Did you spend more $ at the beg. of your hs journey or....

[Sue G in PA]

now? I mean, per year on curriculum, misc. books, supplemental items, etc., did you spend more in the beginning years of your hs journey or do you spend more now that you've been at it for a while or does it matter? This was our first year hsing w/out the cyber-charter (VA). I spent a BUNCH of money on curriculum last year in prep. for this year. I purchased curriculum, misc. books, supplies, tools (math manipulatives, etc.), etc. For this next year coming up (2008/09), I find myself spending almost as much. Why? Well, b/c either this program or that program didn't work or isn't working for this child or that and we've had to switch gears. My dh doesn't "complain" so much about my spending, but it's in his eyes when he asks me "How much more do you have to spend before you are done?" I must admit..I get really, really aggravated when he asks that b/c it shows he clearly doesn't understand. I could say, "x amount", but then all of a sudden, this math program doesn't "fit" or that grammar program is a bust. Does anybody know what I mean? I buy used whenever possible and try to tell dh I've saved so much money by buying used...even if my fingers feel like falling off from erasing student texts! Yes, it bugs me that we have curriculum just sitting around b/c it didn't "fit" well w/ a certain child. But, I have so many others coming up behind them that to sell the books would be a waste, KWIM? Oh, I guess I'm just frustrated about the money issue again. So, back to my original question :)

[Jennifer in MI]

Can I answer "both?" I spent a lot in the beginning years because I wanted to try out a curriculum that I thought might work. Or, I'd buy it just because I like having things in my hands. Then, I'd return it or sell it if it didn't work.

 

Now, I know pretty much what I need/want. But, I have three kids!! And, the programs get more expensive as you move up, I've found!

[Sue G in PA]

6 children now! 7th, 5th, 3rd, 2nd, K, PreK. I just wish I could put dh in charge of the purchasing and let him see how it goes!

[Tap]

now it I spend more on curriculum. I don't need to buy manipulative's anymore but I also don't get away with a $20 history book and activity guide like STOW. For History and Literature, we now spend $200-300 for Omnibus and it's books. Science is no longer a $20, it now involves a $60 curriculum and almost as much in lab supplies. Math is $200 not $50.

 

So, I spend much more now, but I get a higher level, more detailed, and thorough curriculum.

 

I also find that I am more willing to invest in the expensive programs because I am more confident in what I think will work and if I am wrong...what will resell easily.

[Tess in the Burbs]

when we knew we would hs'ing I started buying books for the shelves and curriculum. then I sold some curriculum and bought more, lol. Then we used some of it and bought more and gave away lots of stuff. Always buying more as we had the money....like math manipulatives and such. In fact last fall I spent $100 on math 'stuff' to have available to play with.

 

My kids are back to back grades so I spent a lot the first year, less this year, but will need more in '08 as the oldest moves on to new things. I suspect it will continue this way. Some years will be way more than previous years.

 

We don't have as much as some people in the way of books to peruse and I wish we could but there is always more to buy and we just have to say no sometimes.

[Sasharowan]

I find myself spending more now than when they were younger. My oldest is heading into 7th next year and I want him to get in more writing and basically ramping up for high school in a few years. I am also spending more on my younger ones than I did on my oldest at their age: because of personality differences, time available, and seeing where my oldest is weak(may have nothing to do the curriculum).

[Plucky]

I spend more now because I have more kids to homeschool and we are entering high school. Things got way more expensive in 7th grade & up. I do save a lot of money by reusing materials for my younger kids, although that doesn't always work. I'm frugal but willing to spend the money on a program that helps my kids understand material better or outsources a subject so I can concentrate more fully on tutoring a child in a weak area. The key is to not burn any of us out and learn and grow as needed. I save dh a ton of money on private school (our public schools are not an option).

[Plucky]

I hear you there. I don't use MFW but I'm all about making my learning plan flow as easily as possible. Still challenging and meaty but not hard for mom to implement.

[Carol in Cal.]

Plus I was trying to be frugal. So I looked for things way ahead of time so that I could find them on Ebay, and I ended up buying a lot of stuff I didn't end up using. Having said that, I'm really glad that I did. The reading books that finally really clicked with DD were ones that I bought on spec on Ebay, and they were exactly what we needed. If I had not bought all the other, unused Scott Foresman stuff, I would never have found these.

 

Then in the middle years I didn't spend much--I was very focussed. I hit a stride, I figured out how to borrow some resources that were pricey, and I knew just what I wanted.

