Oh My! Do you all really spend this much $ on history?

[joannqn]

So, seeing the recommendations for BiblioPlan to go with Vol. 3 and 4 of SOTW, I went to check it out.

 

From what I'm reading on the FAQ, you need to purchase a lot of "primary resources" in addition to the curriculum. So, year 3 would cost $289! :ohmy:

 

BiblioPlan = $83

Story of the World = $65

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia = $20

Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History = $27

Streams of Civilization Vol.2 = $14

A History of US (books 2-5) = $44

A Child's Story of America = $10

Meet the Great Composers = $18

How We Crossed the West = $8

 

That's almost as much as I spend on all subjects combined! Granted that's per student...but I can't see spending half my budget on one subject KWIM? How do you afford to homeschool?

 

(Kingfisher History Encyclopedia is the only thing on the year 3 list that I own.)

 

Edited: Oh wait! I forgot to add in the $32 for maps and cool history packs for the 2nd child.

Edited October 3, 2009 by joannqn

[angela in ohio]

No.

 

I would go on, but I just ranted yesterday on the Singapore thread, so I have used up my allowance for the week. :001_smile:

[StartingOver]

I have always spent $1000 a year on each child. For the next 17 years that will mean $2000 a year, which is only $76 a bi-weekly paycheck. That doesn't seem like to much it me, $5.50 a day to educate two children through highschool. If I don't spend it all this year, I put it in a savings account to use for bigger ticket item later on, like science labs or microscopes, etc. This of course will include the price of outside classes they chose to take like music, art, sports, karate, etc.

 

I think that is pretty cheap for a quality education, customized for each to each of my childrens needs.

[frogpond1]

those items are much cheaper. I've never bough Biblioplan, but the other books don't have to cost that price.

[Tam101]

No, I'm only using STOW and I check everything out from the library. I go through the suggested reading list a couple chapters at a time and put everything on hold at the library. I will most likely get the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History soon, because I know we'll get a lot of use out of it, but that is it.

[joannqn]

those items are much cheaper. I've never bough Biblioplan, but the other books don't have to cost that price.

 

Those are Amazon prices.

[Avila]

I am with you on the sticker shock. Your total for Biblioplan will be even higher than that, if you are buying the readers and read-alouds. I think I spend the most on history, but that is because it is my favorite subject. I don't spend what you have listed though. But I had most of the required resources.

 

I buy almost everything used from used curriculum sales, consignment stores or this board. I get the readers and read-alouds from library book sales or just from the library. I probably spend about half your total for all three kids, and that includes the reading and them not being in the same program.

 

Just in comparision, buying SOTW, the AG, and the readers listed as supplemental would be almost as much. MFW is around $250-300, Sonlight is between $300-$500, WP is closer to $500, and HOD is around $200-$300. Any time you go with a literature-based program, you are going to pay this amount. History this way is not cheap.

 

I think your figures may be winnowed down a little though. You would need the Biblioplan guide for sure. But you could do without the other Biblioplan stuff except for the maps. Your SOTW figure looks like you are including the AG, and if you buy the AG, you can skip the Biblioplan maps as well and just use the SOTW ones. You don't need the SOTW AG AND the Biblioplan maps. You don't really need the AG at all, but it is nice to have. You wouldn't need BOTH the Kingfisher and UILE unless you have both grammar and logic stage kids, and even then you could just buy UILE and use it for both (and these are one-time purchases for all four years). You can do without Streams completely if you only have younger kids, as it is supplemental reading, and you could use your own bible instead of Victor to save money also. It could be done with just the Biblioplan guide and maps, SOTW book only, UILE, Child's Story, and the library, and it would still be a full program. And you could get all of it except the maps used for about half their original cost.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Asenik

[joannqn]

No, I'm only using STOW and I check everything out from the library. I go through the suggested reading list a couple chapters at a time and put everything on hold at the library. I will most likely get the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History soon, because I know we'll get a lot of use out of it, but that is it.

