How much does it cost to homeschool? What we pay

Mrs C. asks what you're spending on education stuff and shows off her list.  In 2 parts... part 1 and part 2.  Read it and then come back... I'll wait.

OK now...

I am going to preface my list pay saying, "the cost of the materials and programs I use are not typical of the average homeschool experience, but are unique to the needs to the particular homeschool children in question and the resources the parents have opted to use for their homeschooling needs and pleasure". 

With that said, here goes:

2 Children, grades 10&11, both in a fine arts school for homeschoolers for 12 hours on Tuesdays, and doing mostly AP level work the other 4 days of the week.


Clothes:

• $24.00 on required T-shirts for arts program. 
• $40.00 on new dance (jazz) shoes, Leotards, and tights for Daughters Tuesday Dance class. (got great deals on eBay and Amazon.)

Supplies: 

• $50.00 on a film camera for my son's film photography class.  (I got off easy this year.  Last year he took digital photography, and the camera cost over $300... he still uses it.)
• $50.00 on a case of film for said camera
• $100 on lab fees for developing film
• $140 on supplies for son's graphic design class.
• $5.00 on back to school sale fillers for binders (son's being re-used).
• $20.00 splurge on daughter Hello Kitty organization folder. (if a 14 year old asks for hello kitty and bats her eyes, momma's gonna buy it for her.
• $10.00 splurge for daughters Hello Kitty lunch box which will be used once a week.

Tuition for Electives and special classes

• $4000.00 tuition and fees for 2 homescoolers to take 6 classes each including dance, private music lessons, drama club, & etc.  Each class is only $320 a year which works out pretty cheaply.  I paid more the year I ran all over town doing electives at many different places.  I used to pay $1500 for private piano lessons alone.  (we make monthly payments)

Academics

• $0 daughter's math curriculum (*free online program)
• $0 son's math curriculum (*free online)
• $20.00 suggested calculus book to accompany free curriculum (purchased from Amazon)
• $0  son and daughter's biology (*free online)
• $10.00 suggested biology book to accompany free curriculum (Amazon)
• $0  Spanish (using Rosetta stone, purchased 3 years ago for son, and *free online program for daughter)
• $5.00 suggested Spanish textbook to accompany online program.
• $70.00 Language arts (For Such A Time As This series)
• $0.00 History *free online program
• $0.00 Chinese online curriculum (*free)
• $10.00 Chinese character book for daughter 
• $10.00 supplemental historical novels. 
• $0.00 for additional literature as we used public domain and paperback swap to trade books already read.

Total:   $4564

Per child, roughly $2282...   Compare that to the cost of educating a child in public school which on average us just shy of $10,000. 
(Without the optional arts classes and related supplies it would only be about $65.00 per child, so you can see that you don't need to have money to homeschool.  You can even form groups and create your own electives, or trade services for elective classes. )


1. I justify spending so much on electives for two reasons.  The kids love it and the girls is especially talented... the boy is shy and this helps him be more outgoing.... I like to think.  Plus he does love it.

2.  I make use of as much free curriculum as possible, so I can spend the homeschool budget on extras.

(ps. in previous and more prosperous years, the kids also took academic classes out of the home one day a week, so they were in classes two days a week and home 3 days doing assignments.  That costs roughly $3500 per child... still far less than what public schools pay and probably near the top of what a homeschooler might pay.)


*See the tab (2010-2011 Curriculum Choices ) at the top of the page for the exact curriculum and books we have settled on.




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