This year, co-op is meeting outside at Lake Gregory Community Church because of the current coronavirus pandemic. Nobody really knew what to expect when we first started back up with classes, but it seems like most people like it so far. Mrs. Donovan is one of those people. “Co-op is going awesome!” she said. “I really enjoy being outside in the fresh air. And all the adults are really pitching in where they’re needed.”

Mrs. Ringhofer agreed that being outside has been great. “We can take advantage of the beautiful weather,” she said. Luckily, the weather has stayed in the 80s every week so far since the end of September. She also said it is easier to clean up messes outside on the grass or dirt than on carpet. She was painting with her kindergarten class during our interview.

One of our high school students, Sophia F., said she also enjoys being outside. “It’s less stuffy than in the classrooms,” she said.

Although we didn’t interview everyone to see how they felt, we got a lot of positive responses to being outside. We hope the weather remains nice enough for us all to stay outdoors for the rest of our first session. Mrs. Donovan said, “The kids are having fun. It seems like a really good year so far!” I’m sure we can all agree on that.