 

This is what I'm doing now. I buy the current year's SOTW storybook, activity guide, and two copies of the student pages for $65. I ask to sub the tests for an extra set of student pages. I own the Kingfisher History Encyclopedia. Nny of the additional history suggestions or literature selections we read are are borrowed from the library. If the library doesn't have it, we don't read it.

 

But, I keep seeing that Vol. 3 and 4 are too light on American history so you have to supplement. If it really covers the Civil War in one chapter/one week, I agree that it will need to be supplemented. But to spend an extra $250ish to supplement history seems insane.

[LauraGB]

No, I'm only using STOW and I check everything out from the library. I go through the suggested reading list a couple chapters at a time and put everything on hold at the library. I will most likely get the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History soon, because I know we'll get a lot of use out of it, but that is it.

:iagree:So far, this is exactly what we have done, too. If I need to buy something because I can't get it from the library (for us it was the History of US books), I try to find them used, usually from the sale/swap board here. Buying used, either from here, ebay, or half.com has saved tons of $.

[Chris in VA]

I don't spend that much. CHOW and SOTW would be redundant. Kingfisher or Usborne is only for logic stage, according to WTM, so you don't need either for grammar (but I have both--because I like pictures, and it's a one time purchase for first thru 8th grade).

I just get the AG and SOTW, used, and get books at the library, usually. This year I paid an extra $99 for 14 books and the Sonlight 3/4 guide, which I'll be selling. I think I spent $140 all together, which is more than usual. Oh, and I had the Time Traveler's Cds from Homeschool in The Woods, but I bought them used, too, about 2 years ago.

 

Also, remember that for some of us, history is a mega-subject. What I mean in my own case is that I use the books for reading, the narrations to cover writing, and the activities to supplement science and art.

[inactive]

Scary, isn't it?? :001_huh: (If you REALLY want to be scared go check out "Tapestry of Grace"...including ALL the books...because most aren't available at the library...then add in the "add-ons" like Writing Aids, Timeline, Pop Quiz, Evaluations.)

 

I'll stop there...because this isn't about "bashing" any particular curriculum. But, I do think it's easy to get caught up in programs...;)

[Ellie]

I never spent that much money. The most I would have spent would have been KONOS (I "earned" it by working KONOS tables for Jessica Hulcy, back before there were KONOS reps), but that would have been everything except English and math, for at least two years, for all dc, and no extra resources--only the volume and the timeline.

[Narrow Gate Academy]

So, seeing the recommendations for BiblioPlan to go with Vol. 3 and 4 of SOTW, I went to check it out.

 

From what I'm reading on the FAQ, you need to purchase a lot of "primary resources" in addition to the curriculum. So, year 3 would cost $289! :ohmy:

 

BiblioPlan = $83

Story of the World = $65

Kingfisher History Encyclopedia = $20

Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History = $27

Streams of Civilization Vol.2 = $14

A History of US (books 2-5) = $44

A Child's Story of America = $10

Meet the Great Composers = $18

How We Crossed the West = $8

 

That's almost as much as I spend on all subjects combined! Granted that's per student...but I can't see spending half my budget on one subject KWIM? How do you afford to homeschool?

 

(Kingfisher History Encyclopedia is the only thing on the year 3 list that I own.)

 

Edited: Oh wait! I forgot to add in the $32 for maps and cool history packs for the 2nd child.

 

We don't spend that much on one subject. What you've priced would be half my budget for all the kids. Here's a few ideas to cut down on your list...

 

Get either SOTW or the Usborne Encyclopedia. It probably isn't necessary to have both. (It won't kill your younger one to read an occasional page or two out of the Kingfisher book with their older sibling.) I would not buy the History of the US books. Check your library. They're fairly common. You could also probably skip the Meet the Great Composers book and just get biographies of individual composers from the library.

 

I would start by getting Biblioplan and seeing what's available at the library. If the library doesn't have the exact book recommended, they may have a similar one on the same topic that can be substituted.

