Your co-op needs a Boot Camp

I know because they all do. 

Most of us start in the fall and jump right into the learning and routines we have planned. We have ground to cover, books to read, fun activities to do - we are so excited! 

But then at some point the discussions fizzle. Spats and disagreements pop up. Kids struggle with the foundational skills of collaboration (e.g. brainstorming, communication). 

If you wait to teach how to resolve problems until one comes up, that’s too late. Now you have to take precious time to stop and teach these things. And honestly some of it might just stay frustrating all year. 

We all want a strong, healthy culture in our homes and groups, and when you are doing PBL, you really NEED it! The interconnected collaboration and constant problem solving demand high trust and effective communication. 

Even if you don’t use PBL in your group, if you want

• Rich, active discussion
• Strong friendships
• Invested kids and parents

then building culture is important - even if it isn’t in your curriculum.

Every ounce of effort you invest in building culture will pay back dividends ten-fold. 

It might be okay if we had five days a week with these kids (we’d have time to really solidify the culture we want), but we have one, maybe two, and the rest of the days they are with their families doing vastly different things, with vastly different family norms and expectations. 

Boot Camp gives an opportunity to say, “This is who we are HERE.” To establish your identity and share the vision with other parents and all of the students. If they hold the vision, they will carry your load.

WHAT IS A CO-OP BOOT CAMP?

Boot Camp is a time set aside specifically for culture-building. Usually the first few days of class, or a chunk tacked onto the beginning of the year, it serves to 

• Build community and trust
• Establish expectations & rules/norms
• Practice procedures & protocols (anything from brainstorming to cleaning up at the end of the day)
• Teach 
• Learn your method for solving problems and working through difficulty
• Have a lot of fun together

WHAT DO YOU DO AT BOOT CAMP?

At Bramblewood, we invest a lot in Boot Camp - it is carrying a lot of weight for us! We have a special week right before classes start that is three days (instead of our normal two). If you don’t have this kind of time, we have also seen it done in as little as a couple hours as a kickoff to the year, or just using the first day of class. 

We focus on all the activities that will build the environment we want and set kids and classes up for success. It always includes 

• A mini-project to work together and show the project process
• Discussion to establish norms for each class 
• Teambuilding activities
• Various discussions & activities about how to solve problems, inspiring quotes, anything to set the tone for the year
• Practice with any protocols we care about (e.g. cleaning up after lunch, running morning and afternoon crew meetings, etc.)

Plus the kids have a blast and come away feeling like they are really a part of something special!

If this is something interesting to you, reach out! We have resources and do webinars (some of them free!) all about culture-building, and Boot Camps are a big part of that! We even packaged up one of our Boot Camps with all of the activities, discussions, and schedules for you to just download.