 

Then I went back to work, and the library was just too time consuming, so I started to buy lots of books. LOTS of books. And I am really, really glad, because now we have great resources about history and cultures that we will refer to forever. But I slowed down on that by now.

 

Now I occasionally have a large, well considered splurge, and that is all. Recent splurges have included LLLOTR and associated resources, and brand new Saxon kits that include the DIVE CDs. WEP, totally. My next scheduled splurge is going to be Real Science 4 Kids Chemistry, Level II, which I think it completely overpriced but simply not to be resisted because it is so, so good. But for the most part, we read literature from paperbacks (often used) and discuss it based on WTM, Esquith, Reading Strands, and Figuratively Speaking. We use RS grammar, which is very reasonably priced. We use Writing Strands, also pretty reasonable. Quarter Mile Math and Typing Instructor Deluxe go from one year to the next. And although Phonetic Zoo is pricey, it is the only spelling program that has ever really worked with DD; and we are going to be able to borrow the second year of it.

[Jenny in Atl]

I think it's more now as the kids are getting older, the curriculum seems to cost more.

[DawnUK]

Can I answer "both?" I spent a lot in the beginning years because I wanted to try out a curriculum that I thought might work. Or, I'd buy it just because I like having things in my hands. Then, I'd return it or sell it if it didn't work.

 

Now, I know pretty much what I need/want. But, I have three kids!! And, the programs get more expensive as you move up, I've found!

 

I agree, I tried sooo many things in the beginning. Now it's that the things that I've choosen are expensive, chalkdust math for instance. There are also four children now.

 

--Dawn

[Jill- OK]

...two entering high school next year, and two more in elementary.

 

Some of the stuff I'm using with the Littles is recycled, but I have new things to buy for them, as well. (Workbooks, etc.)

 

High school is 'spensive. :-o (Microscope is also part of the budget this year. Ouch.)

 

Edited to add: I'm still finding a lot used, but the price tags are much heftier. (LOL, one friend brandished one of my books at me the other day and asked, incredulous..."Did you know this is $100, new?!?" Um, yeah, I do. Love that Amazon Marketplace! :-)

[Sandra in NC]

I'm spending a lot more now! When the kids were little, I spent $100/yr. Now, it's more like $3000/yr.

[JFSinIL]

at the beginning I did buy more things that we needed, esp. reading books and history books. But now, however, stuff like "teacher in a can" math costs more. But then again - I can reuse some stuff from previous kids/years with my youngest. So it all evens out in the end.

[Cindy in NY]

I too find I am spending more each year.. The things I have found that I want to continue using all seem to be pricey and I have had to admit that the library just doesn't work well for me. I do much better when I have all the books on hand that we will need for a particular history or literature program.

 

I tried to be SO frugal in the beginning that I made it very hard on myself at times, so I pay more now to make things more doable for me. It pains me though as I am cheap by nature.

[elegantlion]

In the beginning we used a box curriculum. I got a lot of hand me downs from friends and it was cheap for a few years. Now it is becoming more expensive, as I use from several providers.

 

For this year's planning I didn't look at price until I had picked out what I felt was best for us. Then I gulped. I have a tendency to be cheap. However, I don't want to shortchange my son's education. I do make sure each item is necessary and will fit into our schedule.

 

My dh doesn't care how much I spend as long it the books will be used. We break the expense out over two to three orders to help with cost.

[Jenny in Florida]

When my kids were younger, I spent very little on curriculum and supplies. It was not unusual for me to spend less than $100 per year. Of course, we weren't doing TWTM thing then, but we weren't unschooling, either.

 

As they got older, we'd spend a little more each year. I think it peaked when my older one was doing high school-level work. One year, we spent well over $1,000 for the two of them.

 

The following year, once I realized that I wasn't going to make things better or easier just by spending money, we dropped back to about $300 per student.

 

This year, I'm back down to one student (my 10-year-old son), and I think I spent between $300 and $400. I recently totalled up everything for next year for him, and I'm expecting to be in the same ballpark.

 

And I think it's important to point out a couple of things. First, my kids always carry a pretty significant academic load. That $400 for my son for next year, for example, includes three foreign languages, math, science, history, English, art and a hefty reading list. Second, I am fully aware that I could cut back on my spending by making better use of our local libraries. Books--and I mean just books, not texts or encyclopedias or anything complicated or special--make up more than one-third of my spending. If I got all or most of those from the library, I could easily get us back down to between $200 and $300 per year. However, we just really like owning books, and I have few enough vices that I feel okay about indulging this one.

[LisaKinVA]

to creep upwards again.