 

HTH

[SilverMoon]

Nope. I choose one main spine for each stage, and flesh it out at the library. We use SOTW for grammar stage, and Kingfisher History Encyclopedia for logic stage.

[Denise in IN]

Well, literature based history is expensive if you have to buy all of the books you use.

 

I have used Biblioplan, but never spent that much. We have a great library system, and use it extensively.

 

With Biblioplan, you do not need all of the primary resources. Those are your options. Choose the ones that work best for your students. When we used Biblioplan (my boys were 1st-4th), I used SOTW and a history encyclopedia as our spines. I did buy the composers book, and got the History of US books from the library a few times (but they were generally too much reading for my kids).

[RainbowSprinkles]

I have always spent $1000 a year on each child. For the next 17 years that will mean $2000 a year, which is only $76 a bi-weekly paycheck. That doesn't seem like to much it me, $5.50 a day to educate two children through highschool. If I don't spend it all this year, I put it in a savings account to use for bigger ticket item later on, like science labs or microscopes, etc. This of course will include the price of outside classes they chose to take like music, art, sports, karate, etc.

 

I think that is pretty cheap for a quality education, customized for each to each of my childrens needs.

 

:iagree:

that's a great way to look at it!

[tdeveson]

No, I'm only using STOW and I check everything out from the library. I go through the suggested reading list a couple chapters at a time and put everything on hold at the library. I will most likely get the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History soon, because I know we'll get a lot of use out of it, but that is it.

 

 

That's what I do too. I use SOTW, the Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of World History, and check out everything else.

[8filltheheart]

I have spent a lot of $$ building up our home library. I don't have to spend hardly any $$ on my younger kids anymore (just replacement workbooks like Horizons math) b/c I have all the other materials already.

 

I just want to warn you that the older they get, though, the more expensive the courses become. High school materials cost quite a bit of $$. I won't scare you by telling you how much money I spent on the 2 high schoolers and my 8th grader this yr!! (though our senior spent 1 1/2 yrs in private schools and I consider what I spend on homeschooling a bargain b/c it is just a fraction the cost of private schools.)

[StartingOver]

:iagree:

that's a great way to look at it!

 

It costs more to buy your child lunch in our local school district !!!

[Oakblossoms]

We are using SOTW 3 right now. I don't feel it's too light on US history. I do search the library for this weeks topics and do cross searches. So, often we "find" more stuff on US topics.

 

While I would love to have a huge library at my home, I can't. It cost quite a bit. Plus, we move every year or two. Sometimes we have extra room and some time we don't.

 

I don't think my children will lack anything from not using the "correct" resources. I'm good at searching the library and the internet. They need to get the information and have time to discuss it with me. That is what is most important.

[Lori D.]

Nope, there are options:

 

1. Make your own history

At those young ages you really don't *need* a curriculum for history; just use your Kingfisher as an overall guide to keep you slowly moving forward in time, and check out loads of great resources from the library -- non-fiction; historical fiction; games, food, culture of those other times and places; science, discoveries, inventions of those other times and places; videos and/or DVDs on other times and places.

 

Don't forget to google search for terrific crafts, activities, foods, music, etc -- and look for all kinds of history opportunities and field trips in your area -- museums; reenactments; cultural or historical fairs and festivals; state/national historic sites and monuments (often with free brochures/print material); etc.

 

2. Borrow/Trade the Curriculum

Find another homeschooler, either locally or online who uses the same material but in a different year than you, and either trade, borrow or buy together.

 

3. Only Buy What You Have To

Reduce the cost by only purchasing what you can't find at your local library, check out from your homeschool group's library, borrow from a friend, etc.

 

3. Buy the Set Used

Check out various homeschooling "swap" boards" (WTM Swap Board; Homeschool Classifieds; Vegsource's homeschool swap board; etc.) and find either a complete set or piece it together yourself used -- often for as much as half price. Also look in local used bookstores, yard sales, Book Mooch online, Paperback Swap online, or local used curriculum fairs.

