50 attend Home School Co-op program

By Sam Waller

The Shackelford County Home School Co-op held its first system-wide program Friday, Sept. 29, with about 50 students in attendance at The Feed Store.

The program studied the life cycle of butterflies, with the Abilene Zoo showing animals. Each student was given a caterpillar to take home and watch develop into butterflies, which will then fly south later this fall.

“Some of the caterpillars have already become chrysalises,” organizer Tiffany Waddell said. “In about 10 days, we’ll have butterflies.”

The co-op, which was organized last spring, serves between 50 and 60 students from around the Big Country.

“We started home schooling in December and signed up with the co-op in Abilene,” Waddell said. “I thought we could do something local for the rural people who don’t want to have to go to Abilene. We’re special-needs friendly, so we have a lot of kids who have tried other co-ops come to us because they don’t really fit the normal co-op.”

And while it’s called Shackelford County Home School Co-op, it’s not limited to county residents.

“We have people from Colorado City, Winters, Cisco, quite a ways just to come to our events,” Waddell said. “The co-op offers them some social interaction and a place to go if they have questions.”

Waddell said the co-op has other group activities planned, including a float in the Christmas Parade.

“We’re going to have a Grinch theme and do Whoville,” she said. “And we’re going to have a Christmas party Dec. 11.”

After the holiday break, there will be a class on dissecting sharks.