 

I bought a TON of stuff before DS#1 entered K. Then, had to re-do huge budget things like Math. I got away with not having to do manipulatives at first, but have found them a godsend with my younger two (I set them down with the math manipulatives and their math books and they go to town -- while I work with older ds).

 

We added Latin -- which because I like the "helps" (DVDs) gets expensive. Plus, we'll be purchasing a Rosetta Stone Program every year now from here on out (next 5 years at least).

 

It also seems, that as my dc get older, the books get a lot more expensive. While my younger dc will get to re-use some of the non-consumable books, my oldest's books are almost doubling.

 

Next fall we go to 3 taking piano lessons ($300 a month)

 

I do feel that once I've gotten my oldest through HS, the numbers will start falling rapidly -- because I'll have most everything (at least, that's what I hope).

[Tabitha]

I'm getting more thrifty I think....

 

I spent more in the beginning just due to buying so much for each subject. Now I'm into honing down and focusing better on the specifics of each, realizing I can't ever get it all in, and using programs where multiples can be taught together (that offers the biggest savings right there).

 

So yeah, more before.....

 

Tab

[Mommieeeee]

Definately more before. Now I think that I am well stocked and I make wiser purchases. I also know my children's learning style better and can avoid purchases that I know don't fit.

[Vida Winter]

First, I am homeschooling more than one child now - I homeschool my 2 kids at home (PK & 2) and afterschool my 7th grader. I also tutor other kids who need help and I lend/give a lot of stuff away.

 

Second, I can afford it more now than I could at the beginning of our journey.

 

Third, there are so darn many exciting things I want to try that were not available at the beginning. And I have Amazon prime which makes it just too easy to try new things out.

[Punkinelly]

No, I spent way less in the beginning because my kids were young enough that I just wrote my own curricula, if I used any at all. Besides, we are poor church mice. LOL

 

When they got older, then the books started costing me. Ouch!

We don't use textbooks, really, until age 10.

 

Mary

[PrairieAir]

I think I only bought two books this year, a grammar workbook and a nature journal. I had everything else on hand already. I could spend more if I wanted to, but I find we have the basics already since I am now only homeschooling my youngest. We have math texts up through Algebra II and several other high school texts that I bought as I ran across them second hand and cheap. We borrow a lot of books from the library to supplement and I still find things now and then at Goodwill or a garage sale. We'll never use all we already own. Grammar workbooks are the only thing I think will be a *need* for quite a while. That's under $20 a year, and that makes me very happy:D

[mcconnellboys]

I spent more as I built up my library and obtained teacher's manuals, etc. that I would keep to use again. I'm now beginning to cull out some of the things for very young children as my boys grow up - it's sorta sad!

[Peela]

I spent far more in the past than I do now. I was a curriculum junkie. I was insecure. I was giving too much power up to curriculum, and not spending enough time just doing the work. I was stressing, and curriculum shopping seemed to be an answer to the difficulties inherent in being almost solely responsible for my kids' education.

The benefit was however that I am now familiar with a lot of curriculum and know what most of y'all are talking about most of the time!

I guess I know myself better, and I know what will work better for my kids, due to time and experience. I seem to be veering away from workbooks and textbooks more and more, and heading toward more CM reading and using the library a lot as a resource. If I ran out of money, I could homeschool with the internet, the library and a maths text. And I could make do with a maths text from the internet if I had to, too.

[ThelmaLou]

I have been spending much less recently. I have learned not to overbuy. I just sold a bunch of books last night at a used book fair and earned a little over $250. Most of these items were brand new and had been sitting on my shelf, and I sold most of them for half price or less. I had 4 big boxes of books to sell, and still came home with a little more than 2 boxes full. My point is, I had gotten in a really bad habit of buying and not using.

 

The Veritas Press catalog was one of my downfalls. I want to be best friends with that thing. I saw a book last night which I've seen many a time in the Veritas catalog, and narrowly escaped its grip. It was the Boys and Girls Herodotus. Brand new, only $11. Then I sat down and leafed through it. Ughhh! What kind of parent would do such a thing to their children? And I still felt this insane pull to get it anyway. Veritas has it in their catalog, so it must be great, right?

 

I'm learning to shake this mindset. My biggest expenditure by far has been all of the supplemental books that accompany their history cards. We're at the end of their first history cycle, though, and I'm hopeful that I can keep my purchases under control. Wish me luck!

[WTMindy]

Probably now because TOG is a big chunk of money upfront. ALthough, since I plan on using it for the third rotation, hopefully it will go back down. I find that I don't make as many impulsive curriculum decisions that I did in the beginning, which saves money.