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Basic Homeschooling Information |
Cost When you homeschool, you get to select your own
curriculum, so you have control over the cost. Some pre-packaged curricula costs
approximately $1000 per year per child.
At the other end of the price scale, in the Cost-Cutting Strategies Many homeschool support groups host a
used-curriculum fair every spring, so it might be possible to find the
curriculum and books you want at a reduced price. It is also possible to reduce your
out-of-pocket expenses by putting some of the books and software you want to
use on Christmas and birthday lists for grandparents to give as gifts. Another way to cut costs is by requesting educator discounts. Many bookstores offer a discount to public
school teachers and will extend that discount to homeschoolers; my favorite
(because of their service, compared to the lack of service at the competitor)
is Barnes & Noble. Public school
teachers show a pay stub as proof; homeschoolers show a copy of their intent-to-homeschool
form. Kinkos also extends their
educator discount to homeschoolers. Some homeschool families share materials. This can work well for two families who
want to use the same materials, but not necessarily at the same time. Some freeware is worth using – you will have the
cost of paper and printer ink, however.
One recommendation at the early elementary level is WorksheetFactory.com
– freeware for making basic arithmetic worksheets. It is also possible to print math
worksheets from Math-U-See’s
website. The Washington College Bound Scholarship is
available to Testing Some states require homeschoolers to be
tested. If the public school provides
the testing service, it might not cost anything. Otherwise, testing is usually around $50
per child per year. Be sure to use a
test approved by your state. Tight Budget – Getting Started I once helped someone with a kindergartener and
second grader plan how to get started homeschooling on a very tight budget. The family used WorksheetFactory.com to generate math worksheets. This is
freeware. They purchased Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy
Lessons. It is less than $20 new,
and can sometimes be found on used-curriculum boards. They purchased What Your Kindergartener Needs to Know,
and What Your Second Grader Needs to
Know, for $8 each at Costco (these would have cost $12 at a bookstore, or
been free from the public library).
Everything else that they needed was borrowed from the public
library. They also purchased paper and
pencils – which would also have been necessary if the kids had attended a
classroom. Their entire curriculum was less than $50 for the year, and the
kids became proficient at using the library. I recommended that their next purchase be a good
set of dominos for math. Placemats
with pictures of the It can be challenging, but homeschooling can fit
even the most limited budgets. Consider, too, that “free” public school has
hidden costs. Public school kids have
fundraisers that most parents buy into to support their children’s school.
Public school kids have unanticipated classroom supply needs (think special
projects) that occur throughout the year (homeschoolers plan these projects
into their budget). Public school
children often feel the need to wear the “right” brand of clothing, so the
clothing budget for classroom-educated children can be more than for
homeschoolers. When these hidden costs
are considered, the financial cost of homeschooling could easily be less than
the out-of-pocket expenses for “free” public schools. My Family’s Costs Theory about how much homeschooling can cost is one thing; if you purchase
a pre-packaged curriculum it’s pretty easy to look in the catalog for
prices. Most homeschoolers, however,
do not stick with school-in-a-box, and actual numbers differ among families
who select their own materials. The
following is a record of my family’s approximate costs to date, using an
eclectic approach.
*Does not include the cost of music lessons and
instruments, sports fees, nor airfare for “field trip” to **INCLUDES quality microscope, dissection tools
& specimens, skeleton, anatomy torso, and part of the next year’s
materials As you can see, this cost is significantly less than private school.
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