How much do you spend, or expect to spend, homeschooling your child?

I just checked out a book from the library called "Homeschool your child for free". Is that really possible? I spend money on books like it was going out of style (I guess I'm an addict!) so I could never get away with calling it "free. Luckily for me, my homeschooling sister, who gets loads of $$ from a California charter homeschool, offloads all her extra goodies onto me.

I think its possible! I have that book, it was one of the first ones I bought, before I even started HS'ing, because I knew we couldn't afford any expensive curriculum and now I'm very glad I didn't buy anything expensive because it wouldn't have gone along with our style. We are quite eclectic. I buy whatever is cheap, looks fun, and will work for us. There is a LOT of free stuff online. Plus books can do the trick pretty easily too I buy all our books online discounted or 2nd hand at the thrift stores, when they have half off sales.

I have a couple things to add to your very informative post: First, Learning is Fun occasionally sends out 25% off coupons if you register to get on their mailing list. Second, I place monthly scholastic book orders (I don't make $ from it, and we give bonus books earned to charity) and generally make the catalogs available at craft group mtgs. And third, I've found a few great discount online books stores:  Alldirect.com which has very good discounts (38%) and low shipping, BookCloseouts.com has very low prices on closeout books and low shipping, and rainbowresourse.com, which was recommended by my sister, has tremendous deals on all sorts of homeschooling material -- ask for their huge printed catalog, as it's easier to browse than online.

The first year I looked through all the curriculums I could think of and I found that the cheapest curriculum I could find as a set was from Christian Liberty Press. I bought that for kindergarten, but this year we are using books we got at homeschool book sells and at second hand stores. At my local libraby there is also an exchange box that homeschoolers will drop off materials they don't use anymore and can take what they will use. I also have over 50 websites in my favorites that have FREE worksheets you can print out for school. If anyone is interested in those, let me know and I can try to list them here.

 Shavawn

#1 Public Libraries-they have so much for free that I sometimes overload us and we keep them a little too long. I recently remembered their Digital Library with search engines to libraries all over the country for countless links for information and an INTERLIBRARY LOAN, so you can get materials from across the country at no charge if you return them when you are done.

#2 Thrift stores-the kids get involved in choosing what they are interested in learning about when they pick their own books to read. The materials for arts and crafts are accessible if you look regularly and are offered at a very low price compared to new. I keep a list on my fridge of anything we may need for upcoming projects and ideas for art.

#3 Internet-unbelievable educational videos everywhere you can imagine about anything you can think of just by doing a subject search.

#4 Sam's Club-I think I have exhausted most of the workbook curriculum I can purchase from there at $9-12 a book which has helped tremendously with the time I have saved in looking for curriculum online and printing, buying ink and copying for the other child. I would rather not support Sam's Club after our membership this year runs out and buy from other places.

#5 We will seriously take advantage of the CAPE Homeschool conference this next year for cheaper curriculum that is gently used etc.

#6 Some places will (from my experience) honor a homeschool ID card and give the same break in cost that they give to a Public School teacher or children. This website was where I found our homeschool family ID cards for free.

Gosh, that's a tough question! My dd likes the Explora classes (~$75) once a year (not spring semester because Explora is too crowded with field trips in the spring--fall is much better. We maintain an Explora membership which is not strictly a homeschooling expense, but I doubt we'd have time to bother with it if the kids were in school. We also maintain a zoo membership (gift from my parents annually) and sometimes Natural History membership.

If they were in school, I might not need private music lessons--I assume they still have orchestra in the schools, but I don't know, so that's $75/mo for homeschooling. We might still do ballet lessons if not homeschooling, but might not have time or energy for it--does that make it a homeschooling expense?

At base, though, I do spend about $500/year on curriculum (Sonlight Cores) every other year--and buy used in the alternate years.

I guess the bottom line is, I spend a fortune on my kids!

Diane

Our main expense is our manipulatives.  I make most of my own "paper" curriculum.  I order free catalogs with pictures and then adapt ideas from them.  I have made several of our own manipulatives too.  It is amazing what you can come up with if you have to.  At one stage, empty toilet rolls were the most valuable asset in our home.
Lyndi

As some of you know, I'm a single, working, homeschool mom with limited resources so this thread really hits a button! My oldest is 21 and my youngest is 11, so I have landmines of expenses and savings to share if you're interested!

Lessons on subjects I know nothing about (e.g. Music, Art, etc.) get expensive.  Particularly music: A $20 keyboard turned into a $200 keyboard, a $300 3/4s fiddle turned into a $400 full-sized fiddle, and those are just the instruments!  I've also noticed a particular lack of free classes on music instruction from the local co-ops, etc. although the hs bands are not expensive.