 

 

It's always a trade-off -- spend the money, or spend the time researching options or buying used. But think of it this way: it's not that homeschool costs so much (by comparison, public schools spend $5000-9000 per student per year depending where in the country you are) -- you are investing in your children and their future! Is $250 too much for one subject -- not when it's your children's minds and future you're talking about! And you can always use the materials again for your younger children when they are at that age, or you can resell -- both options reduce that "cost" considerably.

 

BEST of luck, whatever you decide! Warmly, Lori D.

Edited October 3, 2009 by Lori D.
added info

[Shelly in the Country]

Also, remember that for some of us, history is a mega-subject. What I mean in my own case is that I use the books for reading, the narrations to cover writing, and the activities to supplement science and art.

 

:iagree: We spend a lot on history but this is integrated with literature, geography, writing, Bible and worldview training. I don't buy any supplemental material for any of these except Bible. Ok...well maybe I do add some more reading to TOG, but that's just part of a general problem of keeping my kids in enough books to read. :001_smile:

 

Besides, homeschooling is still cheaper than private school. I get to reuse all these great books I'm buying across 4 kids.

[Dinsfamily]

There's a difference for me between buying curriculum guides and consumable resourses vs. buying living books. If the cost went mostly to the first category, it wouldn't be worth it for me. However, most of the money I spend goes toward buying living books. Not only am I building a home library for our family, my cost is significantly less for my younger children. It will only cost me about $60 to replace consumables for my 3yos Kindy year. I could use more books from the library, but my I'd have too many library fines doing it that way and wouldn't be building a home library.

 

History is just one of those subjects that requires more books than other subjects and is, therefore, more expensive.

[Katiebug_1976]

Absolutely not! I have 4 kids to buy books for and we do good to come up with $1000 each year for everything!

[LadyAberlin]

I use paperbackswap.com and I buy used. That is how I afford Sonlight. I also bought my IG this yr used. Actually it was brand new 2009 IG that had never been used and I saved $20 buying it off homeschoolclassifieds.com

[dymphna57]

I admit that after the first year I bought all the books I needed for Veritas Press Greece and Rome, I curled up in a little ball on the couch with the shock of what i had just spent.

I really didn't have any resource books for history and I didn't know any history. We used as many books from the library as they had AND interlibrary loan but it wasnt enough and it took a lot of time. My time. Me, the person who kept all the juggling balls in the air.

I decided that spending years of my life, giving up most of my free ( well, for a lot of mothers, the time their children are in school is free-er than my typical day) time that anything that saved time or made our school time more enjoyable and productive was CHEAP.

It became clear early on that anything that helped me was money well spent. Some of those expensive in house books made lasting impressions on my children and they still prefer the non fiction to fiction as first grab out of the library bag.

I have worked part time so that we have a school budget. I am cheap and get as much as possible from the internet but sometimes those big picture books are worth every single cent.

There is my two cents!:lol:

[katilac]

Well, I'd take some exception to a few things on your list. While it's great to match other studies to history, I wouldn't really consider "Meet the Great Composers" a history expense, kwim?

 

If you chose to buy everything on your list at once, then yes, year 3 would cost that amount, but it doesn't follow that every year would cost that much. I'm on year 7 of using the same encyclopedia of history, and year 2 of using this volume of SOTW and AG (our second cycle of middle ages).

 

Everyone has a different level of convenience they're willing to pay for. Looking just at the SOTW part of your list, a person could easily save a good bit by buying used, and copying the student pages rather than buying them. I'm not as familiar with other items on your list, but I'm guessing most of them can and will be used more than once. And of course there's the library. It's whatever works for each person, their personal finances and whether they want to create/scout out stuff or buy it ready made.

 

Another thing - - your kids are pretty young, aren't they? I found it much easier to economize when my kids were younger. As they move up, the sheer volume of work increases greatly. Not only are more resources required, but each one tends to be more expensive. We buy many used books, but while I can find plenty of elementary biographies at the thrift store for fifty cents or a dollar, there are very few at middle school or high school level.

 

Plus, some of us simply love books, and will give up a great many other things to fill our house with wonderful ones!

