cost of home schooling materials?

Question

i have a few years to go yet, but i want to home school my child. what is the average cost of home schooling materials for one grade year? i know there are different methods of home schooling, so the cost would poss vary with the diff methods. i'm not sure which method i want to use yet, but i just want to get a ballpark idea, thanks.

Answer 1

It's really hard to give ballpark figures, as a previous poster mentioned. If you go unschool, you can probably do it for little or nothing - just pens, papers, library books, etc.

If you use a packaged curriculum (Bob Jones, A Beka, Alpha Omega), they're pretty pricey (generally $500-1000 per child per year).

If you are more eclectic, you could just buy a math program (about $50-100 per year - many can be re-used with multiple children, you just need to buy extra sets of the workbook pages). We use the library a LOT for things like reading, science, and history. I do have two history encyclopedias and one science encyclopedia, but my boys will use them for several years.

Something like Sonlight will cost quite a bit (as in $1000 per child per year) because they use so many different books. However, you can pick which instructor guides (subject-level teacher guides) you buy from them and find the readers elsewhere for a lot less.

Answer 2

It differs from family to family, and child to child. We're entering our 6th year of homeschooling; there have been years I've spent under $300 (including outside classes and activities) and years I've spent $1500+. This is for one child. (The most expensive year is this year, for high school.) For a preschooler and a toddler, you can get most or all of your materials at the library and online for free. Lapbooks, activities like cooking, gardening, and nature walks, drawing and painting, reading stories...this is what school is for a preschooler. I would do any "alone" activities while your 15 month old is napping, and include your younger one in anything that you can. Preschool/K really only takes about an hour or so a day...the rest is all just life. You're already homeschooling and just didn't know it :) Your kids are learning already; there's no need to get them in anything formal until much later down the road. Hope that helps!

Answer 3

I noticed nobody actually gave you figures yet (at least, not while I'm writing this.)

Some people are able to homeschool on less than $200 a year--that's basically just some workbooks, general books, paper, pens, etc. Others go for more structured programs where everything is provided. Sonlight, when you get the Core and then add in math and other stuff, comes out to about $1000 or more per year, I think. Something like A Beka costs a little more than $300 for their grade 1 materials. I think. That's what I figured out from their website but I could be wrong, I only had a quick look.

Answer 4

The curriculum that we use was $195 --- one time for all the children --- kindergarten through 12th and some college level material. Math is a separate purchase ---- We use Saxon; each level is $50 to $70 depending on grade --- each is also a one time purchase and can be used for all of the children. Other than that we print most of our books off of the computer from the curriculum CDs. Sometimes we buy the books at used bookstores. A good printer (laser duplex) costs approx. $250 --- these seem to last anywhere from 2 to 8 years depending on usage. A case of paper is $25. Pencils, notebooks, etc.... don't add up to very much.

Roughly, I'd say that I now spend less than $50 per year for each student on curriculum related expenses. If I count piano lessons.... the cost goes up a bit.

Answer 5

Depends on the grade level and how frugal you want to be.

Packaged curricula tend to be best for saving money -- a package from Calvert or Laurel Springs will start at $395 (first grade) and go up with grade level through the 8th grade. These packages include everything though -- core subjects, art, music, technology, etc. High school can be quite expensive indeed.

Here in Alaska (as in some other states), the State is willing to fund homeschooling. Depending on grade level and program, students here have allotments of between $1600 and $2000 -- which can be used up rather quickly when you add up curricula, computer lease, music lessons, PE instructions and misc. items.

Answer 6

I have spent somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 total over the past 3 years. That was for a random workbook here and there, and school supplies. Oh, and our membership to the zoo each year. I found our school district's obsolete books warehouse where I get text books for free. I order workbooks off amazon. I stay far, far away from the boxed curriculum sets.

Answer 7

I just started homeschooling this year, but I have really spent very little. I have much more than I will need I'm sure, but I went a little crazy. I got really lucky and found a great group called "Homescool Freecycle" and got several items from that for postage only. That group disappeared so I created another along the same lines. It is at the following link: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/freehomesc...
I also hit the thrift stores and Half-priced Books stores. Unfortunately I missed the auction at the local school districts which would have been helpful for future years as well. I could have also offered them on the group to other homeschoolers. Come check out the group. It is a great bunch of homeschooling women and a few men as well. Remember, until you have actually seen the curiculum and know that it will work for you, I would suggest not buying it. You can look at another grade even and make sure that it is somehting that will work for you. Also, there are so many places where you can get free resources/worksheets/etc online. Also check out this other link where she has a whole curriculum set up with lesson plans: http://oldfashionededucation.com...
Good luck and I hope this helps.

Answer 8

I live in Ohio and I go to Digital academy.. they give u a computer to use for the school year and you do the work online.. the only thing I had to pay for was a calculaters, stuff for projects, and stuff like that.. I would look into homeschooling on a computer or somthing of that sort.

Answer 9

Connections Academy.com will give every thing you need like computer,printer all the books they even give the books for the parents,we even go on field trips. its called learning without boundaries,or you can call 800-382-6010

Answer 10

Lots of info here.