Dance and anything else that turns competitive turns expensive.  We're not very competitive people anyway, so after one semester at Sandra's School of Dance, with its $200 required costume for the show, $100+ for required uniform leotards and tights, shoes and slippers, plus the cost of lessons. we were outta there. Keshet, on the other hand, was a very homeschool-friendly and budget-friendly alternative (e.g. if you already have yellow leotards, or if  your kid wants to wear shorts, fine).  We lived in the country and Lynne had her horse which required training plus lessons.  Then she fell in love with dressage. Well, that's where I had to draw the line and tell her the grim reality that I can't afford a $7,000 dressage horse and even the lessons and lifestyle aren't something within reach for us at this time.  She continued lessons, but she decided to sell her western pleasure horse and we moved to the city.

Science projects can also get expensive.  In the fall, Lynne's rocket team went to the XPrize competition. The supplies and time off work for me for the meetings were a little expensive, then we had to build the rocket launcher (a bit more), and then we went to the actual XPrize: Hotel, eating out, days off work, etc.   This spring, Lynne's science fair project involved building a wind tunnel, plus expenses for materials to make different sets of wings, etc.  She's going onto to regionals, which means another 3 days entirely off work plus a few more expenses to make the improvements suggested by the judges at the local fair. (Remember what I mentioned about competitions?)

Are these expenses worth it? Absolutely!! There isn't anything I wouldn't do to help them get where they want to go, and we even continued dressage lessons when we first arrived in Albuquerque.  However, she returned to her first passion, which she's had since she was about six: Flight. The greatest expense of all is coming up: She wants her pilot's license before she starts college.  Even the textbooks for flight school cost a bundle (I've already purchased some of them and she's already starting her studying), but I think I'll have to sell a kidney for flight school!  (If you know any buyers, I have a spare on the other side.)    

Here are some pitfalls I found out the hard way: Make sure they're really into it themselves before investing yourself.  The boy wanted football, and after over $100 in uniforms, etc. he decided after the first week that he absolutely hated it.  Sigh.  That's why the girl is working so hard to prove she really, really wants to become a pilot before I'll even start seriously planning a path toward flight school.

Money Savers:

1. The internet & library. I dumped the packaged curriculum (Saxon math, etc.) the first year.  There are so many resources available for free, I buy very little.  I spend more time finding them and putting it together, but that's fine with me because it becomes customized to suit our needs, her level, her interests, and our values.  Packaged curriculums still have to appeal to the averages, the masses, and they can cost a bundle too.

2. SWAP!  The year's largest homeschool swap will probably be at the bi-annual homeschool fair in May:
    What:  New Mexico Home School Community Fair 2008
    When:  Saturday, May 31, 2008
     Time: 9-3 (with the doors being open from 8:30-3:30PM)
     Where: Central New Mexico's Workforce Training Center  5600 Eagle Rock Avenue NE, Albuquerque
At the last swap, I picked up literally bags of books, materials, an abacus, etc. and I spent a whopping $12.  Some people overpriced their stuff, but others recognized that it was worth selling books for 50 cents each and not coming home with them.   If you want a table to sell/swap your stuff, email mtandg@yahoo.com.  There's also a curriculum swap at the CAPE conference each April, but I've found them to be much more expensive and typically boxed curriculae.

3. Title Wave used bookstore, on Eubank and Constitution.  No, I'm not getting any kickback from them; They support homeschooling in many ways, including a fantastic assortment of used books.  If we just can't find it at the library or the curriculum swap, you still don't have to buy it new at the big box bookstore. Plus they take books in good shape for trade, which really stretches the dollar. If you're shopping at Learning is Fun, I'll guarantee you're spending more than you need. Do you really need a new copy of Saxon math? Last year's packaged curriculum is on the shelf, along with workbooks, etc.  Teach your kids to write on a seperate piece of paper, and you can sell or trade the books back when you're done, too.

4. Ask for educator's discounts.  Did you know that home educators qualify for 15%-20% off at these stores: Staples, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Langelle's Art Supply, and more?  If you buy new supplies, ask if they have teacher's discounts!  20% off is like having every fifth trip to Staples be free, all for the trouble of filling out a little form!  Also, home educators are eligible to become members of the NM Educators Fed Credit Union, which is a profit-sharing credit union with all the features of a bank except the greedy fees up the wazoo.  

5. Post and ask your homeschool friends for pricy equipment: Do you really need to buy that microscope, or is your friend not using theirs this semester? You know that after you're done with biology this semester it will most likely sit on the shelf gathering dust while you do physics or chemistry, etc.  Just offer to replace it (and do) if it breaks.  Being a part of the community in more than just electronic words is the biggest way to make homeschooling easier, cheaper, and of course more fun.   

I also encourage everyone to consider teaching a class for free; Imagine if we all did that!  We all have things we can teach (pottery or calculus), and whether it's a 2-day workshop, a 6 week class, or something that lasts all semester, we could all benefit a great deal from each person's small contribution.  You know there are thousands of us in town; Just imagine if we all provided just one class per semester!  I teach free writing classes and often teach for one of the science clubs, and I highly recommend finding the time-it's very rewarding.

Sorry for the long post, but I hope it helps. A little experience from the lower end of the financial spectrum!  

Happy Homeschooling!   -Chris

Shavawn
could you please email me those web sites with free worksheets???