[Emmy]

Well, $289 for history certainly doesn't scare me off - I spend at least that every year on history - but you don't need to spend that much just to add more american history into SOTW. I would just add in some extra time for major american events (colonial times, revolutionary war, etc) and do extra book selections from the book lists at Winterpromise or Sonlight (chances are most will be listed in the SOTW ag anyway). If this makes your year too long cut some of the non-western weeks from SOTW that don't interest you or double up chapters on the ones that aren't as important (to you).

 

All that being said, I agree with many of the posters above on the expense of history - you'll be using it with several children so the cost is spread even further. Typically I am much more likely to spend on living books and literature than I am on teachers manuals and how-to guides - I almost always feel we get our money's worth.

[Heather in WI]

Well, $289 for history certainly doesn't scare me off - I spend at least that every year on history - but you don't need to spend that much just to add more american history into SOTW.

 

All that being said, I agree with many of the posters above on the expense of history - you'll be using it with several children so the cost is spread even further. Typically I am much more likely to spend on living books and literature than I am on teachers manuals and how-to guides - I almost always feel we get our money's worth.

 

:iagree:

[Denisemomof4]

YEARS ago I spent $600 on history alone using Sonlight. It was worth every penny. We LOVED Core 5 and my boys speak of it to this day.

 

At the end of the year I sold it on Ebay, minus a couple of things I kept, and got back every cent I spent. :001_smile: I knew I'd get more money if I sold it right after we used it than keeping it for my girls and selling later.

 

I do want to do Core 5 again and will do the same thing.

[elegantlion]

I have an only child so saving for the next one doesn't work in my house. I am building a library to keep but 300.00 for any one subject at the elementary level seems shocking to me. there have been many years when that was my entire budget for the school year.

 

I try to keep a balance in my budget. Of course we follow an Latin-Centered Curriculum not a history centric one but I still only spend a little over $100 each year for Latin.

 

I agree with what others have said about looking for used, using paperbackswap, and using the library.

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Another Lynn]

I would not buy Biblioplan just for the sake of beefing up US history in SOTW. I would add library books and find one US history spine I like to add in when needed. If my library didn't have much I would scour various book lists and homeschool catalogs, make a list of books you want to add in, prioritize them and look for them used. Don't forget there are several American History books online free at the Baldwin Project or mainlesson.com.

 

HTH.

[Ali in OR]

History is our most expensive subject--typically $400-$500 per year this first time through. We use Biblioplan, and while you certainly don't need all of the classtime resources you listed (Kingfisher OR Usborne, not both, History of US or Child's Story of America, not both, etc.) you do want to buy read alouds and readers that you can't get at the library. History is the highlight of home schooling for us and I don't regret spending the money to build a good home library. My 9 yo re-reads the books all of the time. Our budget for homeschooling is the $100/mo that we used to spend to send dd to preschool. As others point out, the $1200/yr that I spend on home school materials and books for two kids is nothing compared to private schools and really not much more than the spending that is required to send a child to public school anymore what with all of the fees and materials they require now. Teaching is hard work; I very much appreciate that we have the resources to buy what I think I need to do my teaching job well. It makes my life a little easier.

 

That said, it would be very easy to add American history to SOTW without spending all that. Use only what you can get from the library. Add in some great literature that way. My library even has the History of US series.

[Imprimis]

YEARS ago I spent $600 on history alone using Sonlight. It was worth every penny. We LOVED Core 5 and my boys speak of it to this day.

 

 

 

I did the same thing, Denise. My dd (and I!) really got so much out of Sonlight's Core 5. Well worth the expense. Plus, I have it boxed up to use again with my ds and little dd when they are ready for it.

 

I do think the convenience of having the materials on hand and being able to use them again with upcoming dc makes the initial expense easier to justify.

[MBG]

I thought I spent a lot with SOTW and the activity guide, plus the internet linked encyclopedia. The rest I get from the library.

 

I even spent $50 to get a nearby city library card.

