70s, and Mom Schools. First, co-ops have tended to be run by committee while Mom Schools are owned. The difference in quality is significant when someone is in charge. Secondly, co-ops have tended to serve mainly as social entities, providing valuable emotional support for homeschooling parents and social activities for the kids. Mom Schools tend toward focused academics. Finally, because of their very nature, co-ops have been limited; most of them meet once a week or less, and the depth of the academic offerings have tended to be shallow. Mom Schools meet according to the needs of the students, and most Mom Schools tend to focus on one or a few areas of expertise. A network of such schools in an area provides a much deeper academic offering than the traditional co-ops.

I call them Mom Schools because of the hundred or so I know of, only a few are initiated by Dads. But in many of them, Dad is partially or very closely involved.

Mom Schools incorporate offerings from Distance Schools, Virtual Schools, Correspondence Courses, Curriculum, Montessori, Charlotte Mason, Robinson, Unschooling, Unit Study, College Courses, etc. Parents simply look for what is best for their students and then help provide it.

This trend shows that thousands of Americans not only believe in freedom, free thinking and a better educational model, but also that the entrepreneurial spirit is well and strong in America. Most importantly, Americans still have initiative — which is drummed out of so many in the public schools and is so often missing in the public debate."

This is very much what I'm trying to put together with The Sprouted Acorn. What I'm finding so far is that there are a BUNCH of people who would like to be mentors for the venture, but I have only had a handful of people interested in participating in the group itself. Part of this may be because it's summer; the other part is that I'm having a hard time getting the local newspapers to give me a fair shake. For some reason, the past two public service announcements I've sent to them have gone unprinted, even though I actually stopped in and spoke to a man from one of our local papers. I think that if more home educators in our area knew about The Sprouted Acorn, they'd catch the vision and join in.

If you've heard of or have participated in one of these Mom Schools, I'd love to hear from you.