The Cost of Homeschooling

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

30 Nov 2006 04:26 PM

First of all let me apologize for the lack of blogs in home schooling this week. Suffice it to say that five children with a stomach virus leaves little time for anything besides laundry. But that's enough about that!

Awhile ago someone asked me how much home schooling costs. The answer to that is varied and there are several factors that influence how much a family spends. I know families that spend next to nothing, those that spend a small fortune and those that are somewhere in the middle. I will break down for you some of our expenses in home schooling our own children however, I fully recognize that you can do it for less. . .or more.

1. A One Income Family

To me, the biggest "expense" in home schooling is living on one income. Of course many of us would say that we wouldn't have worked anyways after we have kids. And there are also home schooling families who run their own businesses or where mom works from home. Regardless, if you know you're going to home school before you have children (and yes, there are moms out there who feel that strongly about home schooling) it will be most helpful if you and your spouse figure out how to make ends meet on one income.

2. Curriculum

You can get by with free curriculum or lower cost curriculum. However, we wanted to put the books on our shelves. Since we use a literature based approach, our curriculum is full of chapter books, historical biographies, as opposed to work books. (Not that there's anything wrong with buying workbooks either!) We are happy to pay for them.

3. Experiences

Some families may not qualify this as a home schooling expense. We do deliberately. We include memberships to museums, the zoo and the botanical gardens on our IHIPs. We also include trips to concerts, Broadway shows, and other events into our home schooling "curriculum".

4. Lessons

Keeping in mind that we live in the city, we allow our kids to each take two classes a week. Classes include ballet, tap dance, gymnastics, soccer, and baseball. We use these to fulfill our P.E. requirements. Many families just let their kids run around in the back yard but alas--the city is not full of back yards to play in! (All that to say, you don't HAVE to put your kids in lessons--but many families do.)

5. Supplies

In our house pencils grow legs and walk away. I call it the greatest science mystery ever construed. In any case, you can be sure that just because you home school you will not be exempt from buying those school supplies. Also consider things like software, learning games, and other miscellaneous items that you might qualify as home schooling.

So I know you're wondering. . .what's the grand total? We spend less than $1000 per child per year on home schooling. Some families gasp at how much this is and other families gasp at how much less it costs to home school than to send your child in private school. Is your budget more expensive or less expensive?

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Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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Andrea Hermitt (5512) 30 Nov 2006 03:52 PM

We spend about the same, but next year will be double as we add academic classes one day a week for middle schoolers.

Aerie (309) 30 Nov 2006 04:26 PM

We budget $50 a month for homeschooling expenses for our 5 children, so it looks like we're in the same ballpark. I have to know though- are you including the lesson expenses in your total? Classes for ballet, fencing, piano, swimming, etc. run around 10 bucks per week per child around here. I couldn't possibly afford 2 per week per child on our budget! Not that I want to do that anyway. Many outside activities make life way too hectic. I prefer the slow lane. :-)

Oh, and pencils do the same in our house. And a pencil with a usable eraser is even more rare!

Valorie Delp (49340) 30 Nov 2006 06:22 PM

Oh--well the pencils with usable erasers get eaten by the pencil monster. You know. . .he lives with the sock monster? Yes, classes around here run around $20 per class but we receive scholarships from the Y. One reason we do classes is that there really is no where to exercise here. We live in an apartment. . .there is no grass. . .and the nearest park is about 1/2 hour walk or a complicated ride on public transportation. Without classes my kids would get next to no exercises. And actually, the twins don't take classes yet as they're only 18mos! Oh and yes, my budget includes those classes. ;-)

Nola Redd (7081) 01 Dec 2006 01:00 PM

We're in the early stages - oldest is 5 - and since we are on the road (living in an RV) we have no lessons. But I wanted to say, my favorite store since I was about 5 has always been the used book store, which makes for a great place to pick up used chapter books. You don't get the same sort of selection as you might find ordering books new off the Internet, but you generally can't beat the price, and since my books will be well used (and, in the case of smaller kids, well eaten), it makes more sense! It also lets you get more books for less in the same budget. ;)

Valorie Delp (49340) 01 Dec 2006 09:03 PM

A book swap with fellow homeschoolers is also a great idea for obtaining cheap books. We've just never had one. I am throwing my kids a book swap party in March. I'll have to let you know how it goes.