 

Spend what you can/want. You can get a lot from the library and on-line.

[swellmomma]

Well let's put it this way, I have spent around $4300 already and I still have items on back order that are not paid for yet (that is total for all subjects for 3 kids).

 

For history using 2 Sl cores, 1 WP package and my own Canadian history tie ins and extra projects, I believe I am at around $1000-1200 CDN(incl shipping) just for the one subject for 2 kids, and that is buying the SL cores and WP used. My 3rd has his own SL core so his total is not included in that $1000. That said this stuff will carry us through the next 1.5-2 years and then 1 of the cores carries over for an additional 1.5 years and I buy the next sl core and wp unit to tie in again. So for 3-4 years the grand total is $2000-2400 CDN(including shipping) or around $1500 US(not including shipping as if i was in teh states I would get free shipping)or roughly $375 per year for 2 kids.

[melmichigan]

I don't think you want to know how much I have spent on history this year. :D I will say I buy new when I know something will need to make the long haul, like my Core 6 materials. I know they will go through 4 more kids, I just plan on a new IG when I get that far. I save where I can, I use the SL payment plan, I substitute the SOTW and the Usborne IL for Core 1, and bought my Core K used, since it will only go through 2 children. I am also buying some of the Core 1 materials as I go, in $25 groups because my plan to get them from the library turned into more work than it was worth with five kiddos and others obviously trying to do the same thing. ;)

 

I figure, four kids a day @ 1.70 a lunch would be $1224, so if I stayed under that I'd be thrilled.

Edited October 4, 2009 by melmichigan

[Lovedtodeath]

It isn't just for history. That's the thing. You are buying books. My DD loves history books and reads them over and over. Having a schedule in place to use them is something I like to have too.

 

The whole idea of TWTM education is learning from literature, and they learn more than history.;)

[justamouse]

Yes. It's built into the budget.

 

BUT if I sent my kids to school I would be spending over 300 dollars a month in lunch choices so I look at it as a wash.

 

And we're not done yet.

[3byzaz]

I couldn't believe what I spend on history this year. I did BP and a few resources, plus read aloud's that my library didn't have--most of these were used. I don't know how much it was! BUT, I would do it again in a heartbeat. It is great - we are really loving it. I came from 5 years with Weaver - a Bible based unit study that we loved, but I wanted to do history chronologically and more classically now.

 

I wasn't sure if I needed the BP, but I like the guide, love the maps, timelines and even coloring book. I agree that it is worth it to spend a little more to have some things handy ready to teach! It IS a hard job. And, I am VERY cheap - I like to say thrifty, but it's really cheap!! :>) I do grocery game and a pretty strict budget. However, we save a lot and I work part time, so this year I decided not to stress too much! It has definitely been worth it - I have used everything I bought. Again, mostly used or borrowed!

[missmoe]

This is one of those things--if you have the money to spend that much for history, feel free to do it. If you don't have that much money in your budget, get creative and figure out how to do it with less money. Or if you just don't want to spend that much money---don't.

 

I've had years where everything was purchased used and what we used depended on what we could find. I pulled it together and everyone was able to learn alot. Other years we spent lots and lots on history! Everyone also learned lots!

[Lovedtodeath]

I think you can do it with little money. I can't right now because library trips, etc just can't happen around here. Amazon is great!

 

We did cultures on little money. I made my own loose outline schedule and used the library and it worked perfectly. We learned a lot and loved it.

[Mesa]

Well I bought both Sonlight core 2 and TOG year 1, with all the books and optional add ons. I've spent waaaay to much. I dont even want to think of it.

It was all worth it.

[OnTheBrink]

Heavens, no! I spent $40 something on MOH 3 student reader, $40 on Famous Men of Modern Times set (text, tm and workbook) and that's it. Our home school is not history-focused, so I didn't feel the need to spend a boatload on history materials.

[Lovedtodeath]

Whether your homeschool is history focused would make a difference. I never intended to be history focused, but DD loves it. It is how I get her to read anything.