Thanks
Laura

Quoted from 154

Shavawn
could you please email me those web sites with free worksheets???

Thanks
Laura

I just wanted to point out that Shavawn's post is from August 2004, so don't be surprised if she doesn't email you the link!

I started homeschooling when kids were in 6th grade thru highschool.  I am probably repeating what others have done or said.
The first book I bought was The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. (Got me started)
#1. Public library,
#2 Tireman Library at UNM (didn't check out to homeschoolers but you can look at different curriculum books schools are using.)
#3. Title wave books and Homeschool convention
#4. ERC, Educational Resource Center
#5. Got involved with a homeschool group. (Belonged to H2O;former homeschool group)
like a co-op.  Parents would teach classes like art, speech, debate, algebra, chemistry, spanish, life skills. Kids of different ages would meet at a church and have these various classes for a small membership fee and small class fee.  We really missed this after it disbanded.  Great time for moms to get together for advice or support.  
#6 Used homeschool educational discounts Borders, Barnes and Noble.  They have educator days where discounts are more.
#7 Costco
#8 Public Library book sales
#9 Public Schools discard books and old encyclopedias, dictionaries.  We got a perfectly good chess board with all the pieces for free.

My core homeschooling expenses are quite low ($100-$200 annually), but I spend quite a lot of money on field trips, classes, art and science supplies, and books. We make extensive use of the public library and free resources on the Internet, but I am definitely spending more than $500 in spite of this.

By the way, for those of you who are considering it, teaching a "free" class can be quite expensive for the facilitator. I have found this to be the case even when I have charged a materials fee. Families with two or more children would find it difficult to participate if I charged a flat rate per child. I am not comfortable with this myself. I can assume some of the cost because I work part time to support my child's homeschooling experience. Not everyone is in a position to do this. The above notwithstanding, if more parents were willing to teach part of a class series then each individual's turn would come up less frequently and this would cut expenses!

I get a lot of my books off ebay or abebooks.com.  Most of the books on Abe Books are a $1 which is great when you are trying something out and not sure if it is your or your child's style.

I have a question about your #2.. thanks for sharing, it seems like potentially a great resource! HOWEVER....what do you mean they don't check out to homeschoolers?!!??!?!?!?!?! That's totally outrageous! We 1) already pay taxes for the public schools our kiddos don't  use and 2) HELLO! we pay taxes towards UNM too, right? Am I wrong here? I guess in Arizona I'm just used to being given the same priveleges as public school teachers (for example: barnes n noble discount, skiing school group discount and things like that). Usually, if a place doesn't include homeschoolers it's due to an oversight and after speaking with us the situation is remedied immediately. It only makes sense, states should LOOOOOOOOVE us, we pay for their educational system AND we do their work for them by teaching our kids at home.
It seems like something we really need to look into, I'll update you guys if I find out more next time we're in town.

sorry, I'm having a cranky, harried,  "paying-bills-and-my-computer-crashed-and-my-anti-virus-isn't-working" kinda morning  

someone say a little prayer for me

claudia

Quoted from 287

I started homeschooling when kids were in 6th grade thru highschool.  I am probably repeating what others have done or said.
The first book I bought was The Well Trained Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. (Got me started)
#1. Public library,
#2 Tireman Library at UNM (didn't check out to homeschoolers but you can look at different curriculum books schools are using.)
#3. Title wave books and Homeschool convention
#4. ERC, Educational Resource Center
#5. Got involved with a homeschool group. (Belonged to H2O;former homeschool group)
like a co-op.  Parents would teach classes like art, speech, debate, algebra, chemistry, spanish, life skills. Kids of different ages would meet at a church and have these various classes for a small membership fee and small class fee.  We really missed this after it disbanded.  Great time for moms to get together for advice or support.  
#6 Used homeschool educational discounts Borders, Barnes and Noble.  They have educator days where discounts are more.
#7 Costco
#8 Public Library book sales
#9 Public Schools discard books and old encyclopedias, dictionaries.  We got a perfectly good chess board with all the pieces for free.

this is our very first year homeschooling so our needs may change but when deciding to do this I counted in our memberships to zoo, natural history, etc.  since we will be spending a fair amout of time there.  This summer we actually began using our public library and love it!  So much cheaper than buying books that we only read once!  They are also am starting private music lessons and swim team... more money but I think important.  We came from private school though, so what we will actually be spending is minimal to what it used to be (of course that means we lost my income so we pretty much even out).

My son has a habit of hiding books he likes from the libbary leading to huge bills. We no longer borrow from the libbary. Our "school" expences are high but they included soccer, sonlight, Singapore, feild trips, plays, reading books and tons of other things.

Thanks for posting this. I'm not sure I know, exactly. I'd say about $100-200 for various classes and a zoo membership, but this varies from year to year. Gas to and fro is probably our biggest expense.

I thrive on the library, thrift stores, and free stuff on the internet!

But....my kids aren't older yet....

I really admire you Chris for you and your future pilot!